Parzival
Photo: Michel Euler/AP Images
An olympic athlete dropped out of the competition in Rio and an insect is to blame. It is not mosquito vectored Zika virus, but a more mundane problem. Parzival, a Dutch horse ridden by Adelinde Cornelissen was scheduled to compete in the dressage competition. Prior to the contest, Parzival was bitten by an insect or perhaps another arthropod and developed a severe fever (40 Degrees C) with swelling of the head and jaws. The vets diagnosed fever as a response to toxins injected by an insect. Parzival was given fluids and X-rays. Eventually the fever subsided and Parzival was up and about. However, the lingering effects prevented the horse and rider from competing.
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Based on symptoms of the horse, I personally think this horse was drugged. From all the stories I’ve heard, from a couple first hand accounts of riders & their horses who made it to the olympic preliminaries, of all the greed and money that goes into this sport, it would not surprise me in the least. That is why I got out of the showing aspect of that and stayed in the pleasure part of riding. And I am so happy I did too.