29 horses sick!

[Angie C.]

Well at our barn we have like 50 or so horses and the last couple days atleast 29 of them kept laying in the field in the sun, they thought they were just enjoying the heat. Ends up they took the temp of some of them and it was 105+! Please pray for the horses to heal quickly and that no others get the sickness. Also we had a show this sunday but had to cancel because of the sudden wave of sick horses. Having to keep almost 30 horses in a barn with only 11 box stalls and 23 straights is going to not leave alot of room for the not sick horses who will continue to do lessons. Most of the time we have had like 2 or 3 horses sick at a time and we would put them in the boxes for close monitoring but now theres not enough room

So please say a few words and keep the horses in your thoughts that all of them will recover and get up n goin again soon. Also since we didn't talk to the barn owner directly(she left a message) she didn't tell me if the horse I am leasing is sick or not so I am really worried, but I am going there tonight so i'll know soon.

[luvhorses]

Has the vet any idea about what is causing this outbreak?
26 horses is over half of the barn! Sounds serious. Will be praying for them.

[Angie C.]

He didn't know, and usually things like this we can treat by ourselves(since the barn owner has been with horses for over 30 years and knows alot of horse care) but with 29 horses they called the vet to check it out and I don't think he really knew how all those horses could have gotten sick, we got another call and Chip the horse I lease is sick too...
Though I am wondering since last week we had pretty cool temps and now its in the 20's if that could have triggered the sickness since its such a quick change in temps?
Still going tonight, helping to tend with the horses. My lesson was suposed to be at 6 but will now be at 7 since they have to give needles to all 29 horses around 6.

Sigh... I hope the horses get better soon... we have another show on the 27th I beleive(at our barn) and if the horses that aren't sick get sick it could last all month and we don't want to have other horses here since they might catch the sickness too, which is something we do not want. So we might have to cancel that show too... I hope it isn't like this all year, horses getting sick and having to cancel shows! It will be the worst year for sickness at our barn for sure!

[luvhorses]

If some horses have fevers.... could be a virus or some other "bug"/microbe. Like Herpes. One of the racetracks recently had a virus going around its stables. The fevers going on can indicate an infectious disease being spread from horse to horse.

Could be air-bourne, water-bourne or foodbourne illnesse(s )going on.

The others things to look at are the water as water-bourne illnesses can cause fevers and other symptoms like "trots". The feed? ( with the recalls going on.... who knows?)

But the fevers are a key sign that their bodies are trying to fight something off.

Clean water buckets, troughs,and other pre-cautions for safe hygiene are important for outbreaks whether the outbreaks be in a kennel or stable. Meticulous hygiene between animals are important to help limit the spread os any diseases. That includes washing hands frequently and keeping the stalls and equipment used in the stalls and on the horses clean between animals.

I showed dogs, and there are rules about showing sick dogs. Not allowed. I can imagine it is the same with showing horses. Not prudent/wise anyhow; as it isn't a good to take a sick animal traveling and then into a show ring as you don't wan't cross contamination to spread what seems to be an outbreak of some sort.

I also have to say that if the animals continue to be ill by the time or close to the time the barn wants to have a show... they should postpone the show and do it later like in the summer. Why take the risk of other horses coming in and ending up sick too. Plus, the sick horses in the barn can be more vulnerable to getting secondary infections because they will get run down from the fevers. JMO on postponing it, but if I had a horse I wouldn't be wanting to visit the place with it until the animals are well and the outbreak is completely over.

I also worked in a large animal shelter where we occasionally had outbreaks to deal with. Fortunately not too often, but once in awhile a sick dog would come in and an outbreak would occur.
Once we had two distemper dogs go through the kennel and got adopted quickly... only to come down with the deadly serious distemper. We had to euthanize a lot of animals and put the whole shelter on quarantine. And really scrub the whole place down with bleach.

Outbreaks can happen whenever large groups of animals are kept in close quarters. Even on the dog show circuit such outbreaks would occur, because judges would handle dog after dog. Some judges clean their hands frequently and some don't.

I just hope the horses get better soon and the vet figures out what is making so many sick there. Sorry to hear your lease horse is ill. It is hard to deal with an illness in an animal you love.
You could call your own independent vet to check the horse. Call him/her a second opinion.

Here are some links about equine disease outbreak management and diagnosisng equine diseases:

I found a bunch of articles on equine disease outbreaks by typing in words Equine Disease Outbreak into Google Search Engine.

Here a just a few of the links I found... you google up some more as there are plenty of horse viruses out there.

Victorian Horse Industry Disease -
HORSE ALERT - Campaign Launched
www.equinecentre.unimelb.edu.au/dw_horse_alert.shtml

University of Kentucky Agriculture Sciences
www.ca.uky.edu/Gluck/q_apr06.asp

angiec said:

He didn't know, and usually things like this we can treat by ourselves(since the barn owner has been with horses for over 30 years and knows alot of horse care) but with 29 horses they called the vet to check it out and I don't think he really knew how all those horses could have gotten sick, we got another call and Chip the horse I lease is sick too...
Though I am wondering since last week we had pretty cool temps and now its in the 20's if that could have triggered the sickness since its such a quick change in temps?
Still going tonight, helping to tend with the horses. My lesson was suposed to be at 6 but will now be at 7 since they have to give needles to all 29 horses around 6.

Sigh... I hope the horses get better soon... we have another show on the 27th I beleive(at our barn) and if the horses that aren't sick get sick it could last all month and we don't want to have other horses here since they might catch the sickness too, which is something we do not want. So we might have to cancel that show too... I hope it isn't like this all year, horses getting sick and having to cancel shows! It will be the worst year for sickness at our barn for sure!

[stacey]

im so sorry sending you lots of prayers hope all your horses get well soon

[canadianlady]

Sending prayers for the horses to get their health back quickly--huggs

[luvhorses]

Do you have any good veterinary schools nearby?

angiec said:

He didn't know, and usually things like this we can treat by ourselves(since the barn owner has been with horses for over 30 years and knows alot of horse care) but with 29 horses they called the vet to check it out and I don't think he really knew how all those horses could have gotten sick, we got another call and Chip the horse I lease is sick too...
Though I am wondering since last week we had pretty cool temps and now its in the 20's if that could have triggered the sickness since its such a quick change in temps?
Still going tonight, helping to tend with the horses. My lesson was suposed to be at 6 but will now be at 7 since they have to give needles to all 29 horses around 6.

Sigh... I hope the horses get better soon... we have another show on the 27th I beleive(at our barn) and if the horses that aren't sick get sick it could last all month and we don't want to have other horses here since they might catch the sickness too, which is something we do not want. So we might have to cancel that show too... I hope it isn't like this all year, horses getting sick and having to cancel shows! It will be the worst year for sickness at our barn for sure!

[lilpondarosamini]

Prayers headed up for all the horses their well and sick alike. I pray for a speedy healing and a protective barrier for all that are still well. Keep us updated.

[luvhorses]

Some links:
-----------------------------------------------
Equine herpes outbreak cancels show, ends successful season early
Claire Ross Issue date: 3/16/07 Section: Sports

media.www.thequindecim.com/media/storage/paper618/news/2007/03/16/Sports/Equine.Herpes.Outbreak.Cancels.Show.Ends.Successful.Season.Early-2777576.shtml
------------------------------------------------------
Demystifying Neurologic Herpes
by: Equine Disease Quarterly
April 16 2007 Article # 9378

www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=9378
-----------------------------------------------------------
Note:

I mentioned that a race track had a problem with a Herpes outbreak (Herpes is only one of many viral diseases that can cause outbreaks in barns and stables.) This article has some good info. in it about that virus and about precaustions and implications for folks whose horses do shows, racing, or are kept in stables with large numbers of horses.

This is a serious disease so I thought I better put the links up... it really gives me great concern to hear about a barn having over 50% of its animals sick with fever. 29 out of 50 animals is a significant outbreak . There are tests that can be done to determine what is going on there. My prayers for these horses and their peoples.

[Angie C.]

luvhorses said:

Do you have any good veterinary schools nearby?

Hm.... We have a Veterinary College not far.

Another update:
Well went to my lesson, only a couple horses were having fevers bad enough to get the needle. (Also when I got to the barn I had to go get my boy for the owner because only some people can catch him(like me) and she couldn't so he never got a needle or temp check but he was sick, they knew by him not wanting to eat much etc.) Chip was getting better, but was still 102.6 so we kept him in for a while until the all-sick horse check(they brought them in from the pasture, they had put some out because alot of temps had gone down) and he was better then so he got out, only the horses doing like 103 stay in and get the needle then they go out also for some fresh air, to help bring the temps down. My poor boy was sweating, but was not running high. The horse I rode in my lesson was sweating also but not running fever. So yeah, it was a needle-giving evening.

Thanks luvhorses for the links! And thanks for all the well wishes, marestarers

Also next update will be sat. as i'm going back to check on my boy, and hoping he'll be well enough by then to have a little ride, nothing hard though cause he probably wont be 100%.

[Linda]

So sorry to hear your sad new. Prayers that all goes back to normal fast for the horses.

[margie1947]

So sorry to hear about your horses....sending prayers that they get back to good health soon and also pray that none of the others catch this

[luvhorses]

You might give the school a call (the best option) or email and explain to them the situation. Maybe they would give you some suggestions on course of action and such; what to test for. Some viral disease can be deadly serious; that is why when outbreaks occur in facilities like race tracks, stables and kennels you want to do all you can to make sure such an outbreak doesn't spread to other facilities..

One of those links had an article on how to select the right horses in a facility to test for certain viral diseases... so that you don't have to test all of the horses in the barn and get a lot of false tests (and spend more money than you have to) . It had to do with the timing of temperature spikes. I think it was on the Kentucky School of Agriculture site link.

I hate to say this but it does sound like your barn should postphone that show and take all those precautions given on that one chart on this link.
www.equinecentre.unimelb.edu.au/dw_horse_alert.shtml

angiec said:

luvhorses said:

Do you have any good veterinary schools nearby?

Hm.... We have a Veterinary College not far.

Another update:
Well went to my lesson, only a couple horses were having fevers bad enough to get the needle. (Also when I got to the barn I had to go get my boy for the owner because only some people can catch him(like me) and she couldn't so he never got a needle or temp check but he was sick, they knew by him not wanting to eat much etc.) Chip was getting better, but was still 102.6 so we kept him in for a while until the all-sick horse check(they brought them in from the pasture, they had put some out because alot of temps had gone down) and he was better then so he got out, only the horses doing like 103 stay in and get the needle then they go out also for some fresh air, to help bring the temps down. My poor boy was sweating, but was not running high. The horse I rode in my lesson was sweating also but not running fever. So yeah, it was a needle-giving evening.

Thanks luvhorses for the links! And thanks for all the well wishes, marestarers

Also next update will be sat. as i'm going back to check on my boy, and hoping he'll be well enough by then to have a little ride, nothing hard though cause he probably wont be 100%.

[Angie C.]

Update from from Sat/Sun.:
Chip&The others are doing much better, most temps were gopne down and now they are in the coughing stage, with snot coming out of their noses(pretty icky). But alot of them are feeling better, but we can't ride them yet, cause they are not 100% yet.
We have a show next weeknd(20th) and we think we are going to be able to go if the sickness doesn't take a turn for the worse.

I am probably going back tomorrow (Monday) so I will update again, also most horses are ready enough to ride but we decide not to ride them because we don't want to make it worse.

[luvhorses]

JMO but personally I wouldn't take a horse from a stable with a resp. illness outbreak going on out to a show someplace else.... and possibly spread whatever illness is going around the stable your horse is at to other horses, other stables, other barns. Your horse may seem close to normal now... but he is still around sick animals running fevers who are still spreading their "germs" with each cough and sneeze.

Also the sick horses in your stable could be more vulnerable to catching other illnesses (like secondary infections from different germs that you happen to bring back from the horse show ). It just is so soon after being ill running fevers and appearing sick, that doing a horse show seems not the safest decision.

When you take an animal out and show them you run the risks of secondary infections in both your horse and the other horses in the barn. May 20th is less than a week from now.... that is 5 days from now. Not enough time has passed to say that the outbreak is fully over. JMO. That outbreak isn't over as not all the horses temps are back to normal, and they have nasal sputum and coughing going on to boot.

Those signs mean some of the horses in the stable are still fighting off some sort of infection and can still be contagious to other horses or even other livestock for that matter. Plus those animals who have been sick are likely still debilitated from the fevers and other symptoms. They need rest and TLC to fully recover.... not horse shows.

Is one horse show really worth taking the risks of bringing this illness to other horses who live at other places? Places where there may be foals and aged horses that are more susceptable to whatever your horses have had afflicting them, and horses that could even die from getting very ill like newborn foals .

Please reconsider your decision to do that horse show so soon after this outbreak you guys are going through; you don't want to take the chance of putting other folks in the same situation you have and are still dealing with.

It is your responsibility as a horseman to not put other animals at risk of getting the same illness your barn has been dealing with. Plus it is your responsibility not to show your horse until he is fully recovered and not vulnerable to other illnesses because he is run down from being ill recently (secondary infections). Yes hard to skip a show... but it would be for the best.
Why take any chances? JMO

I have enclosed info. on what Emerald Downs did.... when they also are having an outbreak
of resp. illnesses this spring. They aren't letting any horses leave until the outbreak clears. They are playing it safe even though they do not know what has stricken some of the horses at that track. Hopefully it won't be that horse herpes virus... but they have chosen to play it safe rather then jeopardize the lives of other animals.

I think you should follow Emerald Downs lead and play it safe in the interests of all the horses in your barn and the horses connected to that show.... and not take any chances of exposing other folks horses to the illness that went from horse to horse at the barn you stable your horse at. I know it's hard to skip a show. I used to show dogs and had to skip a show when my dog got ill but it was for her best interests and also to help avoid spreading illness to another dog. Yea I lost the money for the entry fees but at least she didn't end up sicker or get other dogs sick. JMO. It is hard to skip a horse show.... but sometimes it is necessary to do so.
*****************************
Here is the article on the recent illness outbreak at Emerald Downs...
www.thoroughbredtimes.com/national-news/2007/May/12/Emerald-Downs-taking-equine-herpesvirus-precautions.aspx

Emerald Downs (where I go to play the ponies) is now taking pre-cautions against EHV-1 after a sick horse was euthanized.
The horse is being autopsied by WSU. No confirmed case of EHV-1 yet.

quote from article:
Washington State University is conducting an autopsy on the horse. Since March, the Auburn, Washington, track has seen equine flu-like symptoms that include elevated temperatures and runny noses, although no confirmed cases of EHV-1 have been reported. (Unquote)

2nd quote from article:
Tests conducted by the Washington Horse Racing Commission identified sick horses at the track that were carriers of EHV-1, which manifests itself in three forms: respiratory disease, spontaneous abortion, and neurological disease. Neurological symptoms can include a loss of coordination, the inability to stand, and bladder control problems.

This is a scary disease for equines and there have been outbreaks of it that have forced cancellations of shows and quarantines for stables. There is no vaccine for this virus.
Please read full article... for more information on this viral disease in horses.