Apparently, the mare's caretakers knew that she did not simply have a mild irritation to the sesamoid, as stated at the auction, but a tendon infection that was causing lameness. Use of the steroids not only masked the lameness, but likely caused the laminitis that the mare suffered from, a possible negative side effect of using steroids. Most agree that, considering her condition, riding her in the auction and shipping her to France (a journey more than 10 hours long) could be considered inhumane.