14 Horses Die On Ranch In Wisconsin After Eating Hay Infested With Toxic Beetles

Jan 18, 2020 by apost team

Horse farm owners in Wisconsin are trying to raise awareness of a commonly found toxic beetle after fourteen of their beloved horses died from eating hay infested with the bugs. The Red Ridge Ranch Riding Stable in Wisconsin was hit by a slew of heavy late summer storms which destroyed the ranch's supply of hay which was meant to feed the stable of 100 horses over the summer months.

The owner, Cindy Kanarowski-Peterson, was faced with the predicament of supplying enough hay for her stable and chose to purchase a large supply from an out of state farm. That choice would end up costing her both money, and the irreplaceable lives of over a dozen horses. The hay and alfalfa fed to the horses would end up sickening most of them, before killing a number of them.

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Unbeknownst to Cathy, the purchased hay was infested with a common beetle known as the blister beetle. The beetle is found in Wisconsin, but rarely crops up in hay or alfalfa supplies. When crushed, the beetles release a toxin that is potent enough to kill, causing holes to form in the intestines of animals and humans.

Almost immediately after the horses at Red Ridge Ranch began eating the hay they became sick, and with a large stable Cindy soon found herself with an astronomical veterinarian bill and a huge amount of sick horses to care for. But it got worse and as the days wore on, some of the horses got more and more ill and then began to die.

An autopsy was performed on two of the ranch's horses and the telltale holes in their intestine were identified and the blister beetle was singled out as the culprit. Knowing how her horses became sick, Cathy immediately removed the infested hay from their food supply.

The remaining stable of horses continues to gain strength and heal, but the fight isn't over for them or their owner. Without a supply of hay of their own, and with forty thousand worth of hay contaminated, the owners of the Red Ridge Ranch now need to figure out a way to feed their horses through the brutal winter months.

The community has come together in order to help the horses with both cash donations and hay donations pouring in from around the country. While there is no replacing the horses lost, these gestures of support mean a lot to this beautiful family and their animals. Pass their story on to spread awareness about this beetle and its toxin!