Local horse owners discuss EHV-1 outbreak

Casper, Wyo. - Equine Herpesvirus is making its outbreak across the states and has the impact to shut down the equine industry just two weeks before the National Finals Rodeo.

Equine Herpesvirus is a deadly virus that is very contagious and spreads rapidly. With some of the biggest events in the equine industry coming up, horse owners are growing concerned for the health of their horses as EHV-1 spreads across the country.

"There is an EHV-1 outbreak that is related to or stemming from one event in Texas,” said Hallie Hasel, Wyoming’s State Veterinarian.

Equine herpesvirus, or EHV-1, is a deadly disease that can affect the reproductive, respiratory and neurological tracts of a horse. It is spread through physical contact or through direct contact with affected equipment and clothing. Hasel says that there is no cure for EHV-1 once it reaches the neurological form.

"There are vaccines for equine herpesvirus...for the rhino form of it. Unfortunately, they don't have good protection against the neurological form of equine herpes. And so to stop that spread it's really, really important because treatment is often unsuccessful and it spreads very rapidly," said Hasel.

While the first symptoms you see for this are your typical symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, or a decrease in activity, Dr. Hasel mentions that the other symptom to watch out for is instability.

"Something that they may see is instability or what we call a calcio , especially in the limbs. They might lose a little bit of strength in their hind limbs so when they're walking, they're a little bit unsteady, and their tail may not have much tone. It may just hang limp and not have a lot of tone and those are classic signs of EHV-1," stated Hasel.

Local horse owners are growing worrisome as this outbreak spreads across the states and one horse trainer mentions whether she is worried or not about the epidemic and what the horse community should do.

"Not as of right now in Casper, but I do think it's something that we need to take precautions over with horses coming in, horses leaving. Just being wise about what we are doing with our horses," said Autumn Bulgrin, Owner of Western Skies Equine, LLC.

Stopping the spread of Equine Herpesvirus is important due to its high mortality rate and contagiousness and the Wyoming State Veterinarian Lab, is asking for this one important thing of horse owners… to limit your travel.

"And what we're really asking people is that if we can just stop moving for the next 30 days or so as much as possible, we can get rid of this and we know there are some major events coming up and we'd like to get rid of it before those events occur," said Hasel.

There have now been confirmed cases of EHV-1 positive horses in the Cheyenne and Wheatland areas after attending a barrel race on the 15th at the Riata Ranch in Cheyenne and the J Bar C in Wheatland on the 16th. There is a potential exposure in the Casper area.

If you attended those races or are concerned for your horses, be sure to check the temperatures of your horses twice and clean all equipment and change clothing after contact with your horse.

Local horse owners discuss EHV-1 outbreak

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