Hippotherapy centres lose all the horses after esdoornvergiftiging: Family, life and life's work lost

Oudenburg The five fjordenpaarden of Equu-Libre, centre for paardentherapie in the Ossenweg in Westkerke, last weekend, died by a esdoornvergiftiging. “Our world has stopped turning. It feels as if we have our family, our life and our life's work lost,” say owners Ivan Reynaert and Ingeborg De Leenheer. They did everything they could to save their animals, but that help was to no avail.

Ivan and Ingeborg had the beginning of this week it is too heavy to get over the loss to testify. Now the results of the autopsy are known, picked their courage together. “We don't want that other paardeneigenaars ever experience and need to warn them”, says Ivan Reynaert. Saturdays were their five fjordenpaarden, Lien (28) and her descendants Delfien (17), Horky (13) Hercules (13) and Quando (4), at the same time, critically ill. “The world fell away under our feet. We were swept up in a torrent of questions, uncertainty, hope, pain and, ultimately, an unreal great sadness. Together with the vet we have tried everything, but it has not helped”, bears witness to Ivan.

75% chance to die

From the autopsy turns out to be a esdoornvergiftiging. The seeds of the maple, the so-called ‘helikoptertjes’, are toxic. That gif disappear with the frost, but young shoots are toxic. When horses eat, they have a 75 percent chance of dying. By the evening were all fjords have died. Only the shetplandpony Simba survived.

“It feels like we lost everything. Each time we through the window look, we are faced with it. The horses are our family, our life and our life's work”, Ivan continued. He bought the moederpaard Lien 17 years ago, when it was pregnant of Delfien. The herd expanded, each with Horky, Hercules and Quando. Over the years, built Ivan and Ingeborg a professional hippotherapy centres. Many children with a mental or physical limitation find there weekly rest and help.