Ouch! That Hurts!!!
DUNCO
Banned
THERE NEWS AND THEN THERE BLOGS ... I LIKE BLOGS ...IT GETS YOU THINKING THERE TWO SIDES OF THE STORY OR THREE HIS -HERS . OR THE TRUTH .. ALSO YOU GOT TO WONDER WHO RUNS THE PAPER ...........
By ANDREW MARRA and BILL DiPAOLO
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The 21 polo ponies that died in Wellington Sunday were all injected before the game with a vitamin supplement called Biodyl - and team members believe a tainted dose caused their deaths, the team's captain said.
Juan Martin Nero, captain of the Lechuza Caracas polo team, told the La Nacion newspaper of Buenos Aires that all of the horses had received Biodyl injections before the game.
Lechuza Caracas team members believe a tainted dose of a French-made vitamin supplement caused the 21 Wellington polo ponies' deaths.
Horses die in Wellington
"We don't have any doubts about the origin of the problem," Nero said. "There were five horses that weren't given the vitamin and they are the only ones that are fine."
Biodyl is a French-made supplement that contains Vitamin B, selenium and chromium, La Nacion reported.
Nero said that Biodyl "is what the horses are always given."
"For us the suspicions are that there was something bad in the laboratory," Nero said. "They're common vitamins that aren't given to improve performance but rather to help them recover from exhaustion."
Dr. Scott Swerdlin, a veterinarian at the Palm Beach Equine Club who helped treat the animals as they were dying, told the Post that Biodyl is not approved for use or sale in the United States.
But a licensed veterinarian could obtain Biodyl by submitting a prescription to a pharmacy containing the recipe for the supplement, he said.
If Biodyl shows up on the tests, now being done in Kissimmee and Gainesville, an independent lab should determine if the Biodyl mix was correct, said Swerdlin.
"Biodyl is routinely used in Europe as a vitamin supplement," Swerdlin said. "My practice does not use it."
"It's dangerous," Kentucky-based veterinarian Fernando Garcia told La Nacion. "Ordering it from France isn't an easy task because you have to specify what its use will be and in what animal. In the case of the polo ponies' deaths I don't think it was Biodyl but it could have been an imitation."
Well-known Wellington polo patron Neil Hirsch, who co-owns the Bridgehampton Polo Club on Long Island said vitamins are commonly used but rarely administered on a game day.
"Everybody gives their polo horses vitamins," Hirsch said. "But they're given on a Monday or Tuesday when no one's playing. You just don't give them the day of a match."
Dr. Christie Ward, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota, saod that supplements are generally unlikely to harm horses but that some contain substances that could prove harmful in large quantities.
Selenium, a substance found in Biodyl, "can be toxic when administered at too high a level," she said.
But she added that "in general there does not seem to be any high incidence of adverse reactions."
As the investigation into the horses' deaths presses on, a swirl of speculation is surrounding the renowned polo team's Argentine veterinarian.
Felix Crespo, a former competitive polo player, was the Lechuza Caracas team's top man in charge of the horses' health, and he would have been the one to oversee their diet and any supplements or injections they may have received, people familiar with the team say.
A call to Crespo's cell phone in Argentina was answered by his daughter, who said he was still in Palm Beach County.
Tim Burke, Executive Editor, The Palm Beach Post.
Share your comment here
Apr 22, 2009 11:31 AM | Link to this
First of all Ivan, your comment was rude and a waste on this page, if you dont care about this story than dont comment on it if its not up yo par on your needs. Shame on you for being cruel towards animals. I feel sorry if you own any pets, you must be a real animal lover. On a more serious and mature note All I can say is those poor horses! I also feel badly for their owners in which I am sure had special relationships with them. I feel that any foreighn supplement should be tested again in the USA. I feel that Crespo the trainer that was responsible for the horses overall health should be investigated as well as the company that was responsible distributing the tainted batch of Vitamins. It dosent matter if it is illegal in the USA all you need is a perscription from a doctor and it is optainable.
By Linda c. Knight
Apr 22, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
I am saddened to hear of the deaths of these horses.
I have followed these articles and my sympathies go out to the team and community involved.
By Not Bill Clinton
Apr 22, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
This polo team was a wealthy group of venezuelans who are the opposition to Obama's pal chavez, note also yesterday the leader opposition candidate to the monkey chavez fled to Peru. My guess is that Chavez was sending a message to the team, and yet so many people in this country love chavez, some mnay liberals do love him....
By Denise
Apr 22, 2009 11:25 AM | Link to this
This article has a tone of "business as usuall" I hope these 21 incredible equine athletes have not died in vain. It is time the public know about the drug abuse many horses have to endure. We, the public, need to demand the legal ban on performance enhancing drugs on animals! The rules in place now, are "lip service". There is a safe and effective natural alternatives combined with good diet, vitamins, and daily work regimen!!
By ivan
Apr 22, 2009 11:00 AM | Link to this
thier just horeses you guys are waisting headline space
By dm
Apr 22, 2009 10:40 AM | Link to this
Is there no one editing these posted comments? This is the problem with the Internet, it allows the most base of humanity to post such filth and gutter trash. Please, PBPost, edit out the first-graders....the grown-ups are trying to talk about a serious subject.By V.
Apr 22, 2009 10:30 AM | Link to this
Could you please place a SHARE button on each article so we can post the news to the social networking sites. Thanks.
By Bio B.S.
Apr 22, 2009 10:15 AM | Link to this
Not much chance that Selenium or Chromium killed 21 horses.......
Toxicologists say "the dose makes the poision"....even water can kill in high doses but we need it to live anyway....we are water.
One vial of Selenium/Chromium? Come on.....they could possible have been something else put in a bottle with that name on it though,
By Sarah Smith
Apr 22, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
I would like to extend by sympathies to Mr. Vargas and the entire polo community. The loss of such majestic animals is a horribly sad and senseless tragedy. I will keep the owner, team members and the entire equestrian community in my heart and prayers. Again I am so sorry for your loss.
By ANDREW MARRA and BILL DiPAOLO
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The 21 polo ponies that died in Wellington Sunday were all injected before the game with a vitamin supplement called Biodyl - and team members believe a tainted dose caused their deaths, the team's captain said.
Juan Martin Nero, captain of the Lechuza Caracas polo team, told the La Nacion newspaper of Buenos Aires that all of the horses had received Biodyl injections before the game.
Lechuza Caracas team members believe a tainted dose of a French-made vitamin supplement caused the 21 Wellington polo ponies' deaths.
Horses die in Wellington
"We don't have any doubts about the origin of the problem," Nero said. "There were five horses that weren't given the vitamin and they are the only ones that are fine."
Biodyl is a French-made supplement that contains Vitamin B, selenium and chromium, La Nacion reported.
Nero said that Biodyl "is what the horses are always given."
"For us the suspicions are that there was something bad in the laboratory," Nero said. "They're common vitamins that aren't given to improve performance but rather to help them recover from exhaustion."
Dr. Scott Swerdlin, a veterinarian at the Palm Beach Equine Club who helped treat the animals as they were dying, told the Post that Biodyl is not approved for use or sale in the United States.
But a licensed veterinarian could obtain Biodyl by submitting a prescription to a pharmacy containing the recipe for the supplement, he said.
If Biodyl shows up on the tests, now being done in Kissimmee and Gainesville, an independent lab should determine if the Biodyl mix was correct, said Swerdlin.
"Biodyl is routinely used in Europe as a vitamin supplement," Swerdlin said. "My practice does not use it."
"It's dangerous," Kentucky-based veterinarian Fernando Garcia told La Nacion. "Ordering it from France isn't an easy task because you have to specify what its use will be and in what animal. In the case of the polo ponies' deaths I don't think it was Biodyl but it could have been an imitation."
Well-known Wellington polo patron Neil Hirsch, who co-owns the Bridgehampton Polo Club on Long Island said vitamins are commonly used but rarely administered on a game day.
"Everybody gives their polo horses vitamins," Hirsch said. "But they're given on a Monday or Tuesday when no one's playing. You just don't give them the day of a match."
Dr. Christie Ward, a veterinarian at the University of Minnesota, saod that supplements are generally unlikely to harm horses but that some contain substances that could prove harmful in large quantities.
Selenium, a substance found in Biodyl, "can be toxic when administered at too high a level," she said.
But she added that "in general there does not seem to be any high incidence of adverse reactions."
As the investigation into the horses' deaths presses on, a swirl of speculation is surrounding the renowned polo team's Argentine veterinarian.
Felix Crespo, a former competitive polo player, was the Lechuza Caracas team's top man in charge of the horses' health, and he would have been the one to oversee their diet and any supplements or injections they may have received, people familiar with the team say.
A call to Crespo's cell phone in Argentina was answered by his daughter, who said he was still in Palm Beach County.
Tim Burke, Executive Editor, The Palm Beach Post.
Share your comment here
Apr 22, 2009 11:31 AM | Link to this
First of all Ivan, your comment was rude and a waste on this page, if you dont care about this story than dont comment on it if its not up yo par on your needs. Shame on you for being cruel towards animals. I feel sorry if you own any pets, you must be a real animal lover. On a more serious and mature note All I can say is those poor horses! I also feel badly for their owners in which I am sure had special relationships with them. I feel that any foreighn supplement should be tested again in the USA. I feel that Crespo the trainer that was responsible for the horses overall health should be investigated as well as the company that was responsible distributing the tainted batch of Vitamins. It dosent matter if it is illegal in the USA all you need is a perscription from a doctor and it is optainable.
By Linda c. Knight
Apr 22, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
I am saddened to hear of the deaths of these horses.
I have followed these articles and my sympathies go out to the team and community involved.
By Not Bill Clinton
Apr 22, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
This polo team was a wealthy group of venezuelans who are the opposition to Obama's pal chavez, note also yesterday the leader opposition candidate to the monkey chavez fled to Peru. My guess is that Chavez was sending a message to the team, and yet so many people in this country love chavez, some mnay liberals do love him....
By Denise
Apr 22, 2009 11:25 AM | Link to this
This article has a tone of "business as usuall" I hope these 21 incredible equine athletes have not died in vain. It is time the public know about the drug abuse many horses have to endure. We, the public, need to demand the legal ban on performance enhancing drugs on animals! The rules in place now, are "lip service". There is a safe and effective natural alternatives combined with good diet, vitamins, and daily work regimen!!
By ivan
Apr 22, 2009 11:00 AM | Link to this
thier just horeses you guys are waisting headline space
By dm
Apr 22, 2009 10:40 AM | Link to this
Is there no one editing these posted comments? This is the problem with the Internet, it allows the most base of humanity to post such filth and gutter trash. Please, PBPost, edit out the first-graders....the grown-ups are trying to talk about a serious subject.By V.
Apr 22, 2009 10:30 AM | Link to this
Could you please place a SHARE button on each article so we can post the news to the social networking sites. Thanks.
By Bio B.S.
Apr 22, 2009 10:15 AM | Link to this
Not much chance that Selenium or Chromium killed 21 horses.......
Toxicologists say "the dose makes the poision"....even water can kill in high doses but we need it to live anyway....we are water.
One vial of Selenium/Chromium? Come on.....they could possible have been something else put in a bottle with that name on it though,
By Sarah Smith
Apr 22, 2009 10:10 AM | Link to this
I would like to extend by sympathies to Mr. Vargas and the entire polo community. The loss of such majestic animals is a horribly sad and senseless tragedy. I will keep the owner, team members and the entire equestrian community in my heart and prayers. Again I am so sorry for your loss.
Comments