Stallion News

[TapitsGal]

Obviously nothing official from the farm but a source on Twitter is saying that a vitamin B12 injection went into Laobans artery and caused Anaphylaxis..if that's the case that poor horse and what a horrific way to die. Having had several anaphylactic reactions myself including one that put me in icu on a ventilator for three and a half weeks and resulted in me getting a temporary tracheostomy from November 2020 to January 2021... Anaphylaxis is a horrific,scary thing to experience and I wouldn't wish it on anyone

[HB1994]

Obviously nothing official from the farm but a source on Twitter is saying that a vitamin B12 injection went into Laobans artery and caused Anaphylaxis..if that's the case that poor horse and what a horrific way to die. Having had several anaphylactic reactions myself including one that put me in icu on a ventilator for three and a half weeks and resulted in me getting a temporary tracheostomy from November 2020 to January 2021... Anaphylaxis is a horrific,scary thing to experience and I wouldn't wish it on anyone

If memory serves, champion 2yo filly Pleasant Stage died following a vitamin injection back in the 90s.

[flytpthestars]

Why would they need vitamin shots? Isnt the theory of hay, oats and water sufficent? (Fresh grass too)

Spend a buck did have anaphylaxis from penicillin. I know that humans and animals do get none to minor reactions at first which then explodes later down the road. For instance, my mom got stung by bees many times over the years and was fine... until one sent her in anaphylaxis and didnt make it. It happened so fast.

[Mylute]

Maybe he was battling an illness?

[CorridorZ75]

Why would they need vitamin shots? Isnt the theory of hay, oats and water sufficent? (Fresh grass too)

Spend a buck did have anaphylaxis from penicillin. I know that humans and animals do get none to minor reactions at first which then explodes later down the road. For instance, my mom got stung by bees many times over the years and was fine... until one sent her in anaphylaxis and didnt make it. It happened so fast.

Allergies are bizarre- my friend's mother almost died when she had a reaction after eating beef, even though she had eaten it her entire life, due to a tick bite. My brother developed a peanut allergy after he was an adult.

[Retrospectiv]

Obviously nothing official from the farm but a source on Twitter is saying that a vitamin B12 injection went into Laobans artery and caused Anaphylaxis..if that's the case that poor horse and what a horrific way to die. Having had several anaphylactic reactions myself including one that put me in icu on a ventilator for three and a half weeks and resulted in me getting a temporary tracheostomy from November 2020 to January 2021... Anaphylaxis is a horrific,scary thing to experience and I wouldn't wish it on anyone

Easy Goer died in May of his 8 yr old year from supposed anaphylaxis, though Claiborne claimed he'd not been given anything. Brought up from his field to see some visitors and dropped dead.
When they did his necropsy, they also discovered he was riddled with cancer and would have likely only lived another year.

[Mylute]

Obviously nothing official from the farm but a source on Twitter is saying that a vitamin B12 injection went into Laobans artery and caused Anaphylaxis..if that's the case that poor horse and what a horrific way to die. Having had several anaphylactic reactions myself including one that put me in icu on a ventilator for three and a half weeks and resulted in me getting a temporary tracheostomy from November 2020 to January 2021... Anaphylaxis is a horrific,scary thing to experience and I wouldn't wish it on anyone

Easy Goer died in May of his 8 yr old year from supposed anaphylaxis, though Claiborne claimed he'd not been given anything. Brought up from his field to see some visitors and dropped dead.
When they did his necropsy, they also discovered he was riddled with cancer and would have likely only lived another year.

Lest we forget - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_the_Fog#Death

[Tessablue]

I believe B12 is supposed to be injected intramuscularly, and accidental arterial injection can have very serious consequences. Twitter rumors are Twitter rumors (albeit from a source who has been right about other things in the past), but an accidental death of that nature would be one of the few scenarios that makes sense here, as it sounds like the farm already knows the cause of death but will not elaborate for what could be liability-related reasons.

Either way, poor Laoban. Way too young.

[BaroqueAgain1]

B12 can be a good way to support an animal's overall health. I gave my elderly cat B12 in her subQ fluids, and I always saw an improvement in her energy and appetite afterward. Of course, delivering the vitamin via fluids is a WHOLE lot different that an injection.

[Katewerk]

I believe B12 is supposed to be injected intramuscularly, and accidental arterial injection can have very serious consequences. Twitter rumors are Twitter rumors (albeit from a source who has been right about other things in the past), but an accidental death of that nature would be one of the few scenarios that makes sense here, as it sounds like the farm already knows the cause of death but will not elaborate for what could be liability-related reasons.

Either way, poor Laoban. Way too young.

If true, the individual who erred may be suffering severe psychological distress. I don't blame the farm for closing down discussion before it begins. Shame on the person who took it to Twitter (of all places).

[Flanders]

1991 Champion 2yo filly Pleasant Stage died from a vitamin shot as well.

[Northport]

Hunter horses in the States die way more often than you'd think from injections gone wrong. More than one has died from Magnesium being injected too quickly (Magnesium is a popular and legal sedative that you can't get caught for using, however when given intravenously there is a major chance you can accidentally kill your horse in the process).

https://horseauthority.co/mandarino-adm ... nys-death/

^^^^ that and the injection of magnesium is shady as hell, but I've said it once and I'll say it it a million more times, no matter how nice hay oats and water sounds in theory, it is not a reasonable expectation that an performance animal, working animal, or animal athlete can live a comfortable life on that alone. Top stallions are jumping 200+ mares a year, they travel across the globe twice a year if they shuttle, they are ridden/lunged/worked on a treadmill in the off season. They aren't just lawn ornaments, they are working animals that require supplements, medication, massages, acupuncture, chiropractic work, etc. in order to stay happy and healthy and do their jobs.

A valuable horse is like a luxury automobile, they require a lot of maintenance.

[BaroqueAgain1]

^^^^^
Appreciate that realistic assessment. Even a retiree like me needs supplements and the occasional anti-inflammatory to be comfortably functional. Athletes need a WHOLE lot more to achieve something more than 'functional.'

[Slinky_Malinky]

Hunter horses in the States die way more often than you'd think from injections gone wrong.

...no matter how nice hay oats and water sounds in theory, it is not a reasonable expectation that an performance animal, working animal, or animal athlete can live a comfortable life on that alone.

High-goal polo has entered the chat....

If you think racing or eventing requires a super-fit horse, meet international high-goal polo. Run balls to the wall, stop, turn on a dime, gallop the length of 3 football fields, turn and run balls-out again while some other horse is pushing you sideways and your rider is hanging off you at a weird angle, lather rinse repeat for 7 minutes. Some horses play multiple chukkers in a match and during big tournaments like the US Open they may do this more than once a week. Breeding stallions may be on the field competing, get collected between competitions, go back to competing, etc (most high-goal ponies, especially in South America, are not registered TBs and are bred AI). These horses are elite athletes and it's just not reasonable or practical to expect that they will get correct nutrition through food and supplements alone, especially in the scorching hot humid climates of Miami or Buenos Aires or Caracas, Venezuela.

Back in 2009, about 20 polo ponies died at the US Open after being administered vitamin shots. The injections were administered properly, but they contained a vitamin/mineral mixture that had been mixed up at a compounding pharmacy and the pharmacy got the amount of selenium wrong by an order of magnitude (!). Lechuza Caracas ordered the mixture to match something available for sale in Europe and South America but not in the USA. The descriptions of what happened after are just awful and I won't go into any details.

The general idea between Mag injections for hunt horses and what happened to Lechuza Caracas comes from the same place -- to get a specific advantage in competition through supplements. I would put the Lechuza Caracas ponies in the category of "good veterinary management gone horribly wrong," though, and not as a way to calm a horse down enough to be tractable in competition.

[BaroqueAgain1]

I remember that incident....so many horses died in such a tragic way that the story made it way past horse forums and into mainstream news.

[Katewerk]

meh, wrong thread.

[Modern Renaissance]

Hunter horses in the States die way more often than you'd think from injections gone wrong.

...no matter how nice hay oats and water sounds in theory, it is not a reasonable expectation that an performance animal, working animal, or animal athlete can live a comfortable life on that alone.

High-goal polo has entered the chat....

If you think racing or eventing requires a super-fit horse, meet international high-goal polo. Run balls to the wall, stop, turn on a dime, gallop the length of 3 football fields, turn and run balls-out again while some other horse is pushing you sideways and your rider is hanging off you at a weird angle, lather rinse repeat for 7 minutes. Some horses play multiple chukkers in a match and during big tournaments like the US Open they may do this more than once a week. Breeding stallions may be on the field competing, get collected between competitions, go back to competing, etc (most high-goal ponies, especially in South America, are not registered TBs and are bred AI). These horses are elite athletes and it's just not reasonable or practical to expect that they will get correct nutrition through food and supplements alone, especially in the scorching hot humid climates of Miami or Buenos Aires or Caracas, Venezuela.

Back in 2009, about 20 polo ponies died at the US Open after being administered vitamin shots. The injections were administered properly, but they contained a vitamin/mineral mixture that had been mixed up at a compounding pharmacy and the pharmacy got the amount of selenium wrong by an order of magnitude (!). Lechuza Caracas ordered the mixture to match something available for sale in Europe and South America but not in the USA. The descriptions of what happened after are just awful and I won't go into any details.

The general idea between Mag injections for hunt horses and what happened to Lechuza Caracas comes from the same place -- to get a specific advantage in competition through supplements. I would put the Lechuza Caracas ponies in the category of "good veterinary management gone horribly wrong," though, and not as a way to calm a horse down enough to be tractable in competition.

I am struggling to find the relevance here. Unless this is to imply that something nefarious was about, and in that case I think it would have benefitted from being less verbose.

[sweettalk]

i think the point was just that vitamin injections aren't uncommon for horses performing at that level, and that while they are probably necessary for reasons described above, sometimes routine things can just go wrong (and the polo horse event was another example of something that was meant to help the horse just going sideways without any ill intent).

or that was how i read it.

[Slinky_Malinky]

i think the point was just that vitamin injections aren't uncommon for horses performing at that level, and that while they are probably necessary for reasons described above, sometimes routine things can just go wrong (and the polo horse event was another example of something that was meant to help the horse just going sideways without any ill intent).

or that was how i read it.

This is precisely the point.

Nobody is giving vitamin injections to horses just for giggles and yuks. They're given for a particular reason, and because oral medication isn't the best option for whatever reason.

[Flanders]

Like the sad thing is and probably why the farm didn't say what happened to Laoban is the backlash that the farm would get from certain people. The person who administered it maybe did it right and the horse freaked out or acted up, causing the incident to happen. Maybe the person did just screw up. But it wouldn't matter to the people who would freak out and probably threaten the person and the farm. Its a very unfortunate accident that happened.

I've seen videos on Youtube of people who show goats or whatever, and they say some things just work better when given via injection.