Rhett Beutler, the co-owner of a nearly century-old Oklahoma company that supplies stock for rodeos, says he suspects tainted feed is to blame after as many as 70 horses died a week ago. 

Beutler, co-owner of Beutler and Son Rodeo Co. near Elk City, told KFOR-TV that the horses died shortly after being fed.

“We didn’t know what was going on, we just got the feed and started feeding it like always,” Beutler told KFOR-TV. “Then all of a sudden looked up and there was horses just falling over, dying.”

The feed originated in Kansas, according to a statement from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, which has collected a sample of the feed to analyze in two state-certified laboratories. The agency said in a statement that it is also working with the Kansas Department of Agriculture to investigate.

Beutler and Son officials did not immediately return messages seeking comment Friday.

“All them horses are kind of like my kids; I’ve raised them from time they were born,” Beutler told KOKH-TV, “Once you lose one, that’s one too many.”

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture said an inspector visited the Beutler and Son site on August 26.

“We have initiated an investigation which includes labeling procedures, operating procedures and a review of their records to ensure the appropriate protocols were followed” in producing and shipping the feed to Oklahoma, said Kansas agriculture spokesperson Jamie Stewart.

While the source of the issue hasn’t been identified, an equine specialist told KFOR that it’s possible a mill that also produces cattle feed could have included Monensin, an additive that is used to control parasites and which is given often to cattle. It’s deadly to horses, however.

“It affects their heart and so it causes necrosis of the heart tissue, essentially and so in essence, they kind of have heart attacks and so it tends to be pretty rapid onset,” said Kris Hiney, equine extension specialist for Oklahoma State University.

Feed company not identified

The company that provided the feed has not been identified because of the ongoing investigation, Stewart said.

Dr. Gregg VeneKlasen, of the Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital, the Beutlers’ veterinarian, declined to comment on the deaths other than to call it a “tragedy.”

Beutler and Son was founded in 1929 as Beutler Brothers near Elk City, about 105 miles (169 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City, and provides stock for rodeos, including the National Finals Rodeo.

The company is providing the majority of stock for the Elk City Rodeo starting Friday night, according to Elk City Rodeo board member Randy Hargis, who said the events include bareback horse riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding and steer wrestling.