(BILLINGS, Mont.) - The Wild Horse and Burro adoption event scheduled for this weekend in Hamilton, Mont., has been postponed. Officials with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made the decision out of an abundance of caution to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the animals.
One of the horses brought to Montana for the adoption event died and another was euthanized Thursday for signs of severe colic and endotoxemia. Endotoxemia can be caused by toxins that have entered a horse’s blood stream, which can lead to shock, inflammation, or death.
The BLM is working with a local veterinary hospital and animal health officials to investigate the cause of the problem. The State Veterinarian’s office has been notified. Laboratory tests are pending, and no underlying cause of death has been identified.
All of the other horses and burros appear to be healthy, and there is no reason to believe the problem will extend beyond this group of animals. They are being kept isolated from other animals, and won’t be moved until they are given a clean bill of health by a veterinarian. They will be made available to the public at a future adoption event.
The animals came from wild horse and burro herds in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
