Reference materials for Neurological EHV-1

These are links to guides and protocols when dealing with suspected or confirmed cases of neurological EHV-1 from the USDA, andPenncylvania and NewJersey Departments of Agriculture.


A Guide To Understanding the Neurologic Form of EHV Infection; Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) Myeloencephalopathy http://bit.ly/gYpHHY

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services, Protocol for Regulatory Response to a Suspect Case of the Neurologic Form of EHV-1 http://bit.ly/hzN12k

SIMPLE DISINFECTION PROTOCOL FOR EHV-1: http://bit.ly/fRSCwD

NYRA quarantines barn at Belmont

According to NY state officials, NYRA voluntarily quarantined a barn at Belmont because of a horse exhibiting symptoms associated w EHV-1.

If You Like Horses, Chances Are You Like Dogs & This Is a Great Dog

EHV-1 Status Revised at Finger Lakes

After testing positive for EHV-1 with a saliva test, the second horse thought to have EHV-1 has shown to be negative following a more conclusive blood test. Also, a third horse that has been monitored has not shown signs of progression.

Major Shake up at Northlands Park Race Track in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

With new boss Richard Andersen at the helm, Northlands has parted ways with a reported 11 staffers, including senior managers Mike Burton (major events), Kevin Behm (racing) and VP Finance Mark Bamford.

There’s much speculation that Andersen will bring in his own team.
Says Northlands spokesman Randy Kilburn, “some individuals are no longer working for us,” He also says “they will be replaced.”

from The Derby Newsletter

Second Horse With EHV-1 Confirmed at Finger Lakes Race Track

A second horse infected by EHV-1 has been confirmed in the track barn of trainer Chris Englehart. Barn 4 at Finger Lakes Race Track, where Englehart's horses are stabled, and his home farm remain under quarantine. After complaints from trainers to the state vet, quarantine protocols have been tightened for both horses and staff at Barn 4..

A third horse in Barn 19 is alleged to be running a fever and is being monitored for EHV-1 symptoms. As of this writing, Barn 19 is not under quarantine.

Friends, Zenyatta & Turkey...Oh My!

Where to start when giving thanks? Do I bring it in personal or spin it out to the universe?

I am thankful and proud to have a great family of friends. We chat, laugh, tease, complain and whine together, that's what friends do.

What I am particularly thankful for is that "my guys" have my back when things go bad. Working with horses is a blessing. But when a situation starts spiraling downward, no amount of veterinary intervention, best practices or prayers can remediate a bad outcome -- the horse or foal may die or have to be euthanized.

In the moment, I deal with these nightmares professionally and compassionately. It is the emotional aftermath when my calls at three in the morning are picked up and kind ears listen. Thanks Judy, Norman, Ronnie and Nancy. Some of you have been listening for over thirty years, some of you listened in February.

Even though it's corny, I'm thanking the horses. In 2010, a great race mare, Zenyatta, caught our attention like no other race horse has for decades. Zenyatta's come-from-behind style of running, getting to the wire first nineteen out of twenty times brought her to the fore.

What kept and keeps our attention is her spirit, her aura. Off the track, her dancing and engaging her audience is legendary. In her barn her sweet nature has been shared by her owners Jerry and Ann Moss and her trainer John Sherriffs. Zenyatta poses for pictures, plucks snacks from hands, looks you in the eye. Looking back in Zenyatta's eye, you see a calm, kind sentient being.

I saw Zenyatta (and Goldikova, Work Force, Rough Sailing et al) because I covered the Breeders' Cup in Louisville, Ky. Jim Gluckson of the Breeders' Cup rolled out the welcome mat and I thank him. I have to give a shout out to my two "redheaded mares" Windy and Breezie. Now I can be amused forever that their names were in the same paragraph as Zenyatta's!

I've lived abroad, I've lived in other states, one thing I know is that I am a New Yorker. I am a thankful New Yorker because the governor finally got out of his own way and let the video lottery terminal (VLT) project commence at Aqueduct Race Track. A small share of revenues from the VLT's will shore up the thoroughbred breeding industry in N.Y.. I am not so thankful that the same, now lame duck governor is championing a casino to be run by a Native American tribe that has a tenuous-at-best claim to land in the Catskills. What up?

While on the subject of turkeys, I am thankful that I will be enjoying turkey on Thanksgiving Day, and I am mindful that others won't. Please join me in donating whatever you can, food or cash, to local food banks for the upcoming holiday season.

Cheers... and, thanks!