Morbid post: How did your horse die?

How did your horse die?


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BeckyX

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my little pony bracken was pts last jan :( :( i am still crying about him now, lamenitis got the better of him after several nasty bouts :( i miss him so much but it would have ben selfish not to let him go, he was retired because of his feet 2 years ago (he was 19 so i was greatful to have had him for the last 7 years) i loved him x x :(. our arab was pts 2 years agoo she wa 27 and became ill :( my current pony i plan to keep until the end as i love her :)
 

QUICKFIRE

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I lost 2 childhood ponies, one was a mare and foal that got out of the field and was involved in an RTA mare broke a leg and was pts, foal had pelvis injury but later recovered.

The second was my first pony, strawberry roan 14hh fast as the wind and could jump the moon, there was nothing we could not do together, in my eyes anyhow, he was vicously attacked and killed with 2 pronged pitch fork, I was told it was an accident at the time, I didn't find out till a few years ago that it was done on purpose! which after 34 years you would think it would be easy to come to terms with, not at all, still shed a tear! I remember at the time, his death even made my father cry! and he was a big strong man. RIP Lightning.
 

willhegofirst

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My old boy was PTS four years ago he was 28yrs, I'd had him from a 2yr old. He started having panic attacts he left the field twice and the yard once in rush hour, how he wasn't killed then I'll never know. He looked so well when he was pts by injection the guy who was taking him away asked why he was being pts, but he was a danger to himself and others, he would stare into the distance, start to shake, break out in sweat and if you didn't have a very good hold take off in blind panic.
 

Cobbysmum

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I've lost two - a little welshie who was annoyed by the yard owner's dog and kicked out at a wooden fence severing both tendons in her hind leg, vet recommended to pts as she was elderly and would need a year's box rest and no guarantee of being sound afterwards. The second was my beautiful big mare, from impaction colic, she actually dropped dead in the box as we were taking her for surgery. I was distraught and still feel sad about it years after.
 

JadeyyAndLadyy

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my friends horse died about 2 years ago. She was about 25 years old and she had some condition where her neck muscles weakened so much that whenever she ate anything she couldn't swallow properly and kept choking :( she somehow managed to reach right into the feed room and tipped over the bag of raw, unsoaked sugabeet which got stuck in her throat, swelled up and ended up choking her :/ she was taken straight to the vets but sadly had to be p.t.s :(
 
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I lost 2 childhood ponies, one was a mare and foal that got out of the field and was involved in an RTA mare broke a leg and was pts, foal had pelvis injury but later recovered.

The second was my first pony, strawberry roan 14hh fast as the wind and could jump the moon, there was nothing we could not do together, in my eyes anyhow, he was vicously attacked and killed with 2 pronged pitch fork, I was told it was an accident at the time, I didn't find out till a few years ago that it was done on purpose! which after 34 years you would think it would be easy to come to terms with, not at all, still shed a tear! I remember at the time, his death even made my father cry! and he was a big strong man. RIP Lightning.

OMG thats horrific :confused: I can't help wondering how sick minded these people must be!!! So sorry to hear that QUICKFIRE :(
 

guisbrogal

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I have I suppose lost two...one I had on part loan and she was PTS with Cushings aged 29yrs.

My own mare Ellie (aged 16yrs) was found dead in the filed on July 2nd last year. We had a fabulous day the day before and spent all day together as I bathed her etc. We went for a fab hack with a friend and she was full of beans. Next day she was found dead in the field with a suspected heart attack. It looks like she was dead before she hit the ground. I was devastated!

Some very sad stories on here :(
 

Ilovefoals

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Gosh, some of these stories have brought tears to my eyes.

I lost my connie x tb gelding 17yrs ago now and I still feel guilty about it. I had put him out on loan when I went to uni. I made sure the girl was right for him and she rode him at my yard for a good few weeks before she asked if she could move him somewhere closer to home. I said yes and she took him there the next day. I remember driving to uni that morning thinking I should pop in past to check on him but I didn't want to seem like I was interfering so I didn't bother. I got a call later that day from mum who told me to come home quick. The girl had been for a hack and had a great time, then when she was untacking him in his stable, he barged past her heading for home. She'd left the yard gate open and he got onto the main road and was hit by an old lady in her car doing 50mph. His back leg was being held on by the skin. My poor, unhorsey mother was called and had to deal with the whole situation as the girl collapsed in a state of shock. The police closed the road and refused to let the vet put him down there as it was a main road and would cause too much disruption!!! The local riding school came with there box and the poor lad loaded himself with his leg hanging off. The vet says he probably didn't feel it as he was in shock. He was put down in a field 2mins away with my mum holding him. When she told me what had happened, I actually slapped her face cos I was in shock. It took a long time to get over it and I didn't go near horses for 4 yrs!

Then I lost my 4yr old mare 3yrs ago. She had to be put down after 9mths of lameness followed by keyhole surgery which showed advanced inherited arthritis in both stifles. She was beautiful and my dream horse. I was gutted.

I dread what could happen to my horses I have now but freak accidents happen and so do illnesses. Unfortunately we can only minimise the risks. I treasure every day with them.
 

potty_4_piebalds

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my old boy was pts on tuesday he got colic
my pony before him got colic too
and my first pony another horse kicked him in his eye he came in from the field with his eye ball hanging like a sack of fluid and his head caved in!
 

hoggedmane

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Luckily my horses have gone quite peacefully. Feel so sorry for some of the traumatic ways people have lost their horses. My first pony was pts after not being able to get up in the orchard where she was retired - she was 30+
Second pony died in the field at 28 - went for a gallop and went down mid stride. She had obviously dead straight away. I am glad this how she went - she had retired 6 months before and was in good condition - I don't think she suffered at all.
The worst was my lovely TB - he had cancer at age 7 and lived for another 6 years. I made the decision to have him PTS after he started to look like it was affecting him as I didn't want him to suffer or to be PTS as an emergency in the middle of the night.
 

brighteyes

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Reading these, I feel quite lucky. I have lost two to Cushing's related issues, and called time on their behalf when I knew they were 'ready', but not pleading for me to let them go. I was with my old pony when he lay down for the last time and the rest of the family were with our beautiful Polly because I simply couldn't stay and hold it together. My last memory of her is out in the field eating the grass she was denied for so long with her best friend. We all said our goodbyes in spades and those two lie side by side in my field. They were in their mid to late twenties.

A little mare I loaned out broke her pastern in a freak twist-turn-jump whilst playing in the school just before Christmas - she didn't feel a thing and wasn't on her own at any point. Went to her forever sleep with people who loved her. She was almost twenty but very fit and well and much-loved. The stable-mate she had when she was here went to a fab retirement home in Sennybridge where he was pts and buried in the field when he made it clear he was done with life on earth, in his late twenties, early 30's. Another mare I used to own, again late twenties, became ill with worrying and strange symptoms and it was clear her prognosis was very poor. My friend, to whom I had sold her was there, as were the loan family we placed her with and who called my friend in due time.

Looking back, I see what is to come at some point with my current horses and ponies and I wish everyone and theirs the passing they deserve. It's not always so. I have, on the whole been extremely lucky I think.
 

_MizElz_

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I had so many elderly ponies when I was younger, inevitably they're nearly all gone now :(

Lable was put down at the age of 37. He'd been fit and healthy all his life, and went downhill very suddenly so we made the choice for him. Pippa was similar - she died at 32, again having deteriorated very quickly. Another pony we had on loan died of lamintis within a couple of years of going back to her original home - she was only 12 :(

Then there was Mickey. He was nine years old, and he dropped dead of either a heart attack or an anaphylactic shock in his stable - we never knew which, as I didnt want him to have a post mortem. He died with his head in my arms - after my mum had, bless her, tried to give him mouth-to-mouth, and was long gone by the time the vet got to us :(
 

Happy Horse

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My own horse was put down at 18 as he had internal melanomas. He developed chronic diarrhoea which was controlled with steroids for a couple of weeks but it was getting worse and I wasn't prepared to put him through pointless investigative surgery. He was PTS by injection very peacefully at the yard.

The truth is the majority of horse owners will have to decide to put their horses down at some point. Very few die of old age in their sleep. The key is to be prepared, have the vets number to hand at all times and just think about how you wouldreact in different circumstances and then put it to the back of your mind and enjoy your horse.
 

mrussell

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I was also always afraid that I wouldnt be prepared but when it did finally happen, I was strangely calm and knew what had to be done.

I would recommend having a white board up at your yard with your vets number, your local hunts number and the number of your nearest Horse Slaughterer. I know its horrid but its reassuring to know that if the worst happens, you have several options to hand to see your friend is done right by you.

For those who are worried about picking the right slaughterer (I hate that word !), ask your vet who they recommend.

There is nothing worse than ringing your one and only contact number to find out there cant come til the morning (as I discovered !).
 
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Shysmum

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My first riding pony was kicked on the leg during a stampede in a thunderstorm. I got to the field to find his off hind hanging by the skin above the knee. The horse that kicked him had blood right over his body. Got the vet, but my pony had lost too much blood for an injection, but by this time he was gone in shock. They had to get the knackerman out to shoot him.

I will never forget that poor pony and the suffering he went thru. sm x
 

Eaglestone

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Reading these, I feel quite lucky. I have lost two to Cushing's related issues, and called time on their behalf when I knew they were 'ready', but not pleading for me to let them go. I was with my old pony when he lay down for the last time and the rest of the family were with our beautiful Polly because I simply couldn't stay and hold it together. My last memory of her is out in the field eating the grass she was denied for so long with her best friend. We all said our goodbyes in spades and those two lie side by side in my field. They were in their mid to late twenties.

A little mare I loaned out broke her pastern in a freak twist-turn-jump whilst playing in the school just before Christmas - she didn't feel a thing and wasn't on her own at any point. Went to her forever sleep with people who loved her. She was almost twenty but very fit and well and much-loved. The stable-mate she had when she was here went to a fab retirement home in Sennybridge where he was pts and buried in the field when he made it clear he was done with life on earth, in his late twenties, early 30's. Another mare I used to own, again late twenties, became ill with worrying and strange symptoms and it was clear her prognosis was very poor. My friend, to whom I had sold her was there, as were the loan family we placed her with and who called my friend in due time.

Looking back, I see what is to come at some point with my current horses and ponies and I wish everyone and theirs the passing they deserve. It's not always so. I have, on the whole been extremely lucky I think.

What made me click on this thread and straight away see your beautiful (is that the correct term :eek:) response, as always BE ..... as I have said before, I know which direction I am going in, for support and understanding, when the inevitable time comes for my boy ... I am in tears typing this and I am really not a tearful person ......

I will not read any other reply, as it is just too close to home for me, even though inevitable ....... :(

ETS .... I cannot even take an option on the Poll, but then that is a good thing, at the moment .................
 
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Jo39

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I found my 23 year old suffering with colic in the field one morning. All happened very quickly, vet arrived and after examining him told me it was bad, there was no option of trying to get him to hospital to operate so I made the decision there and then to have him pts to stop him suffering any further. The last memory of him was bravely standing up again when vet went to inject him. We had a few minutes together to say goodbye and then he very peacefully went to sleep. I'd always dreaded the day something happended and knew him getting older I would have to make a decision sooner or later but as it was it was made for me and can honestly say the whole process was carried out as dignified and peacefully as could possibly be.
 

natalia

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I've known and lost quite a few but the worst have to be lacey, a lovely 4 yr old chestnut mare who was turned out over night in the field and was found by a neighbour after somehow flipping over the fence and dislocating her neck. Neighbour called vet who managed to get her back on the yard to a box, how I don't know, and then said wait till morning as thought at the time it may just have been muscular. She was down in the morning and so we pts.
The other was my lovely little new forest who I rescued from some nasty people at a sales, he was being beaten in the lorry park aged 5 months and had just been dragged off the forest. I took him home, had him gelded and turned him out with my others. He was fine and at 2 yrs a local couple asked if I had anything that they could have on loan as a companion as their elderly pony had recently died and thier other pony was lonely. I sent my little chap and he was happy there, visited him frequently and he was really turning in to a nice friendly pony and getting big. One day though I drove past and couldn't see him, we tried calling the couple but got no answer for about a week. Finally they got in touch to say he had been pts. Someone had gone in to their barn in the night and attacked the ponies with a knife. He had been treated by the vet but a week later had gone very stiff and funny. Vet came back and did some tests, he had tetnus and was pts. I was initially VERY angry at his loaners for not telling us properly, but think in all honesty they were terrified at my reaction. I was very surprised that he had got it though as he had had a tetnus shot at gelding, but vet said if he was weak this may not have been enough. I am still angry though that te vet upon initial injury didn't vac. For tetnus as course. So lesson learnt that a.) nothing now goes on loan unless to someone I know really well and treated by my own vet and b.) everything I have any intention of keeping is fully vacinated.
 

DebbieCG

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Actually I find this is a question that is very much a part of life.

But I do find it a particularly painful one as it is something I have no answer to, in respect of my horse, Ballymoss, who was stolen from us, as a 12 year old in 1981.

So I come from a very different perspective concerning this. It was of course a devastating loss. We searched desperately to find him but we were never reunited and could never find out what happened to him, or whether he lived/survived or not after being stolen. At the time, after he was stolen, we just wanted to know whether he was alive or not.

A good friend of mine told of how their lovely horse had died, aged about 26, after a short illness, when it was put to sleep peacefully with the help of someone at their yard being with the horse.

I would give anything to have had that with my horse. He would be too old to be alive now but this brings no peace as I don't know what happened to him, and you need to know what happened to have closure. Having your horse stolen and never finding them is
kind of 'off the scale' to more natural loss (I have lost a pony to a heart attack and a veteran horse to a kick in the field and while very sad at the time, they were losses we could accept, grieve and move on from).

I have a deep need to know how he departed this earth, even if it meant knowing the worst, rather than 'the endless silence'. I remember him as the healthy and happy 12 year old who I was never to see again after he was ripped out of our lives one night and who just 'disappeared' from our life, but never from our hearts.
 

suzysparkle

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Some very tragic stories on this post.

I'm very fortunate not to have lost any I've owned but tragidy struck my first Horse (chestnut mare in my pics) after I'd sold her. She went to a really lovely new owner (I sold her as we just weren't right for each other) and was having a great time doing endurance. Then one day she was running about in the field and must have slipped and fallen, then got trapped in the electric fence. She was shocked repeatedly and was brain dead but still alive when found. I felt so so sorry for her and the owner as it was such a freak accident. I am glad however that she later got another Horse to enjoy. A friend of mine lost one of hers in a very similar accident with an electric fence.

I've known 3 Horses die from grass sickness - all very quickly. One from tetanus when I was really young, and it was horrendous. Pony hadn't been vaccinated which I still to this day can't understand. One older pony from colic, one with severe laminitis and quite recently, one PTS due to Lymes disease.
 

Laafet

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None of the option fitted mine but picked riding accident as it was the ultimate cause. Murph broke his hock and tore his collateral liagments. He did survive and was ok for a while but I put him down last year when it was nice and sunny as I didn't think he'd take the winter. He was just 14. It was the best decision I made, he had a year retirement and was no longer enjoying life. And given how the winter turned out, I was glad I did it in the summer rather than make him suffer all that snow.
 

Eaglestone

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DebbieCG
That is such a horrid situation and one you will never be able to answer :( ...... it would tear my heart out to have something like that happen and as you say you are unable to grieve and move on ... (( hugs ))

Why oh why am I reading some of these replies, when I said I would not, as I know how much it upsets me :(
 

MontyandZoom

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Monty was put to sleep in February. He suddenly came down with a bladder infection, respiratory infection and abcess on the same day. It turns out he had leukaemia :( However, he was nearly 30 so it was really old age......we've all got to die of something.
 

Rosehip

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My big mare was PTS due to cancer causing Kidney failure, ultimately causing hemoraging whilst in the hospital being treated. Was over christmas - she died Jan 2nd 6 years ago - and was so traumatic as she had an 18mth old gelding, and was in perfect health one day and running diorrea (sp??) the next - we didnt expect to loose her at 8years old.
My old Gelding Sunny was 36 when he was pts, he coliced and his stomach tapp thingy was black instead of clear yellow! Internal exam showed a tumour on a 'string' had flopped overr his intestine and was strangling him inside. We doped him up on pain killers for a couple of hours, so that everyone could say goodbye (and also to see if the doping would relax the bowl so that we could untwist it), and then I held him as he slipped away. So very sad but expected at his age!!
 

Countrygirl

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Sorry this post has brought me to tears.
Our beloved mare died 2 months ago yesterday.
She became off colour on Tues, picked up Wed am, Wed pm slightly off colour, Thurs morning very poorly and temperature of 104.8. Vet called, lots of Iv drugs etc, picked up again and temp dropped by evening. Fri am temp back to 104.4, IV drugs, fluids, cold hosing etc. Vet considered hospitalisation but temp dropped enough to think she may have been improving. Fri pm temp at 101.2 (virtually normal). Saturday morning precious girlie had passed away. All within 96 hours dear girl had gone from happy horse to gone - really cruel, as she was only 17 years old. The bloods showed nothing more than early signs of infection, the conclusion was that she died of peritonitus.
We are just lucky that we have her very lovely, cheeky 2 year old chap still with us.
RIP our little Princess and our thoughts to everyone who is going through something like this at the moment.
 

Mavis Cluttergusset

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I still think about my last horse at least once a day - I feel so terribly guilty about having him put to sleep. He had a very bad case of kissing spines, PSD in both forelegs and psychological problems - which may well have been caused by the KS - I will never know. I knew he had a problem with his back and the vet stopped her diagnosis when she discovered his suspensory problems. I asked her so many times about his back - and another vet - and nobody would listen. He went through 6 months of Shockwave therapy and endless hours of box rest to no avail - his suspendory ligaments didn't heal much at all, and on the final visit to the clinic I vowed I would force a spinal x-ray. I did, and it showed a horrible deformed spine with fused bone. He could have been operated on, but wouldn't have been able to be worked properly to keep his topline because of his suspensory problems, so the potential for post op recovery was very poor. I wasn't in a position to turn him out forever more and would never have loaned him as a companion in case someone was tempted to ride him.

I will never forget saying goodbye to him in the darkened treatment room, he was sedated and standing so peacefully, everyone was stood behind a glass panel and it was just me and him and I was trying so hard to keep my composure but I failed.

I really feel I let him down and I will never forgive myself for that - nor will I ever ignore my instincts again. :(

eSP_A045.jpg
 

RoyalPolo

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I unfortutantly lost my lovely old boy Royal in January in a horrific field accident he had broken both his back legs still not sure how he did it but he was going threw a stage of trying to escape threw electric fencing etc and it was down but nothing tangled etc round him. I miss him every day and honestly wish to hopefully never witness one of my own or other peoples with a broken leg as it was truely horrid and you have to be so strong for them.
 

china

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none of my own (touch wood) but know of many. my friends horse died 2day from a heart attack after a ride, very sudden but a nice instant way to go.
i helped with a friends 5 month old foal that had broken its leg horrificaly that you could see the broken bone and the bottom part of its leg was just held on with a tendon. we moved the other mares and their foals and i covered it with tarpaulin untill it was removed.
we have had a couple pts at work this year, one very old mare that was riddled with melanomas and crippling arthritis that really should have gone a long time ago but they couldnt let her go, she was eventually put to sleep at the ripe old age of 30. another only a couple of weeks ago, he was a beautifal 8 year old sec d show quality that started getting a growth/ tumour on the outside of his head at a young age, he was still fine to ride etc but ovb couldnt show, he had a good year and a half off and it got bigger on the outside as well as inside and when we rode him he bucked ALOT which was completley out of character, think he was saying this hurts now, another one that should have gone a while ago, he coliced a fortnight ago and there was no point in trying to save him when he was going to be put down anyway but he had a very nice life in a huge 20 acre field with all the other horses! it usually comes in threes so im waiting for the 3rd to come!
 

RobinHood

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Thankfully none of my own yet but there a few that I've known that stick in my mind.

YO had a new trough put in a field and the contractor didn't compact the earth over the trench. A very elderly (30+) pony walked over it and her leg sunk up to her elbow, she was found in the morning with a discolated elbow from trying so hard to full her leg out :(. She was a lovely pony that had taught so many childrent the ropes so it was very sad that she went this way.

A pony that had it's knee shattered so it's front leg was swinging, it had been kicked over a pile of hay in the snow.

Two mares that had a kicking match in the field. One was pts immediately with a shattered hock, the other was in hospital on cross-ties for a week with a fractured hind leg before being pts.

A lovely young pony that had been in the isolation paddock with ringworm and lost weight as the paddock was bare. He was moved down to the haylage fields so get some good grass and coliced badly one evening. He was in liphook for 3 days before they decided he either had botulism poisoning or grass sickness and was pts. It turned out there were mouldy bales of haylage in the field and he'd chewed through the plastic.

A gelding that was cantering across a grassy sheep field on a hack when a flint flicked up and sliced across the tendons. It took him a few strides to stop and his foot was just swinging...

A pony came in from the field with a tiny cut presumably for a kick. Was sound, no swelling etc so owners put some cream on it and thought no more of it. A few days later the pony landed from a jump at the end of a grid and the leg fractured. He was on cross-ties in liphook for a month but then went down overnight and shattered the leg.

Some friends bought a young cob mare for their daughter and one morning there was a foal in the field. Ironically the same happened with their previous mare so they'd specifically asked the vet to check for pregnancy at the vetting! The foal was fit and healthy and at about 6 months was purchased by another friend. He was taken with his mother to his new home and then they reloaded the mare and drove off. The foal was put in a field with some other horses but put it's front leg through a 5 bar metal gate and broke it.

The worst one I've witnessed was a horse die in the middle of the collecting ring at a show. It was stood quite happily and then suddenly reared up with blood gushing out of it's ears and nose. It went down and died there and then laid in a huge pool of blood. Presumably the the aorta ruptured? It was nearly a year ago and there's still no grass in that spot which gives me the creeps when I walk past each day.
 
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