Almost 70 horses die, contaminated feed suspected

ELK CITY, OK – The storied stock contracting firm Beutler & Son Rodeo Company of Elk City, Oklahoma, is suffering devastating loss after their horses were given contaminated feed. Close to 70 horses have died, with numbers growing.

Early reporting that many of the Beutlers’ horses were accidentally fed cattle feed is false, according to Dr. Gregg VeneKlasen, the veterinarian for the Beutler family. As reported by journalist Kendra Santos, VeneKlasen said, “What these horses got was actually a horse feed mix with a huge amount of the cattle drug monensin (brand name Rumensin) in it,” VeneKlasen said. “This was a tragic case of human error somewhere along the line, because tiny amounts of monensin is poison to horses. It kills them. Monensin is used in some cattle feed, but this amount in this horse feed delivered to the Beutlers would have killed cattle, too.

Ultimately the monensin causes heart damage that is most of the time permanent. The horses symptoms will include loss of appetite, exercise intolerance, weakness and excessive sweating. There is no antidote for monensin toxicosis and a high percentage of time the treatment for a horse that has ingested monensin is just palative care.

Around the rodeo world, Beutler and Son are known to produce some of the biggest Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeos. In 1997, Bennie Beutler was awarded the PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year award and in 2010 he was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. The company has had multiple Top Saddle Bronc and Bareback Horses of the NFR showings. Add to those awards a long list of PRCA Bareback and Saddle Bronc Horses of the Year.

At last year’s National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Beutler and Son provided some of the roughstock including: four bareback horses, three saddle bronc horses and two bulls.

An ongoing investigation is underway as losses have been ongoing since Sunday. Veterinarians attending to the situation are working to try to save livestock, while finding a solution to prevent a situation like this from happening again.