LDAF: 26 LA horses clinically affected, 20 dead due to food contamination

CHOUDRANT, La. (KNOE) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cautioning horse owners not to feed their herds contaminated food that caused illnesses and even deaths in horses in Louisiana.

The FDA has found that the food contains what appears to be fur and animal tissues.

The food is known as alfalfa cubes, specifically, the Top of the Rockies brand. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry says the fur and animal tissues indicate that material from an animal may have been incorporated into the cubes during alfalfa harvesting. Some people have reported a foul odor in some of the bags, according to LDAF.

One horse handler in Choudrant has not experienced any cases with her horses, but she says it’s important to monitor their health and what they eat since she trains athletic horses.

“I do boarding and training in the hunter and jumper industry,” says Meghan Nichols, Owner of Lone Oak Farms. “Just like any athlete - just like a football player, softball player, we want them at the top of their form so they can compete and be healthy and be ready and recover from going out there and putting out as much effort as we ask them to.”

According to the LDAF investigator, 26 horses in Louisiana total were clinically affected in the incident. Twenty of those died or were euthanized for humane reasons. Six others are recovering or have recovered following treatment. If other horses on other farms in Louisiana were affected, they have not been reported to LDAF and it has not been verified.