Horses across the country are on lockdown.
In the Northwest, show events in Canby, Oregon, Yelm and Selah, Washington, are canceled or postponed.
There’s a national outbreak of equine herpesvirus after a big event in Texas. The outbreak stems is connected to the WPRA World Finals and Elite Barrel Race in Waco, Texas, which was held earlier this month. More than a thousand horses from all over the country were there.
Washington has two reported cases. But so far, Oregon and Idaho have no confirmed cases of the equine herpesvirus.
“The challenge is, is during that incubation period where the virus isn’t showing clinical signs yet, those horses are continuing to move state to state to state to state, and potentially exposing lots of other horses along the way in different events,” said Dr. Amber Itle, the top veterinarian for the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
About 30 horses nationwide have come down with some form of equine herpesvirus. Some animals can develop neurological symptoms or die, while other horses have a high fever and respiratory symptoms.
Diane Thomas is a horse riding drill team coach outside of Yelm. She says that with the outbreak, riding centers are having to sterilize their barns.
“They have to spray it with bleach and whatever to make sure there’s nothing left over from horses that have been in there from a previous show,” Thomas said. “So that costs money too.”
Thomas says it’s difficult to squash shows that bring in income to her riding center, and to miss drill practice. Organizations and veterinarians across the nation are trying to inform horse owners of the best protocols to avoid the disease. That includes quarantining horses for a couple of weeks to prevent further spread.
