Feed contaminated with a cattle weight gain medication (monensin) killed 12 Belgians in Wisconsin and sickened several others, said a Wisconsin Ag Connection report. The horses, owned by Wayne Huston of Cottage Grove, were treated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM). As of Sept. 5, five of them had died and three remained seriously ill. Representatives from the SVM couldn’t comment on the cases due to confidentiality requests.

A Capital Times article said this could have been prevented by proper mixing procedures, and that the horses ranged from this year’s foals to 20 years old. The state Agriculture Management Division’s laboratory confirmed the presence of monensin in the feed.

A bag of the same feed made for another horse owner was recalled, but no animals there got sick

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