25 Apr 2009

Supplement given to polo horses incorrectly made

8:39 am on 25 April 2009

A Florida pharmacy says it incorrectly prepared a supplement given to 21 polo horses that died while being prepared for a championship match.

A Venezuelan team had the pharmacy mix up the concoction it was unable to bring into the United States legally.

But the chemicals were mixed incorrectly and the horses died in rapid succession on Monday, some collapsing just before taking the field in the US Open at the International Polo Club Palm Beach.

The team had hoped to get a compound similar to a name-brand supplement used safely around the world to help horses with exhaustion but the Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved it.