# 21 Polo Ponies drop dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 20, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777 "2009-04-20T20:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/21 "2009-04-20T23:20:00Z")
I suspect Ed Norton in the stables without changing out of his sewer uniform. the man loves his polloponies! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/22 "2009-04-20T23:20:59Z")
I don’t see much of a pitting here. For now I’ll move this from The Pit to Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share. **Gfactor** Pit Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/23 "2009-04-21T00:22:15Z")
Maybe Hale-Bopp is coming back around. Heaven’s Gait? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/24 "2009-04-21T00:36:55Z")
Seems like a case of mass horseteria to me. Sorry! Couldn’t help myself! ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/25 "2009-04-21T00:51:24Z")
On the bright side, if you’re in the mafia, you can now get horse heads in bulk. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/26 "2009-04-21T01:30:49Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Dick Cheney had them poisoned. He appointed a notorious inside man for the job, who fed them poisoned heckuva job brownies. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/27 "2009-04-21T01:46:51Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > [With certain crucial differences.](http://www.cvhs.okstate.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=414&Itemid=389) If we’re gonna talk about horse feed, let’s not forget [beet pulp.](http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml) Yes, it’s one of my favorite stories, and if you’ve been around a while, you might have seen me link to it before. I link again, because of the newbies who need to be aware that if you have a house squirrel, you should never, ever leave it alone\* in the house while you’re rehydrating dried beet pulp. \*Except for the cats, dogs, birds, and toads. And crickets. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/28 "2009-04-21T02:00:12Z")
Oh, God, that story is one of my all-time Internet favorites! Dunno how many times I’ve read it but it makes me howl every time. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/29 "2009-04-21T02:12:07Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Dick Cheney had them poisoned. He’s more of a shooter. If the horses were riddled with bullets or shotgun pellets, he’s the guy I’d be looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/30 "2009-04-21T02:28:59Z")
About 10ish years ago several pulling horses were killed and several mares aborted when a lazy worker at the local feed mill decided not to clean up properly between batches of feed. (Cottage Grove, BTW Boyo Jim). Rumensin is a popular additive in cattle chow but it will kill a horse even in small doses. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/31 "2009-04-21T02:30:58Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If we’re gonna talk about horse feed, let’s not forget [beet pulp.](http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml) Yes, it’s one of my favorite stories, and if you’ve been around a while, you might have seen me link to it before. I link again, because of the newbies who need to be aware that if you have a house squirrel, you should never, ever leave it alone\* in the house while you’re rehydrating dried beet pulp. > > \*Except for the cats, dogs, birds, and toads. And crickets. 😃 That’s one of the funniest things I’ve read in quite a while! (Although the Janie cat disapproves of my cackling…) I wonder if ferrets would do similar? :eek:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/32 "2009-04-21T02:42:16Z")
Heck, it’s like listening to the news. I mean, in that first you get a truly horrible story and then they finish up with a make-you-smile-and-chortle story, leaving on a happy note. But I’ve never heard the news manage anything as good as the Squirrel Tale. 🙂 Yes, I’m glad **Lynn** reposted it, 'cos it was new to me. It would _almost_ be a good practical joke to play on someone … nah. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/33 "2009-04-21T02:59:19Z")
> [@Barrels](#): > > About 10ish years ago several pulling horses were killed and several mares aborted when a lazy worker at the local feed mill decided not to clean up properly between batches of feed. (Cottage Grove, BTW Boyo Jim). Rumensin is a popular additive in cattle chow but it will kill a horse even in small doses. When I read the article, Monensin (Rumensin is the trade name) was the first thing that came to mind. It is deadly poison to horses. And it causes death of the heart muscle and thus the signs of heart failure. Botulism would be possible too, but in that case the horses would just get weak and fall over without the heart failure symtpoms. Hopefully the post mortem will sort it out. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/34 "2009-04-21T04:25:34Z")
Saw this first thing this AM and have been sick to my stomach and angry all day. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/35 "2009-04-21T07:57:55Z")
So the 100 horses who died at EquiTransfer (in the link above) died in October…have they issued the results of the toxicology report on them yet? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/36 "2009-04-21T08:04:26Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If we’re gonna talk about horse feed, let’s not forget [beet pulp.](http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml) Yes, it’s one of my favorite stories, and if you’ve been around a while, you might have seen me link to it before. I link again, because of the newbies who need to be aware that if you have a house squirrel, you should never, ever leave it alone\* in the house while you’re rehydrating dried beet pulp. > > \*Except for the cats, dogs, birds, and toads. And crickets. Oh, Lynn, Thank you so much! I’ve been feeling a bit down lately (that’s why I’m awake, posting, at 4 am) and that story made me laugh until I cried…which I so needed to do! I think I can go back to sleep now! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/37 "2009-04-21T09:45:48Z")
I think that one of my favorite bits is the fact that the squirrel is Traumatized by the Christmas tree, and tries to hide under the nearest border collie. I repost the story every now and then because there’s always people who haven’t read it yet…and people who need to re-read it, too. As far as I know, ferrets wouldn’t do anything similar, because they are not food hoarders, are they? Hamsters would, as they are notorious for hoarding. In the beginning of the story, the writer mentions that horses view new feeds with suspicion. Perhaps they are right to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/38 "2009-04-21T10:03:56Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that one of my favorite bits is the fact that the squirrel is Traumatized by the Christmas tree, and tries to hide under the nearest border collie. I repost the story every now and then because there’s always people who haven’t read it yet…and people who need to re-read it, too. > > As far as I know, ferrets wouldn’t do anything similar, because they are not food hoarders, are they? Hamsters would, as they are notorious for hoarding. I read that to my husband - who occasionally deals with bitchy squirrels on his postal route - and he laughed and said he’d heard that if you hand-raise a squirrel, you either get a critter that wants to go back to the wild ASAP, thank you, or something rather like what William turned out to be. And no, ferrets aren’t food hoarders to that extent. For pre-vet appointment fasting periods, I have had to pull them out of their cages and put them in little playpens, previously cleared of food, as one of my ferrets screwed up her fast by stashing a few bits here and there. (Food showed up clearly on the X-ray, leading me to Not Be Pleased.) Nothing on that level of hoarding by any means, which makes sense as they’re carnivorous and their wild ancestors thousands of years ago didn’t have stashable kibble to feed on. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/39 "2009-04-21T11:04:31Z")
[http://www.jerrypournelle.com/reports/jerryp/dogsinelk.html](http://www.jerrypournelle.com/reports/jerryp/dogsinelk.html) A little more… gory than the Squirrel story… but oh, god. Dogs. In Elk. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777/40 "2009-04-21T11:53:30Z")
Aww, poor ponies. I want a squirrel!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/21-polo-ponies-drop-dead/493777.md?page=3)