Hell in High Goal

From the Palm Beach Post

Cause of 21 polo horses' deaths could take days, weeks to determine

The horses, all from the same team, died one by one, "almost certainly of an intoxication of some sort that they consumed," said Lechuza Caracas team veterinarian James Belden, a local vet who was among those pumping intravenous fluids into the horses, trying to save them. Belden doesn't travel with the team but said he does not believe the horses were given anabolic steroids because the team competes in England, where such drugs are prohibited.

The U.S. Polo Association does not require drug testing of horses. "There is no drug testing required because polo has always been a gentlemen's game. Polo has always been about the glory of the game, and not the money," said Scott Swerdlin, a member of the Palm Beach Equine Clinic.

Uh no...it's actually all about the money but that's another subject for another post.

And I think that this pretty much says it all

At the highly competitive level of the Wellington tournament, distributing "cocktails" to horses prior to matches to enhance their performance is a common practice, said several polo experts. The steroid-like chemicals are given to horses mixed with their water or can be administered by needle, the sources said.

Anyone who has had any experience in the world of sport horses whether racing, polo or show jumping knows that horses are routinely drugged.