Updated call from Cleveland Equine Clinic March 23, 2014
I received a second call regarding the EHV-1 topic from Dr. Paradine from the Cleveland Equine Clinic and, as with the first call from Dr. Forshey, the EHV-1 strain that causes the neurological issues has no vaccine to prevent it or cure if your horse is exposed. The best you can do is to have your spring vaccines up to date. (The 5-way will cover the rhino virus and as of today that is the best they have against this strain.) She stated “There is nothing that anyone who has be exposed to this virus has done wrong and until there is a cure, everyone needs to be the best they can be and the smartest they can be with their equines” She stated “There are no known threats in the state or anywhere close” She said be smart with your equine with preventative measures and the remember the exposure is direct contact as stated below.
I did receive several messages and wanted to share this from Joe Johnson from the Tru-Honor Rehabilitation and Conditioning Center regarding Equine Herpes as a whole and not just this strain related to this post.
Here is part of our conversation on this matter.
We added a supplement to our feeding program just to combat herpes and help prevent any strand of the virus from infecting our horses(including EHV-1). I don’t consider it to be “our secret” or anything and I think the barrel racing community as a whole should get better informed about herpes and hopefully many will take preventative measures like we have…..What we feed is L-lysine. Lysine is the base amino acid needed for the immune system. Corn used to have lysine in it but no longer does. We have been feeding it for about a year now and have been very happy with the results. In addition to the lysine we also feed an immune booster during show season when they will be around other horses and exposed to everything……If anyone has trouble finding any I can get it in 50# bags by us and you only feed an ounce per day per horse so it lasts a very long time
You can find Joe and Heather at https://www.facebook.com/THRCCenter – Thank you Joe for your input. Greatly appreciated.
Our original post is below…..
To answer a post that was put on from Randi Hall about The Panty Raid and we were tagged in:
Nicole, as always, we as horse owners have to use our own precautionary measures for the safety of our animals. Anyone traveling into Ohio from an outside state to the Panty Raid should already have health papers and coggins on their horses as that is an equine requirement of all states when going outside your state lines. This is the horse owner’s responsibility on all levels.
I can tell you there are no horses coming from the area (states) where the outbreak is located. This particular virus strain is not airborne but must be transmitted by contact. There is no vaccine for it as with many of these Equine Viruses. We all have to be careful for the safety of our equine friends even horse professionals (chiropractors, clinicians, equine massage therapists, farriers, horse show judges, saddle fitters, trainers, veterinarians), and others who visit multiple locations where they come in contact with horses have to always worry about this scenario. This is not the first time a threat has been in the equine community and I am sure it will not be the last. Up-to-date vaccinating is in every good horse owner’s interest as well as a clean environment.
No matter where you go with your equine partner (horse shows in or out of your state, rodeos, etc) you are always at risk for diseases/germs just as you are when you yourself or your children go out into public. I have talked to the Ohio Agriculture office today and as of now there are no threats in any of the states that are registered at The Panty Raid nor in any other states. The Ohio State veterinarian, Dr. Tony Forshey returned my call about the subject as well. Our conversation went as I thought it would go. When you get a large amount of the same animal in the same place, there is always a risk of illness. As he states, “The threat that was at Beulah Park a couple years ago did not stop the horse racing industry nor will this stop the barrel industry but you do have to use common sense. If this was something that is widespread and not containable, there would never be a Congress.” He said “No matter if there are 100 or 800, there is always a risk.” He indicated that we should not have any issues but certainly cannot guarantee anything as we cannot as well. We collectively would hope that anyone traveling to another state will abide by the transportation equine requirements and have their horse’s papers intact. Dr. Forshey was more than informative and helpful and gave us peace of mind at this time. I am also waiting for a call from Dr. Corey Paradine, DVM who is proficient in this field. We will post more about this subject as it becomes available.
The bottom line is if you are not comfortable traveling and coming to the show with the recent information that is going on in Minnesota and Wisconsin then you should by all means do what you feel is best for you and your horse(s). We have no control over the situation and can only provide as much knowledge as we can for you the owner/rider to make the best decision on your behalf. We have provided a clean safe environment for the show to take place and respect whatever decision you choose to make for your travels.
Thank you for posting information on this and we will certainly keep you updated as we know more information.
Until we see you again, love one another a little more. It makes a difference!
Dawn and Clea
On the Road with Dawn and Clea 