n to question." To assess risk, you need to separate facts from rumors and exaggerations.
Some contagious equine diseases are reported to state animal health officials, and that makes it fairly easy to get reliable information about an outbreak. For example, in California, neurological cases caused by EHV-1 must be reported to the state Department of Food and Agriculture. During the San Juan Capistrano outbreak this allowed everyone to get frequent and accurate updates on the CDFA website, where outbreaks are categorized by county instead of by naming specific facilities. Reporting requirements for equine diseases vary state to state, so check with your state's animal health officials to find out which diseases are reportable where you live.
Reporting requirements helped check a multistate outbreak in 2011, when more than 400 horses were exposed at a cutting-horse event in Utah and went home to barns in 19 states and Canada before the first case was recognized. State and federal officials worked closely to track the horses and get accurate, timely information to the public.
When the disease isn't reportable to state animal health officials, getting information is much more complicated. For instance, California doesn't require reporting for equine flu or common forms of EHV that cause respiratory disease in horses and abortion in pregnant mares. Where should you turn? Your veterinarian is the most likely source of reliable advice, but with no central clearinghouse for information it can be a challenge to get the facts.
The American Association of Equine Practitioners has formed a task force to develop a communications plan for disease outbreaks. (This is part of an effort by the American Horse Council to create a national equine health plan.) "The goal is to make sure owners and managers of events and horse facilities, industry associations, extension agents, horse councils and veterinary practitioners all have accurate information quickly, acknowledging that the source of that information may vary," Dr. Traub-Dargatz says.
The task force will develop a draft plan and send it to the American Horse Council for industry input, so there's an opportunity for horse owners and event organizers to get involved, she adds. "Think about what diseases you need to know about and what your concerns are. You can voice those concerns to breed or discipline associations or to your state horse council, which all communicate with the AHC."
Is It Safe to Show?
When Rancho Sierra Vista was quarantined, organizers canceled a hunter-jumper show scheduled for that weekend at the nearby Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park. News of the outbreak also got the attention of exhibitors and organizers preparing for HITS Thermal, a six-week winter show series near Palm Springs, California, about 130 miles to the east. Then, on January 23, a horse was euthanized after developing neurological EHV-1 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, minutes from the Thermal show grounds. The two California outbreaks were unrelated but with two nearby facilities quarantined for the disease, was it safe to bring horses to the show?
"Where horses are commingled at events, there's always some risk that infectious disease will spread," says Dr. Traub-Dargatz, who was not involved in the specific cases at Rancho Sierra Vista or Empire Polo Club. In other words, whether or not an outbreak has been reported, you have to assume that your horse could be exposed to disease at any show or other event. Here are eight ways to lower the risk:
- Monitor your horse's health at the event. Know if he backs off his feed, often the first sign he is sick. "Checking body temperature is one of the easiest ways to monitor infectious disease status," says Dr. Traub-Dargatz, although not all sick horses get a fever. At some racetrack barns, she notes, grooms take temperatures twice a day and post the readings on each stall door. In other horse disciplines, this may not be part of the daily routine, but it makes sense in a risky situation. "It also gets the horse used to the procedure and ensures you ha