Polo horses were killed by accidental overdose

A wrongly mixed performance enhancing drug most likely caused the death of 21 horses that collapsed at the US Open polo championships in April, the US Food and Drug Administration announced.

The trace mineral selenium, one of the active ingredients in a drug cocktail designed to speed up recovery from exhaustion, was blamed for the sudden death of the two-million dollar team of horses.

“Signs exhibited by the horses and their rapid deaths were consistent with toxic doses,” Dr Holt, Florida State Veterinarian said.

According to Scientific American, Franck’s Pharmacy in Florida owned up to preparing the drug cocktail that was given to the horses in the Lechuzo Caracas team. The mineral was wrongly mixed for a generic version of Biodyl, a French made supplement banned in the U.S., according to FDA officials.

“The strength of an ingredient…was incorrect,” said pharmacy representative Jennifer Beckett.

Selenium is a mineral used in normal cell function, according to the FDA, and is commonly included in supplements fed to horses.

A Florida University vet who examined the carcasses of the 21 horses said that levels of the mineral were ten to 15 times higher than normal in the blood, and up to 20 times higher in their livers.

“If indeed it was injected, they must have gotten a whopping dose,” New York toxicologist Frederick Oehme told Scientific American.

He said that a selenium overdose could damage nerve cells, affecting muscle control including the heart. The safest use of the mineral, he says, is to supplement feed. But polo trainers and owners are known to use selenium injections to alleviate muscle cramping in horses, according to the Scientific American.

Several follow-up investigations are now underway, according to the FDA, but no furthers details were offered, “to prevent the investigation being compromised,” according to the FDA statement.

Following the announcement, the US polo association quickly ruled out foul play,

“The Florida Department of Agriculture report confirms that what happened to the Lechuza polo team was a tragic accident,” executive director Peter Rizzo said in a press release, adding that the association would look into new safety measures in the sport. He vowed to, “develop a stronger prohibited substance policy.”

According to US medical channel MedTV, selenium is also a dietary requirement for humans. The trace mineral, found in vegetables, helps to fight cell-damage and also plays a role in the regulation of thyroid hormones, with a possible knock-on benefit on the immune system.

An overdose in humans can also be fatal, with symptoms ranging from a metallic taste in the mouth, fatigue, irritability, vomiting, hair loss, cardiac arrest, heart failure and death.

In the US media the case has triggered a debate about the control and regulation of “compounding” pharmacists who create drug cocktails to order, ether for human or veterinary medicine.

Photo of selenium: Emporia State University website.

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