# Very important read



## AllThePrettyHorses (Dec 15, 2010)

Wow. That is really scary. Thanks for sharing, Nokota. How many cases and/or deaths have been confirmed? And have there been any cases in which the afflicted horse has survived/responded to treatment? (Sorry, my browser won't open the link you provided.) I was wanting to go to an Equi-fest in a local town next month, but now I'm not so sure...


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Always considered the Western Nationals as Win-Win event for Ogden, Brings in a Big crowd of horse people for the annual event. It's a nice boost for the local ecconomy.

But if it brings in drug resistant stains of disease, Maybe it's not a good thing. The Golden Spike Arena where the show is held is just 20 minutes away from my home.

I need to stop by my Vet and get my annual Coggins pulled. I'll have to ask him about it.


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## Cheyennes mom (Aug 6, 2010)

whoa. okay. Now I'm thinking about every horse at the barn lol! So far I haven't seen anything like that happen in any of the horses... None in Cheyenne... I think we're good for now, but I'll keep an eye out. Thanks so much for sharing!!


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

The Western National Cutting had over 500 horses in attendence. From most western states. Thats alot of exposure to horses that were loaded in their trailers and hauled back home or to the next show. Most of these are very high dollar cutting horses.

Apparently the disease is passed horse to to horse. The Golden spike center is not under quarantine. So the risk appears to be limited to your horse coming in contact with a horse that might have been exposed at the event. Utah has not had any horses come down with the disease in the state, Yet. It is showing up 3-7 days after the horses left the event and returned home.

Luckily as a trail rider, I don't hang out at fairgrounds or rodeos. so it minimizes my horses chances of coming in contact with the disease.

Below is the new release from the local paper here in Ogden

*By JaNae Francis*

*<H4 class="alt quiet">Standard-Examiner staff*

</H4>*Mon, 05/16/2011 - 11:26pm*








Concern and rumors over an outbreak of equine herpes virus-1 tied to a cutting-horse event in Ogden from April 29 through May 8 continued to grow throughout the day Monday as more cases were confirmed and suspected.
One Colorado horse was confirmed to have been euthanized because of the disease.
Local and national events were canceled, including a Utah Quarter Horse Association show scheduled for Saturday at Golden Spike Event Center in Ogden.
Five horse farms were quarantined in Nebraska, according to The Associated Press.
Colorado State University closed its world-renowned veterinary teaching hospital in Fort Collins to all nonemergency appointments, according to Colorado State University website.
Warnings from local veterinarians and the Utah Horse Council gained momentum and were sent out and passed around with increased urgency throughout the state.
"The Golden Spike facility is not under quarantine at this time, but I would advise not going there until we get further information on the outbreak," states a warning on the website of Aspen Grove Veterinary Clinic in West Haven. "Additionally, any shows or events that would include horses from this show should consider postponing until a safe incubation period is over. This is 28 days according to the state veterinarian's office."
A Facebook message from the Utah Horse Council was titled "!!! URGENT EMERGENCY MEDICAL NEWS!!!!"
The message urged anyone who had taken their horse to the Ogden facility recently to check their horse carefully and consult their veterinarian.
State of Utah Veterinarian Bruce King said as of Monday there were confirmed cases of EHV-1 in Colorado, California and Canada.
"There are tests pending in six other states," he said. "I suspect they are all going to be positive."
King listed Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon as states where horses were showing signs of the disease, but veterinarians were waiting on laboratory testing for confirmation.
Officials with the Utah High School Rodeo Association also said they believe a horse owned by one of their members had contracted the disease.
Officials from several horse groups said they were waiting on word from King to decide if they would cancel additional upcoming horse events.
"We want to do whatever is best for the industry," said Wade Woolstenhulme, president of the Utah High School Rodeo Association, which canceled two upcoming cutting contests.
"We as an association decided not to hold these last competitions, just because we don't want to lose the opportunity to compete in other places," he said.
Julie Anderson, who oversees all of the Weber County Junior Posses, said she is recommending that no practices of the posses be held until further notice.
King said the outbreak is believed to have occurred during the Western Nationals Cutting Show at Golden Spike Event Center.
"There were horses there literally from all over the Western United States and Canada," King said.
"There were about 500 horses there," he said, noting that horses came and went throughout the time of the show.
Among the shows canceled was the National Cutting Horse Association Breeder's Invitational in Tulsa, Okla., scheduled to have started Monday. The 15-day event was set to run through May 31.
The National Cutting Horse Association website recommended that those who had a horse competing at the NCHA Western National Championships in Ogden may wish to consult with their local veterinarian on this issue.
The site stated that symptoms typically show initially within four to six days of exposure to the virus, and initially are in the form of a fever in the affected animal.
A brochure from Utah State University Extension Service, available at http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Equine_2008-0..., states there are no antiviral treatments available for EHV-1.
It states that the disease can cause paralysis of the hind limbs of a horse, causing incoordination, gait abnormalities and in some cases the inability to rise from a sitting position.
The site warns that the virus has a unique adaptive mechanism that can become latent:
"Then at an opportune time (i.e., levels of high stress) the virus emerges and can be silently shed, infecting other horses that come into contact with the 'silent' shedder."
The National Cutting Horse Association website stated the association has been asked by veterinarians monitoring and working on the spread of the disease to do some data collection to help combat the further spread of the virus.
The site asks for owners or trainers of horses that exhibited neurological symptoms of EHV-1, had a fever without neurological signs of the virus or that have died from what they believe to be EHV-1 to contact the NCHA office.
Jim Harvey, manager of Golden Spike Event Center, said his workers went beyond what was required, cleaning and disinfecting all areas of the center once they learned of the outbreak. They also disposed of all hoses throughout the facility.
King said the disease in question was passed from horse to horse, and he confirmed that the center is not under quarantine.
"We have no reason to believe that that facility would be any more infective than any other facility where horses have been."


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

I have heard that there have been very few confirmed cases, and then I've heard that it's a big superbug that's going to wipe out the horse population. Some sources say there's no cure/vaccination, and others strongly recommend that you get your horse(s) vaccinated. I'm going to remain skeptical until it gets closer and the facts become more certain, but I'm still going to be cautious.


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## Nokota (Jan 6, 2011)

I copied this from another site. I also heard that there is no vaccine for this.

Here a list of states with ACtive EHV 1 cases..... now, remember EHV 1 is RHINO...and does NOT mean its the Neuro type.... the ones that ARE neuro are listed and they are a very small number...
this is a good thing.....










California- The CA Dept. of AG was able to confirm that as of 9 am. this morning they have ten positive horses. Information to date suggests they were all at the Utah event.

Colorado- Two confirmed cases of EHV-1 in two Colorado horses, that competed at the NCHA Western Nationals in Ogden, Utah. Further investigation is underway. Six additional horses exposed are showing clinical signs of EHV-1. Horses in four counties (Boulder, Larimer, Mesa and Weld) are under hold/quarantine orders and being investigated for disease.

Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital is now restricting non-emergency equine and camelid patients as a precaution to prevent exposing the facility to EHV-1.

Connecticut- No exposed or diseased horses have been traced to Connecticut at this time.

Delaware- No horses from Delaware have been exposed at this time.

Florida- No exposed or diseased horses have been traced to Florida at this time.

Georgia- There are no known exposed or positive animals in Georgia.

Idaho- In Idaho, two horses that were in attendance at the Ogden, Utah event have died. Five other horses are currently under veterinary care. Laboratory confirmation of EHV-1 is pending. At least 26 Idaho horses were entered in the event.

Illinois- Illinois had two owners and two horses participate at the Utah event. One horse returned to Illinois on 5/8. It is under current observation and is clinically normal. The second horse is currently stabled out of state, is under current observation, and is clinically normal.

Kentucky- Information/recommendations we are making available to the public can be found on our web page at www.kyagr.com/statevet/equine/index.htm. Kentucky has no horses reported to be exposed to the outbreak.

Louisiana- Louisiana had one owner with three horses that attended the Western Nationals. All horses are isolated and under a veterinarian’s observation since Saturday, May 14. There are asymptomatic as of now.

Maine- The state of Maine did not have any horses that attended the Utah event.

Maryland- Maryland does not have any horses listed as having attended the Utah event. There are no EHV-1 investigations, links or events in Maryland at this time.

Michigan- There are no known exposed horses in Michigan.

Missouri- “Missouri only had one horse that attended the Utah event. It is now isolated and is being temped twice a day.”- Taylor Woods, Missouri State Veterinarian

Montana- Sixteen horse owners and 30-35 horses from Montana attended the Utah event, but no cases of the disease have been reported in the state, per a Montana Dept. of Livestock press release.

Nebraska- We have five owners and five horses involved. All quarantined as of 10:30 am CST today. No symptoms yet and temping twice a day. Two of them exhibited at a local cutting show in Kearney, Nebraska, four days after attending Utah event.

Nevada- Thirteen horses attended the NCHA Western National Championship. Nevada has provided information to all owners that attended the Utah event and advised them to monitor horse temperatures and to practice quality bio-security measures. We have not detected the disease within our state, yet. No additional movement requirements have been established due to the current situation.

New Jersey- A horse farm in Colts Neck, Monmouth County was quarantined after six horses contracted EHV-1 in early April, before the Utah event. The quarantined has since been lifted.

New York- “At this time there are no known exposed horses in New York. We advise all animal owners to be extremely cautious when returning from fairs and other competitions. Returning livestock should always be isolated from the rest of the herd for three weeks whenever possible.”- David Smith- NYS Dept. of Agriculture and Markets

North Carolina- No horses from North Carolina have been exposed at this time according to a call from COSDA this afternoon.

North Dakota- North Dakota has two horses listed that attended the Utah event, but they are both under the same owner’s name. The owner has been contacted and we are in the process of establishing the location of the horses.

Ohio- There are no known horses that were exposed in Ohio.

Oklahoma- The Breeder’s Invitational, May 14-28 in Tulsa, OK has been cancelled, along with the NCHA event, the Mercuria/NCHA World Series of Cutting.

Pennsylvania- Pennsylvania has no known horses exposed at this time.

Rhode Island- There have been no reported exposed horses in Rhode Island at this time.

South Carolina- There are no known exposed or positive horses in South Carolina.

South Dakota- “Two owners and four horses that attended the event. No fevers or symptoms noted. Temped twice daily, under unofficial isolation and instruction to call if symptoms are noted”- Dustin Oedekoven, South Dakota State Veterinarian

Texas- “Texas Animal Health Commission veterinarians attempted to contact all 27 horse owners over the weekend that we believe attended the Utah event. They were advised to isolate the potentially exposed horses if possible, and contact their vet or TAHC is they had any animals become clinically ill. So far we have found no horses with clinical signs and no confirmed cases in Texas. I believe there were only a couple that we have not been able to contact yet, so that is good news from Texas for now.”- Dee Ellis, Texas State Veterinarian

The District of Columbia- The District of Columbia has no known exposed horses at this time.

Utah- “Utah, at this time, has no confirmed cases, but we are following up on several suspect cases, (horses with clinical signs consistent with EHV-1 and who attended the event.) There have been no travel restrictions put in place as of date. There may be cancellations of equine events in the state. Horse owners should call the event organizers for the latest status of the event.”- Wyatt Frampton, Utah State Veterinarian

-Last night, the Western Regional Zone 2 Show and Utah Paint Horse Club Paint-O-Rama, scheduled for May 26-31 in South Jordan has been cancelled.
Virginia- There are no known exposed horses in Virginia.

Washington State- Washington has 34 horses that were entered in the NCHA Western Nationals in Ogden Utah. One horse that attended tested positive by PCR nasal swab after a temperature rise. Two horses that attended are showing neurological signs and we are waiting the test results. WSDA is sending information to all owners that attended and advising stop movement and isolation.

According to the Washington State University website: There are no horses exhibiting signs of EHV-1 at WSU, however they will not be admitting any new equine or camelid patients to the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, except for critical emergencies, because a horse was admitted recently that has since been found positive for EHV-1.

West Virginia- There are no known exposed horses in West Virginia.

Wyoming- Wyoming has nine owners and an uncertain number of horses, (some were shown in Utah, some were on the show premises, but not shown.) All have been notified and are under an unofficial hold order. They are isolated away from other horses. One is a febrile, [has a fever], but asymptomatic horse


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## pintophile (May 18, 2011)

So out of how many million horses there are in the states, only a tiny fraction of those have this disease. I'm not terribly concerned as of yet. Of course, it's not like I'm on the show circuit anyways. The most contact I have with other horses are neighbours' on rides or at those once-a-year sort of shows/clinics and stuff. Still, I think it's good to be aware and be careful.


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## Nokota (Jan 6, 2011)

A little more info to debunk the myth's and rumors that are flying around.
Myths Debunked re: EHV-1 Outbreak Tanis MacDonald, DVM


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks Nokota. Right now there seems to be a lot hysteria about this mess--knowledge is at a premium!

However, while it's being sorted out, I think it makes sense to take sensible precautions. Would I take my horse(s) someplace enclosed where there are a lot of other, unknown, horses present? Probably not. Would I take my horse on a trail ride with friends? Probably--in fact, definitely. 

It's the in-between stuff that gets complicated. The Twin Rivers Back Country Horsemen had a Poker Ride scheduled for this Saturday. It was cancelled yesterday because of EVH-1 concerns. Was that the right thing to do? Well, maybe. Maybe not. I certainly don't object to it being cancelled as a precaution while we, as the Equestrian Community, sort things out. At the same time it was to be an outdoor ride and the risk, even in the unlikely event that an infected horse was there, would have been minimal. I think. But I don't KNOW which is why I don't object to the cancellation.

The risk, of course, is two fold: there's the risk to the horses AND there's the liability risk to the organization--and in today's lawsuit happy world the second is the more serious, probably. IF a horse got infected at an event the event sponsor would very likely end up in court. And that is NOT something most sponsors want to risk. Even if the odds are long, they don't want to risk it.

I expect there'll be LOTS of cancellations this summer. That's an inconvenience, and sometimes a down-right pain in the saddle blanket. But I'm not sure that it's not for the best until we understand the situation better.

Just my opinions--which tend to lead me to be cautious in these situations.


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## Nokota (Jan 6, 2011)

Hey SG. I wondered if you were going to chime in on this topic. I have to agree with a lot of what you said. There are two unfortunate side affect to all this. One is the loss of horses due to the virus, and the second would be the economic impact to tthe horse industry. As you said, there are a LOT of different functions that occur primarily through the warm months of the year. A lot of sponsors, clubs, activities, clinics.........that occur. I am hoping that this is not as bad as some are predicting and they can get a handle on this soon.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/rhinovirus-ehv-1-outbreak-86853/


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

Yeah, Nokota, I had to get my nickles worth in! I was just reading the thread smrobs pointed us to. This just got a LOT more serious for me--someone said they had a positive test at WSU which is only about 20 miles from the farm. In fact, it's where my wife works--but not with the animals so she shouldn't have to worry about coming in contact and bringing it home, thank God.

But, even so, it's cause for major concern and serious precautions--but not panic. Yet. 

Yes, there will be some serious economic effects. Yes, we'll (the Community) will lose some horses. But we'll get through it. 

To be honest, I'm a LOT more concerned about a human pandemic than I am about an equine epidemic. Tho both are terrible for those of us that have to live through them.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

There is a thread in the health section.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## SailorGriz (Nov 28, 2010)

Yes, DressageIt, we know--I even referenced it in my last post. And that's a fine place for a serious thread about a bad disease to be. But I really think us trail riders have a different sort of issue with contagious disease than arena riders have and I think it's OK for us to have our own conversation about it. 

Just my opinion, of course. Shrug.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Yep, just mentioning it here so others can wander to the other thread if they want additional discussion.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I think the discussion on the web has gotten a little paranoid.
Yes it's a contageous. Yes we need to be careful. Would I attend a large gathering of horses, No, But if I did, I'd sure keep my horses a safe distance away from anothers and make sure that the stall any water buckets etc were personally sanitized.

But as a trail rider, I just don't submit my horses to being in close proximity to other strange horses.

From the State reports that I've seen, They have identified 30 maybe 40 cases around the west. Out of millions of horses. The horses with the disease susposedly were exposed to it here in Utah at the Golden Spike Center. Yet Utah has not had confirmed case yet. Somebody probably hauled a horse in that was a carrier and it exposed others that were stalled close by or maybe used the same water trough.

The various state vets seem to be on top of it as far as watching those that were exposed. The State Health Certificates did their job in helping the Vets track down whose horses had traveled to the area. This is also helping them to isolate horses that may have been exposed. If anything this exercise will reinforce the need for travel certificate. I think many of us think of them as inconvienence to go to the vet and get travel papers. It still drives me crazy that most of the people who look at my papers as I travel, have no idea of what they are staring at. They just know that I'm susposed to have them and want to see them, even if they don't know how to interpret them.

Each summer ( travel season) we see various diseases pop up and travel restriction tighten to fight the concerns. On numerous occassions, I've seen Colorado require the travel permit like they just implimented. Usually for horses comeing from Texas with VS. So it's an effective method to minimize contageous diseases. And we will probably benefit from it in the end as the vaccine makers will improve the EHV vaccines to address the new strain


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## Nokota (Jan 6, 2011)

justdressageit. Thanks for the heads up. I was not aware of the other thread. I do agree with PH and SG. It is something to be aware of and take precautions for, but not to get paranoid and to get in a frenzy over. I dont have any plans this summer besides trail riding/camping and maybe a hunter pace or two so I can avoid other horses in the area.


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## Gent N Diva (Aug 12, 2010)

Actually according to the Utah Deparment of Agriculture website, there are 7 confirmed cases in Utah. 


Bruce L. King, DVM

State Veterinarian

[email protected]
801-538-7162
As of 6:00 p.m. May 20, 2011 there are two additional confirmed cases of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) within the state at two additional facilities.� The new facilities have one horse at each that have tested positive for the virus. Both facilities were on a hold order and the facilities will now be placed on quarantine for at least 28 days. One of the facilities is in Weber County and the other is in Kane County.
This brings the total to seven (7) confirmed cases of EHV-1 in Utah. On Wednesday May 18, 2011 five (5) horses at a facility in Utah County tested positive.

So yes, there are confirmed cases of the virus in Utah. Yes we need to be careful. No we do not need to panic, yet. Be smart, keep an eye on your horses and this will work itself out in due course within a few weeks. My horses live in Saratoga Springs, Utah and so far no one at our large facility is ill at this point, nor do we anticipate such.


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

Thats what a couple days can do. Dr Kings press release on the 18th didn't confirm any known cases.


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