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The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has reported multiple cases of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) in counties across California, including Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Mateo. Both the EHV-1 strain and the neurological strain, EHM, have been reported. These cases have been associated with travel to and from horse shows.

 

What Is EHV-1?

EHV-1 is known to cause respiratory and neurological diseases, abortion in pregnant mares, and neonatal foal death. EHM (Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy) is the neurological strain of the disease, and may be caused by damage to the brain’s blood vessels and to the spinal cord through association with EHV-1 infection.

Symptoms of EHV-1 vary greatly, and may include fever, nasal discharge, cough, reddish mucous membranes, and swollen limbs. Horses with the neurological EHM strain may present as uncoordinated and weak, and may even have trouble standing. In EHM cases, the hind limbs are often more severely affected than the forelimbs, so horses may adopt a “dog-sitting” posture.

The Current Outbreak

The initial cases in this outbreak were reported at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California on February 12, 2022. At that time, one horse had tested positive for the neurological EHM strain with two other horses testing positive for EHV-1. These three horses were quarantined in their barn at the facility along with the other 45 horses in that barn with them that were thus exposed. The CDFA has continued to be onsite at the Horse Park and has been monitoring the situation since the initial cases were reported. To date, three horses that had tested positive and displayed neurological symptoms have been euthanized.  Two of these horses had been on premises at Desert International Horse Park and had since returned home to Los Angeles and Orange counties. As of February 24, 2022, there have been five confirmed EHM cases and sixteen confirmed EHV-1 cases. Three horses that had left the facility and returned home to Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Mateo Counties are included in the sixteen confirmed EHV-1 cases.

Competitions throughout California are being or have already been cancelled in response to this outbreak.

 

What Can I Do To Protect My Horse?

This is a very contagious disease, so good biosecurity practices and keeping your horse up to date on their vaccines is very important. Careful monitoring and taking your horse’s temperature daily can go a long way in discovering if something is amiss!

There is a vaccine available to help protect your horse against the Equine Herpes Virus Types 1 and 4. EHV-1 and EHV-4 are two of the illnesses that the Rhino/Flu vaccination provided by The Equine Center works to protect your horse against.

Click here for more information on this current disease outbreak.

 

 

 

We’re partnering with our friends at Boehringer Inglheim to start the year off right with savings! For a limited time you can save $28 when you buy 7 tubes of GASTROGARD, $84 when you buy 14 tubes, $196 when you buy 28 tubes or up to $504 when you buy 72 tubes of GASTROGARD from your veterinarian(that’s us!). Offer only valid on products purchased during the month of February 2021. Simply follow the link listed below, print out the rebate form and follow the directions listed on it. We hope to start 2021 off on a better foot than 2020 ended on. Stay safe and please contact us if you have any questions.

2020 Gastrogard Coupon–new

We’re partnering with our friends at Boehringer Inglheim to start the year off right with savings! For a limited time you can save $6 when you buy a 14 tubes of Equioxx, $26 when you buy one 60 count bottle of Equioxx, and $77 if you buy a 180 count bottle of Equioxx from your veterinarian(that’s us!). This offer is only valid for products purchased in the month of February 2021.  Simply follow the link listed below, print out the rebate form and follow the directions listed on it. We hope to start 2021 off on a better foot than 2020 ended on. Stay safe and please contact us if you have any questions.

2020 Equioxx Coupon (004)New

We’re partnering with our friends at Boehringer Inglheim to start the year off right with savings! For a limited time you can save $8 when you buy 2 tubes of ulcergard from your veterinarian(that’s us!). This offer is only valid for products purchased in the month of February 2021.  Simply follow the link listed below, print out the rebate form and follow the directions listed on it. We hope to start 2021 off on a better foot than 2020 ended on. Stay safe and please contact us if you have any questions.

2020 Ulcergard Coupon–new

We’re partnering with our friends at Boehringer Inglheim to start the year off right with savings! For a limited time you can save $12 when you buy a 60 count box of Prascend and $30 if you buy a 160 count box of Prascend from your veterinarian(that’s us!). This offer is only valid on products purchased during the month of February 2021. Simply follow the link listed below, print out the rebate form and follow the directions listed on it. We hope to start 2021 off on a better foot than 2020 ended on. Stay safe and please contact us if you have any questions.

2020 Prascend Coupon (005)–new

Foaling Complications

Whether you choose to foal out your own mare or have someone else at a veterinary hospital or breeding farm does it for you, there is always a possibility that some complications might occur. Time is precious and we want you to be able to identify a potential problem as soon as possible.

Normal Labor

Once active labor has begun, you should see the “water” break and the amnion (a white opaque to translucent material) bulge out of your mare’s vulva. If you see a red velvety structure, then you have a red-bag delivery. Action must be taken immediately or the foal will die due to lack of oxygen because the placenta has prematurely separated. Using your fingers or scissors, tear a hole in the red material until you see the translucent amnion and try to get the foal out. These foals often need assistance and become sick easily, therefore veterinary help/advice should be sought immediately.

Positioning

Foal positioning is one of the most important factors of the delivery process. The foal should be in the diving position with its soles pointing down and nose on top. If you do not see two feet, and a nose with active contractions then there is a problem, and a veterinarian should be called. You can try to determine the problem and correct it before your veterinarian arrives but use extreme care.

Duration

Foals can get stuck at any time during delivery and often gentle traction can be useful, and in some cases more than gentle traction is required. Foals must be born in 20 minutes or less since the oxygen supply has been terminated (the placenta has started to separate from the uterus). Cesarean sections are reserved to save the mare 99% of the time; it is rare to save a foal once delivery has gone wrong. If a mare is trying to deliver through her rectum, an obvious bulge at the rectum can be seen and the foals’ feet and head need to be pushed back into the mare and redirected through the vulva.
Normal presentation of amnion, with front feet and nose of foal
Abnormal “red bag” presentation from premature placenta separation. This bag needs to be opened until you see the translucent amnion.
Complete or partial rectal tears will need initial veterinary attention and then are often repaired a few months after the trauma.

Post-Foaling

After delivery, the foal should be breathing, shaking his head and fussing with its legs. If your foal remains listless, stimulate the foal by briskly rubbing the baby and have someone call your veterinarian for advice or assistance. The foal should try and stand in less than an hour and be nursing by about two hours. Your foal should be nursing with vigor and should not have an excess amount of milk on its forehead or in its nostrils. If the placenta has not passed within three hours, a veterinarian should be called. A retained placenta can result in a uterine infection, fever, laminitis and sepsis, and can be life threatening. Once the placenta has passed it should be saved in a bag or bucket in a cool area for inspection so a veterinarian can determine if there are any abnormalities.

Follow-Up with your Veterinarian

Physical examinations of both mare and foal are necessary at 12-18 hours even if none of these problems have occurred. Foals should have their IgG and white blood cell levels checked. If these counts are low, then plasma and/or antibiotics should be considered. The mare should have an examination at the same time as the foal to check for the presence of a fever, tearing of her vulva or other abnormalities. Some mares can be colicky after birth due to uterine contractions but these should not last longer than a few hours or be too severe. Lastly, please do not hesitate to call The Equine Center if you have any questions or concerns. Remember that time is valuable and we are here to help!

Some simple things to remember:

1. Vaccinate your mare 300 days before delivery.

2. Have an adequate Foaling Kit (see our website for more information).

3. Know your mare and watch for signs of impending delivery.

4. Have a truck and trailer hooked up and ready to go to the hospital for an emergency.

5. Have a clean, safe, QUIET and dry place for the mare to deliver.

6. Once the water has broken, delivery should happen very quickly (20 minutes or so).

7. Once the foal has been normally delivered the foal should try and stand (1 hour) and nurse (2 hours) and the placenta should be passed in less than 3 hours (The 1, 2 & 3 rules).

8. Call your veterinarian if you notice any unusual symptoms.

Gastroscopy images of healthy and ulcered stomachs

It can be challenging to accurately identify your horse’s pain. This can certainly be the case with Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS). It is an inflammatory process but there is no heat you can feel with your hand. It is a type of tissue injury but you can’t see it. It is not something specific that feels “off” when you ride. Often times you may not see any clear signs at all. The discovery of the prevalence of ulcer syndrome surprised even the veterinary profession. In a multiple studies it was consistently found that more than 50% of performance horses tested had some form of ulcerative disease, and has high as over 90% of racehorses evaluated in another study. So what about your horse?

Continue reading Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome…What you need to know.