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GOOD QUESTION!
In short, its not impossible according to that article.. but more importantly, while horses are not generally victims of swine flu people are.
Which brings us back to Utah where the news media has said that the swine flu is again pandemic.
In reading all the articles on the EHV-1 virus and the cutting horses, it never ceases to amaze me that how an industry can be so self centered on their own situation and fail to realize that CUTTING HORSES ARE NOT A BREED. And no less how the news media will run with it.
Makes you really wonder if that association has tracked down all its people that were at the show and what steps they took to notify other equine associations? Surely there is a list of attendees that showed at Ogden and brought horses to the ring.
Makes you wonder too how many of the horses got home, maybe died later and no vet was called, and possibly exposed a neighboring equine or other farm. Or one of the cutting horses at the show went trail riding or to another show and got them exposed?
CUTTING HORSES ARE NOT A BREED. Cutting is not limited to just AQHA, APHA or western breeds and many such type horses are kept at boarding stables where other breeds are present. All a cutting horse is is a horse of not any particular breed or color but of a specific skill and that is to seperate a cow from a herd while EHV-1 does not seperate a breed of horse, it can infect any equine breed, including donkies and mules.
Approxiamately 700 horses at theOgden, Utah cutting horse show event were secondary contacts in the initial public outbreak of the EHV-1 and to which 34 cases to date are we aware of that died and who knows how many other horses have been exposed by those. And what of the handling of the dead animals. The horses came from far and wide to compete and the virus seems to be reaching out just as far.
How many of us here have multi purpose horses that are not only versatile for MSAR, but other jobs on and off the ranch and perhaps at another show event as well? Those of you that are one horse owners could probably answer that they use their horse not just for MSAR... Those of us with more than one horse, be it MSAR or not, given your traveling and location and potential to other exposure.. a whole herd at the home ranch or stable could fall victim to the infection.
And back to the swine flu issue, Did Kenneth Paul, a cutting horse trainer die of swine flu? Dont know. But it is however publically official that his daughters horse did die of EHV-1 and both were at the Ogden, Utah cutting horse event and where Kenneth Paul died on the show ground.
While treatable.. EHV-1 is not curable.
Swine flu.. wash your hands and there is a vacinne.
Karen Nesbitt - VMSAR - Iroquois County - Illinois
Genesis 50:9And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.
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