Don’t Expose Your Horse to Equine HerpesvirusBy Kentucky Equine Research Staff · July 28, 2011
The recent outbreak of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has raised awareness of this serious disease among horse owners. How can you protect your horses from EHV-1? The answer involves vaccination and careful management.
Transmission of EHV-1 occurs through contact with nasal discharge or airborne droplets coughed up by an infected horse. To avoid this, try to choose a stable or boarding facility where horses don’t come and go a lot and where vaccinations are kept current by owners. If horses do travel frequently, find a stable that requires quarantine for incoming animals. Isolation of arriving horses for 14 to 21 days seems like a fair amount of trouble, but it’s worth the effort to avoid introducing a disease.
Clean and disinfect your trailer when coming back from a show or event. Whether at home or when traveling, don’t let horses make nose-to-nose contact, and don’t share water buckets, grooming tools, or tack. Horses that are turned out together will, of course, be in contact, but allowing horses to join a pastured herd only after completing a period of quarantine will limit the spread of disease to a healthy population.
Vaccination against EHV-1 does not give permanent immunity, with protection lasting only about three to four months. In addition, available vaccines do not give reliable protection against the neurologic form of the disease. If your horse travels at all or is kept at a place where horses come and go frequently, check with your veterinarian regarding a schedule of immunizations that will best protect your horse.
