COLUMBUS — A rare and deadly heart inflammation has been reported in three Ohio horses. Two of the three died and the third was released Friday in improved but guarded condition from the Ohio State University veterinary medical center.

        The condition, known as pericarditis, is an inflammation in the sac that surrounds the heart. It results in a buildup of fluid and constriction of the heart muscle.

        Veterinarians in Ohio and Kentucky suspect it may result from the same environmental toxins that have caused more than 1,000 foals to be born dead or near death since March.

        At least two of the three Ohio cases came from farms that experienced multiple foal deaths this spring.

        Autopsies conducted at the Ohio Department of Agriculture laboratories in Reynoldsburg found pericarditis in a mare and a stallion who had died at separate farms in Logan.

        The condition also was found in a gelding treated last week at Ohio State.

        The gelding, a 4-year-old Tennessee walking horse named Silver, was brought to the university late last month from Pike County and has been returned there.

        “Prior to this, I don't think anybody has seen much of this,” said Dr. Catherine Kohn, an Ohio State professor of equine internal medicine.

        She said that this spring, more than 50 adult horses have died or been treated for pericarditis in Kentucky alone.

        Dr. Kohn said Ohio State is cooperating with the University of Kentucky in investigating the heart cases.

        UK spokesman Haven Miller said investigators have noted a higher incidence of pericarditis this spring, but haven't linked it to the wave of foal deaths.

        More than 1,200 foal deaths were reported to the University of Kentucky between March and mid-May, the end of the foaling season.

        The suspected source of the toxin is the eastern tent caterpillar, which feeds on wild cherry trees in spring, possibly excreting cyanide or mycotoxins into the grass.

        Dr. Grant Frazer at the OSU veterinary college said he's received confirmed reports of more than 100 foal deaths from southern Ohio horse owners and veterinarians, the latest occurring Monday.

        “Every county south of a line from Highland to Marietta (Washington County) is reporting unusual foal deaths,” he said.

        Dr. Frazer has been urging Ohio horse owners to bring dead animals to the Reynoldsburg laboratory for examination. But laboratory pathologist Sheila Grimes said only 28 foals have been autopsied this year.

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