Some dead Sable Island horses were on their last fat reserves, with just six per cent of fat left in their marrow. The large amount of sand in the diet of Sable Island horses can contribute to poor teeth as well as intestinal blockages. "I think if our domestic horses had fecal egg counts as high as the Sable horses, they would just drop dead," Jenkins said. Since parasites in Sable Island horses have never been exposed to dewormers, the genetics of both the parasites and the horses could hold clues for researchers tackling increased resistance to dewormers in domestic horses. A perfect stormThere's likely no single cause of death for most of Sable Island's horses, Jenkins said, but rather a "perfect storm" of challenges that causes their demise.

Source: CBC News March 17, 2019 09:00 UTC