Coggins for all horses coming on to the ranch? I have never required

[efhmc]

this of help bringing their own mounts to work cattle but now I have a possible trail ride in negotiation (always looking for ways to stay afloat). People who take their horses to competitions are adamant about the necessity of having this certification for all horses coming on to the property. Any ideas on this?

[achtung_circus]

1. I'm of 2 minds.

EIA is rare.
Most of the little rodeo circuits don't require it, and some of those guys will hit 3 rodeos per weekend.

vs.

The more testing that's done, the fewer reservoirs of infection there are.
It keeps out the people who aren't serious about their horsemanship.
EIA is an ugly way to die. Euthanasia is much preferable to that or to the possibility of infecting other horses.

So I guess I'm not of two minds, I'm in favour.

[efhmc]

2. I know that the disease is transmitted by horse flies. We have 6 horses

that stay on the ranch. The person I am working with is talking about 200-300 riders for the trail ride. When we spoke, we talk about liability releases but I did not ask about the Coggins for each individual rider. The riders will be very far away from our headquarters when they ride and camp. Do they pose a threat to our animals? I want to get this income but not at the risk of infecting our horses.

[achtung_circus]

4. From my Canadian perspective, the risk is minmal.

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/equianem/equianem-proge.shtml

In general, there are three forms of EIA in which the virus can be detected by the presence of antibodies produced by the horse in response to the EIA infection. In EIA's acute form, the virus actively multiplies and attacks the immune system and other body organs. Some of these horses may die suddenly, others may appear constantly and severely ill and harbor heavy concentrations of the virus in their blood. Horses afflicted by the chronic form of the disease may also contain high concentrations of the virus, but they tend to alternate between periods of appearing healthy and the disease state seen in the acute form. Some of these animals will debilitate over time, and present poor body condition. Acute and chronically infected horses always pose a high risk of infection to EIA-free horses because they have a high concentration of virus in their blood. The third form of EIA involves unapparent carriers. These are seemingly healthy horses, which also carry the virus, but in a low or undetectable concentration in the blood. Unapparent carriers may never become acute or infectious; however, stress and other diseases or treatments can activate the acute form resulting in a high concentration of virus in their bloodstream. This third form of the disease is often the source of debate about the meaning of the Coggins test and the fate of the unapparent carriers among horse owners who are not well informed about the disease.

Just be aware that there is a risk. What proportion of the potential attendees would have a negative Coggins already? i.e. what other events do they attend, and do those events require a negative Coggins? What is the incidence in your area? What does the USDA or your State Ag Dept require or suggest?

What is "Very far away" from your horses?

[efhmc]

7. We are in Texas, so far away is relative. I am not in charge of that

part of the event and have just met the young woman who is setting things up. (She has done many other events across the state.) From the info gathered here, I will have to require the certification for all horses coming on to the ranch. There is no reason not to and if it is a deal breaker so be it. Better to be safe than to wish later that I had asked for all horses to be certified.

[kestrel91316]

3. DO IT. EIA is like Feline Leukemia Virus. A SCOURGE. A real

killer.

Test, test, test. Cull, cull, cull. Quarantine, quarantine, quarantine. Rinse and repeat.

[efhmc]

5. Okay so no horses allowed on the ranch without the certification. I have

a feeling that this will be a deal killer but from what you are saying, it is for the best. Thanks for the info.

[kestrel91316]

6. Horse owners need to be responsible. It can't just be about

ME, ME, ME. Horses are very expensive, and you can't go risking their lives willy nilly. So you MUST be considerate of other horse owners.

Good for you.

[Larkspur]

8. I lost my first horse to Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) and it was emotionally painful for me to

lose him. I had him for 3 years and finally had gotten his weight up to what it should be before he caught EIA in 1989. My horse wasn't the only one who caught it. The CT state vet told me that they had 7 other cases at the time, and that was considered an epidemic in CT.

Equine Infectious Anemia is not native to Connecticut. It's native in the Gulf Coast and along the Red River. It's basically a Swamp disease but any area with continually high humidity can breed the disease. My horse most likely caught it from another horse at a horse show we attended. The horse and deer flies pass the virus. And EIA is similar to HIV. It takes about 42 days after getting bit by a fly for the horse to be completely infected. EIA also morphs, like HIV, so there is NO CURE for EIA.

The only way to safeguard the entire population of horses here is for horse shows, auctions, and stable/ranch owners to demand seeing a negative Coggins test for each horse coming onto their property. The year that I started showing my first horse was the year that horse shows in CT stopped asking for the Coggins test. Barns and stables still required it, but horse shows using public land or fairgrounds had dropped it. The year after my first horse and 7 others were euthanized because of EIA, the horse shows began asking for the Coggins test again. As long as these main venues, where many horses and horse and deer flies will be near each other, require the Coggins test results, horse owners will be forced to get their horses tested for the disease.

Here's some more information on EIA -- http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_aheia.html

[efhmc]

11. Thank you for the information. I am sorry about your loss. Horses

are wonderful animals and I am sure that disease was hard to watch, especially when you know it might have been prevented if all the animals had to be tested.

[Larkspur]

12. Thanks. The other thing you need to know is that

after my horse tested positive, the stable he was at was put under mandatory quarantine and all the horses in the stable had to be tested. None could leave and no horse were allowed into the stable. The quarantine was lifted after I had my horse euthanized and none of the other horses tested positive for EIA. The barn was under quarantine for about a month and a half. As a ranch/stable owner, you should consider the cost if your ranch/stable was put under mandatory quarantine and you could not let any horses out or in until the government gave the OK.

[achtung_circus]

9. A man I knew

ran trail rides in the Rockies- it was his livelihood.. His home ranch was on the prairie. He had a positive EIA. The depopulation included every horse on the property, saddle horses, draft horses, pack horses, even the kids' ponies.

The vet who did it couldn't do it all in one day, for emotional reasons. He said it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

[efhmc]

10. That is beyond tragic. What a horrible, horrible thing. It sure puts paid to

the question of what mounts to have on the ranch.

[Horse with no Name]

16. Oh my God

How horrible.:cry:

[MuseRider]

13. Do it.

I don't think I have ever taken one of my horses anywhere where Coggins was not required. It is so much better to be safe for the owners but especially for the horses. A few years ago Strangles vaccines were not required by a training facility that I had a horse at. He got such a horrible case of it that he had to go to the KSU vet center and was there under treatment for almost a month, he almost died. I now am a firm believer that if you can't prove that you have vaccinated and your horse has had a negative Coggins then my horses will never be with yours. The biggest problem with that is if you vaccinate your own horses. I always do my own in the fall but in the spring since the vet has to come out to do Rabies and West Nile anyway I have him do it, that way I at least have proof through the summer when I would most likely be getting around other horses.

Better safe than having your poor horses or someone else's go through this.

[westerebus]

14. A must have.

You can't take the risk if you have high dollar horses. We did the NY,NJ,PA,and Va horse circuit for a dozen years, hunters mostly. Every barn posted a current Coggins test required in their ad and application. High end shows required a copy when you mailed in your application. While the tags on the cars and trailers may be local,you just don't know where the horse came from. Hope this helps.

[westerebus]

17. Let me amend this.

Do not take the risk with any horse, cost is not the factor. Sorry for sounding like a horse's ass.

[Horse with no Name]

15. When I was growing up in Arizona

We used to do a lot of roping and barrel racing.
I know we had to have our horses tested out there and that has been many years ago.