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SUMMER 2016 ISSUE
EQUINE MATTERS
1 2
KEEP ING HEALTHY
Frequency
Observation
Daily
Monthly
Bimonthly - Quarterly
Annually
Establish a good management routine for checking your horse for any
abnormalities.
Pick out feet
Check legs and body for lumps, bumps and wounds
Monitor demeanour, eating, drinking, droppings and urination
Record weight (using a weightape) and body condition score
- adjust feed and exercise accordingly
Book a visit from the farrier every 6-8 weeks, even if a horse
is unshod
Submit a poo sample and treat horses if required with a
suitable deworming product
Vaccinations and annual health check with your vet
Get teeth checked by your vet or a qualified equine dental
technician (EDT)
Disease prevention
and control
Be prepared!
Create a biosecurity plan for your yard.
This is a set of management practices that
reduces the potential for the introduction
or spread of infectious disease. The four
main areas that should be covered are
vaccination, yard design, quarantine and
disease control in the event of an outbreak.
The importance of this planning document
cannot be overstated.
Vaccination
Vaccination can prevent a horse from
getting an infectious disease, or lessen the
clinical signs associated with infection. If
you are unsure about why you should
vaccinate, here are five good reasons:
1)
Welfare - whilst some diseases such as
influenza can be very unpleasant, others
such as tetanus are very often fatal;
protect your horse by vaccinating for
common diseases.
2)
Cost - often the cost of treating an
infected horse is far greater than the
cost of vaccination.
3)
Lost time - infected horses need time off
to recover. This may mean time out from
competition, fewer opportunities to
qualify for events, loss of entry fees,
or simply time lost when you could be
enjoying your horse.
4)
Herd immunity - having a certain
percentage of the national herd
vaccinated makes it difficult for a disease
to spread as there are not enough
susceptible animals. Approximately 70%
of the UK horse population needs to be
vaccinated against ‘flu to achieve herd
immunity; current estimates are that
fewer than 50% are vaccinated.
5)
Yard closure - a disease outbreak can
close a yard for weeks or even months,
with no horses allowed on or off the
premises. This can have devastating
financial consequences for equine
businesses.
It is recommended that all horses are
vaccinated for ‘flu and tetanus. Vaccinations
are also available for Equine Herpesvirus
(EHV), strangles and some exotic (foreign)
diseases; your vet can advise if any of
these are appropriate for your horse.
Yard design
1)
Ensure stables are well ventilated.
2)
Keep stables clean and provide
adequate bedding to prevent build-up
of ammonia.
3)
Site the muck heap away from stabling
to reduce flies.
4)
Maintain pasture by removing
droppings where possible to reduce
worm burdens.
5)
Try to keep well-drained pasture for
winter use so that horses are not
standing in mud and maintain fencing
to reduce the risk of injury or horses
escaping from fields.
6)
Remove poisonous plants and trees or
fence them off to prevent access.
7)
Identify at risk horses e.g. youngstock,
broodmares or horses that travel
frequently, and keep them in separate
groups.
8)
Keep troughs, automatic drinkers, water
and feed buckets clean.
9)
Avoid sharing grooming kit, rugs, tack
and numnahs between horses and
clean these items regularly.
10)
Identify an area that can be used as
an isolation facility in the event of a
disease outbreak. This may be a
stable, barn or even a field that is
separate from the main yard.
New arrivals
New horses onto a yard need special
consideration as they represent a possible
means of introducing infection.
●
New arrivals should be kept in
quarantine for a minimum of 21 days.
●
Ideally they should be handled by
separate staff or, at minimum, protective
clothing should be worn and dedicated
equipment used.
●
New horses should be fully vaccinated
for influenza before entry onto the
premises.
●
A strangles blood test should have been
carried out in the week prior to arrival.
Ideally a second sample should be
taken prior to moving onto the main
yard.
●
Horses should have a worm egg count
performed and be treated with deworming
products targeted to small redworm
(cyathostomin) larvae and tapeworms.
Disease protocol
Establish a yard protocol that can be
followed in the event of an infectious
disease outbreak. This will usually follow
a traffic light system for sorting and
separating horses:
Red (high risk horses)
- these are horses
showing ANY clinical signs
Amber (in contact horses)
- horses that
have been in direct or indirect contact with
the red group
Green (no contact)
- horses that have had
no contact with the red and amber groups
and are showing no clinical signs
Using this system to manage groups with
differing infection risks reduces the potential
for continuing infection spread and will
shorten length of yard restrictions. Your vet
can help to establish a management plan
for each group.
These simple steps can make a huge
difference to the welfare of your horses and
the risk of disease on your yard. If you
would like more information or help in
developing a biosecurity plan, visit the
XLEquine website to obtain your copy of
the
PLAN, PREVENT, PROTECT
guide.