"A mare that wasn't well, she was pregnant, and they let her participate anyway." The attack came from Milan, during the press conference of Noi Moderati MP Michela Brambilla , but it hits Oristano and the Sartiglia of February 15, marked by the death of the animal that collapsed in Piazza Manno shortly before the race for the star of the Farmers' Guild.
Brambilla included the case in his presentation of the bill —reintroduced for the fourth time and now under consideration by the Chamber of Deputies' Agriculture Committee—which seeks to recognize equines as "pets," halting their slaughter and prohibiting their use in shows and historical events deemed stressful or dangerous. "Enough with the exploitation of horses," he argued, pointing to Oristano as an example.
The medical response is clear. The director of the Local Health Authority's Livestock Hygiene Service, veterinarian Giuseppe Sedda, clarifies that the mare underwent an anatomical pathological examination by the Zooprophylactic Institute: "As per the official certification, she died of a pulmonary artery aneurysm . She was not pregnant." Sedda also specifies that "all the activities required by the decree of January 8, 2025, were followed" and that the medical check-ups prior to the event were found to be regular.
City officials are of the same opinion. Councilor for Culture Simone Prevete calls these "claims unsupported by facts" and damaging to the city's image. Carlo Cuccu, president of the Oristano Foundation, reiterates that the pregnancy hypothesis is "totally false," pending the official report.
On the central point, however, the Local Health Authority has already put it in writing: a pulmonary artery aneurysm, a sudden and unpredictable event.