prevent disease in horses, horse disease prevention

Show season and other organized riding activities are well underway. We really enjoy

seeing our boarders having fun trailering their horses off to this or that event, but we also worry about an increased risk for disease.

There are two diseases of particular concern. One is neurological herpes, also called equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy, and the other is strangles.

What do they have to do with boots? Boots can be a source of transmission. As would be expected, both of these contagious illnesses are transmitted by horse-to-horse contact; in the case of neurological herpes, the virus can become airborne. Both diseases, however, can also be spread by contaminated tack or equipment as well as by people if the virus gets on hands or clothing -- including boots.

When horses and horse owners go off their farm and are in contact with "strange" horses, the risk for picking up one of these diseases increases.

It's important to understand why horse owners should take neurological herpes and strangles seriously and do whatever they can to prevent these diseases.

Neurological herpes is usually caused by mutant strains of the equine herpesvirus known as EHV-1. The virus damages blood vessels and ultimately impairs function of the brain and spinal cord. The death rate can be high and recovery for horses that survive can be prolonged.

Signs of the disease include fever, poor coordination, weakness in the hind end, urine dribbling, problems maintaining balance, lethargy and trouble getting up.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there has been a marked increase in the number of cases of neurological herpes over the past few years.

Unlike neurological herpes, which is caused by a virus, strangles is caused by a bacterium known as "Streptoccocus equi." Like neurological herpes, it can rapidly spread through a barn.

Signs of strangles include fever, loss of appetite, coughing, a heavy nasal discharge and swelling of lymph nodes in the head and neck. The nodes eventually abscess; pus drains from the lymph nodes and nose and is highly contagious.

Horses that develop the disease may make strangled sounds when breathing, hence the name strangles.

Most horses with strangles recover, but the disease can kill if complications, such as internal abscesses, develop. Horses that have had the disease can be carriers of the bacterium and a source of infection to other horses for weeks.

Barn managers dread both diseases for a few reasons. Affected horses, especially those with neurological herpes, require a considerable amount of nursing care. The facility needs to be quarantined -- all incoming and outgoing horse traffic must stop to contain disease, and human traffic also needs to be restricted.

In addition, eliminating these pathogens from a farm to prevent further spread among a herd requires a huge amount of cleaning and disinfection.

For horse farms that depend on summer riding camps and riding lessons for their income, an outbreak of neurological herpes or strangles can have devastating economic effects when primary sources of income grind to a halt. Horse farms such as ours, which are strictly boarding barns, not schooling barns, wouldn't be as adversely affected but would face increased costs for labor and supplies and our boarders wouldn't be able to enjoy their horses for a time.

Any time a horse demonstrates signs of neurological herpes or strangles, a veterinarian should be contacted immediately to initiate proper treatment of ill horses and help implement quarantine procedures to protect other horses on the farm and prevent the disease from spreading to other farms.

Vaccines against herpesviruses don't offer much protection against equine neurological herpes.

Although there are vaccines against strangles, they do not protect all horses and sometimes cause side effects including abscess formation and mild respiratory signs.

On our farm, we encourage boarders to use "biosecurity" procedures (described below) to prevent neurological herpes and strangles.

Be aware that sometimes, these diseases occur despite precautions. EHV-1, for example, is thought to exist in latent form in many horses, stays dormant until a stress occurs, then becomes active and the affected horse become contagious. It could be your horse or another horse in your barn.

Nevertheless, horse owners can make a significant contribution to preventing transmission of these diseases by employing basic biosecurity procedures.

Additional information on equine neurological herpes and strangles can be accessed by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page.

STEPS THAT HORSE OWNERS CAN TAKE TO
HELP PREVENT NEUROLOGICAL HERPES AND STRANGLES

After visiting other farms, horse shows or activities either as a rider or observer, do the following before returning to your horse's farm:

***Wash your hands.

***Change your boots and clothes.

***At the very least, wash hands then disinfect the bottoms of your boots; it's easy to carry a spray bottle of bleach water in your car or truck. If your boots have a coating of mud or manure, wash them first, otherwise disinfection will not work.

When you take your horse anywhere off the farm where other horses are present:

***Keep your horse away from other horses and particularly prevent nose-to-nose contact.

***Use your tack and equipment only on your horse and never loan out your tack or equipment.

***Bring your own water buckets and if a spigot with clean water will not be available, bring your own water too. Never permit your horse to drink from a water tank or bucket used by horses from another farm.

***Keep your horse away from common grazing areas; bring hay from your farm instead.

**Remember that horses may appear well, yet be carriers of neurological herpes and strangles.**