Draft horse dies suddenly at Crapaud Exhibition

A family from Nova Scotia is mourning the loss of one of their draft horsesafter hedied suddenly followingacompetitionSundayin Prince Edward Island.

The horse was competing in the Crapaud Exhibition draft horse pullwhich is a competitionwhere teams of horses pull a weighted sled across a dirt track.

Sid Nickerson, who owned the horse, named Tom, said the day started like any other. He fed and watered his horsesand got them ready for the competition.

Nickerson said it was the horse'sfirst pull of the day, but hewas no stranger to the sport. He saidTom performed well during the pull, hauling8,000 lb.alongside his partner Buster, which Nickersonsaidis actually light when compared to the 12,000 lb.they've pulled in the past.

Nickersonsaid after the pull he unhitched the horses from the sled and Tom suddenly collapsed to the ground. He said in just a few minutes the horse was dead.

Tom Albrecht, a board member with the Crapaud Exhibition Association,was at the pull on Sunday and witnessed the incident. He saidthe death happened very suddenly.

"I think it's just a very unforeseen incident that couldn't be predicted, it happened, it's unfortunate," Albrechtsaid."From what I can see and having witnessed it there was nothing that we could have done."

Horse appeared to be in good health

Nickerson said Tom appeared to be in good health on Sunday morning andadded if he thought there was something wrong with the horse he wouldn't have put him in the competition. He said he consulted with two veterinarians after the competition andbothtold him the nine-year-old horse died from sudden heart failure.

Albrechtsaidhe's never seen a horse collapse like Tom didat the exhibition.

"You know it was just a normal event, it was an unfortunate event to take place," Albrecht said. "Our heart goes out to those owners, you know of those horses, they're loved by them. It's just a very unfortunate incident a rare incident but I guess it happens sometimes."

NickersonsaidTom had competed in pulls for many years and didn't have any prior health issues.He saidlosing Tom is like losing a family member.

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