Investigation finds equipment flaw, horse's panic resulted in its death

June 27, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A water rescue training exercise that led to a horse’s death earlier this year was an accident and resulted from the horse’s unexpected panic and a previously undetected flaw in the training equipment, an investigation by members of University of Florida’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee concludes.

Members of University of Florida’s Large Animal Technical Rescue Team were found to have followed appropriate protocols during the April 29th training exercise at Lake Wauburg, according to the investigation.

“It is not even clear that any different action on the part of participants could have saved this animal,” the report states.

During one exercise in the water, the horse panicked, kicking its forelimbs over the top of a floatation device it had been fitted with. The device shifted to the rear of the animal, and the horse’s head dipped into the water. Trainees in the water worked to assist the horse and helped move it to shore, where it died.

A necropsy determined the horse died from asphyxiation when its airway closed from throat spasms, likely due to its panicked state. No water was found in the horse’s lungs.

UF’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approved the report and recommendations for a chest strap to be added to the floatation device to prevent slipping and for an instructor to be in the water with the trainees.

The floatation device was modeled after equipment used in training exercises by the Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue, a national emergency rescue training organization. The UF team has shared the design flaw information with the organization to allow them to make appropriate changes, and to notify others around the country.

The University of Florida’s Large Animal Technical Rescue Team was created three years ago to help save horses or livestock in crisis situations and train veterinarians and other emergency responders on best practices for lifting livestock, moving injured animals and rescuing large animals in water, among other emergencies.