05/11/2019
(5 November 2019) Preliminary results of autopsies carried out on the three horses who died suddenly in October: to date no conclusions as to the cause of death. The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana today notified the IHP vet of the results of their investigation into the deaths of three horses at the Volterra IHP premises between 17th and 22nd October of this year. “The findings so far do not point to any specific conclusions”, reports Dr Santi. “We still need the results of ongoing tests, and further exploration.” The first round of tests run by the Pisa lab has in the main excluded poisoning by chemical substances. Toxicology tests are still underway. Histological tests and analysis of gastric contents are still to come. Further tests will be run on the drinking water and the possibility of a non-equine-specific virus. Sonny Richichi, President of IHP, said: “These first results confirm the complexity of the situation we find ourselves in. On the one hand they allow us to eliminate some hypotheses, on the other we still need to understand what killed perfectly healthy horses presenting no symptoms whatever, in the space of literally just a few minutes. It is essential that we establish the cause of death both for the sake of the horses at the Rescue Centre and, at this point, for the survival of the Association itself.” Meanwhile the state of emergency at the Rescue Centre remains in force, with the vet having closed all access to pastures on the day following the deaths. “Out of fear for their safety, and hoping to protect them from some as yet undefined risk, the horses have been confined in a limited space for days, a situation aggravated further by the bad weather currently affecting our area. Each new day this continues makes the situation less manageable. But in spite of these difficulties, we continue to put our faith in those carrying out the examinations, hoping against hope that their efforts will clarify as soon as possible what has been happening. 13 of our horse have died this year so far, at different times and during different weather conditions – 13 horses, all of whom were perfectly healthy and simply suddenly dropped dead: a tragedy that demands an explanation.” RELATED ARTICLES: Volterra, the tragedy continues Another two horses die at the IHP Rescue Centre (19 October 2019) Sudden death of horses: IHP lodges a complaint Another horse died at IHP Rescue centre Sudden death of 8 horses at the IHP Rescue center