Horse Death Toll Rises as Officials Recall Hay

State officials Thursday ordered a recall of up to 1,000 tons of hay cubes that may be tainted by a deadly toxin as the death toll of horses continued to grow.

One more horse was destroyed at the Orange County Fairgrounds Equestrian Center late Wednesday, bringing the total to 16.

Botulism has been blamed in the horses’ deaths in four Southern California counties, and veterinarians believe the powerful toxin was hidden in hay cubes manufactured in Utah and shipped to at least 60 stables in the Southland, officials said. Only a portion of the compressed hay cakes tested have been found to contain botulism.

But as a precaution, a regionwide roundup has been ordered of the candy-bar sized cubes distributed by Paramount Cubing of Paramount, said Stanley Buscombe, head of the feed and fertilizer branch of the state Department of Food and Agriculture. Officials believe that all of the dead and sick horses had been fed the hay cakes before becoming ill.

Veterinarians confirmed Wednesday that several of the cubes collected from a San Bernardino County stable where three horses have died contained remains of a rabbit that may have carried a botulism toxin commonly found in dogs and cats but is extremely rare--and deadly--in horses.

Buscombe said no complaints have been filed against Paramount Cubing, adding that the company has voluntarily suspended all shipments of its hay cubes and is cooperating fully with the recall.

“Our primary goal is to get that feed off the market as fast as possible,” Buscombe said. “We will then determine if any enforcement action is necessary.”

Meanwhile, an 8-year-old quarter horse was destroyed Wednesday night at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Veterinarians said four other horses, including two in Los Angeles County, became ill Thursday. But experts hope that an experimental antiserum, en route Thursday night, will counteract the toxin, which short-circuits an animal’s central nervous system.