VS and our precautions for the Classical Horse Club show, August 23-25.
Vesicular Stomatitis is a reality in the horse world.
It's not the most horrible disease our horses face, but it is ugly, uncomfortable, and spreadable.
The reason it is more common in northern Colorado than the southern area is because of the cattle population. We have few cows left in Douglas County, now that the county's rural areas are being flooded with subdivisions, and because we don't have the water (and therefore grass) to support a lot of cows. I don't believe there are ANY feedlots in Douglas or Elbert counties. As I write this, there are no reported cases in Douglas County.
Still, while we are hopeful we won't see any VS cases in the show ground area, we are going to take this threat very seriously.
Here are our bio-safety protocols for the Classical Horse Club Show, August 23-25.
After much discussion we decided a five day old veterinary examination is NOT the best way to prevent a VS infected horse from entering the grounds.
Symptoms could show up the day you leave your property!
We believe your money for this expensive piece of paper (approximately $80 per horse)
would be better spent by purchasing a good fly mask and some good fly spray.
At the Classical Horse Club Show, ALL HORSES WILL BE EXAMINED at a checkpoint near the arena doors by the show office. YOU MAY NOT ENTER the fairgrounds, take your horse out of your trailer, or enter the barn, until your horse has been examined. If your horse(s) shows lesions or blisters of any kind, you will be asked to leave immediately. You will not receive a refund for your show expenses. You should examine your own horses prior to putting them in your trailer, so you should already be aware of the probable results of the exam.
Fresh surgical gloves for each horse will be used by our examiner.
You must show the examiner that you have brought a bottle of fly spray with you.
Before you leave your barn to come to the show, we ask that you do the following:
1. Examine the inside of your horse(s)'s mouth, tongue, and the tops of the hooves, to see if there are any blisters or lesions. If you see something that you are suspicious of, STOP and call your Vet! Do NOT load your horse or come to the show. Self-quarantine your barn and do not bring any horses from your barn to the show, whether the others are showing lesions or not. Send us the veterinarian's report and you will receive a refund of your show fees, less the office fee.
2. Spray the interior of your horse trailer and truck with fly spray at home, prior to loading. We don't want you to bring any flies with you.
3. Spray your horse with fly spray before putting him/her in the trailer, and often while at the show grounds.
4. Buy a good fly mask and good fly spray. This disease is most commonly spread by infected flies landing on wet mucus membranes around the eyes. Be proactive!
5. At the show, keep your stall clean and take the manure out of the barn as soon as possible. We will be spraying the manure pile with disinfectant on a regular basis.
6. When you leave the fairgrounds, spray your truck, trailer, and horse with fly spray. You may use our PineSol disinfectant sprayer in your trailer if you wish. (It will be in the barn. Please return it where you found it.) We don't want you to take any flies home with you either!
7. Don't panic! This is not the worst thing that a horse can contract. Chances are you will not have any problems, but if you do, there are protocols for keeping your horse comfortable until he/she heals. Check with your vet.
We can't guarantee that this invader won't affect our show, but we are going to do what we can to prevent it. We will be spaying all the stalls with a bleach solution before the show, and will be periodically spraying the aisles and equipment the barn with PineSol solution (flies don't like it, and it's not as caustic as bleach) during the show. You are welcome to use the PineSol solution sprayer in your stall and on your equipment as you wish. Do NOT spray PineSol directly on your horse.
We hope you will feel comfortable knowing we've done everything we can think of
to make this event as safe as possible for you and your horse!
Your cooperation is appreciated!
SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!
Kris Garrett, President, Classical Horse Club
Vesicular Stomatitis is a reality in the horse world.
It's not the most horrible disease our horses face, but it is ugly, uncomfortable, and spreadable.
The reason it is more common in northern Colorado than the southern area is because of the cattle population. We have few cows left in Douglas County, now that the county's rural areas are being flooded with subdivisions, and because we don't have the water (and therefore grass) to support a lot of cows. I don't believe there are ANY feedlots in Douglas or Elbert counties. As I write this, there are no reported cases in Douglas County.
Still, while we are hopeful we won't see any VS cases in the show ground area, we are going to take this threat very seriously.
Here are our bio-safety protocols for the Classical Horse Club Show, August 23-25.
After much discussion we decided a five day old veterinary examination is NOT the best way to prevent a VS infected horse from entering the grounds.
Symptoms could show up the day you leave your property!
We believe your money for this expensive piece of paper (approximately $80 per horse)
would be better spent by purchasing a good fly mask and some good fly spray.
At the Classical Horse Club Show, ALL HORSES WILL BE EXAMINED at a checkpoint near the arena doors by the show office. YOU MAY NOT ENTER the fairgrounds, take your horse out of your trailer, or enter the barn, until your horse has been examined. If your horse(s) shows lesions or blisters of any kind, you will be asked to leave immediately. You will not receive a refund for your show expenses. You should examine your own horses prior to putting them in your trailer, so you should already be aware of the probable results of the exam.
Fresh surgical gloves for each horse will be used by our examiner.
You must show the examiner that you have brought a bottle of fly spray with you.
Before you leave your barn to come to the show, we ask that you do the following:
1. Examine the inside of your horse(s)'s mouth, tongue, and the tops of the hooves, to see if there are any blisters or lesions. If you see something that you are suspicious of, STOP and call your Vet! Do NOT load your horse or come to the show. Self-quarantine your barn and do not bring any horses from your barn to the show, whether the others are showing lesions or not. Send us the veterinarian's report and you will receive a refund of your show fees, less the office fee.
2. Spray the interior of your horse trailer and truck with fly spray at home, prior to loading. We don't want you to bring any flies with you.
3. Spray your horse with fly spray before putting him/her in the trailer, and often while at the show grounds.
4. Buy a good fly mask and good fly spray. This disease is most commonly spread by infected flies landing on wet mucus membranes around the eyes. Be proactive!
5. At the show, keep your stall clean and take the manure out of the barn as soon as possible. We will be spraying the manure pile with disinfectant on a regular basis.
6. When you leave the fairgrounds, spray your truck, trailer, and horse with fly spray. You may use our PineSol disinfectant sprayer in your trailer if you wish. (It will be in the barn. Please return it where you found it.) We don't want you to take any flies home with you either!
7. Don't panic! This is not the worst thing that a horse can contract. Chances are you will not have any problems, but if you do, there are protocols for keeping your horse comfortable until he/she heals. Check with your vet.
We can't guarantee that this invader won't affect our show, but we are going to do what we can to prevent it. We will be spaying all the stalls with a bleach solution before the show, and will be periodically spraying the aisles and equipment the barn with PineSol solution (flies don't like it, and it's not as caustic as bleach) during the show. You are welcome to use the PineSol solution sprayer in your stall and on your equipment as you wish. Do NOT spray PineSol directly on your horse.
We hope you will feel comfortable knowing we've done everything we can think of
to make this event as safe as possible for you and your horse!
Your cooperation is appreciated!
SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!
Kris Garrett, President, Classical Horse Club