02/08/2024
Did you know….even the vet’s animals get sick sometimes?
🤯 Wait, WHAT?! **GASP** 🤯
That's right, my horse contracted a virus at an event a couple weeks ago. Thankfully, with early detection and the proper care she is now right as rain, and none of my other critters got sick.
If the vet’s animal got sick, what can YOU do to prevent illness when traveling with your animals?
👉👉 Follow the swiss cheese model of biosecurity. This means that no one measure is impermeable, but by layering them together most contagious diseases can be stopped. 👈👈
1) If your animal is sick or recovering from illness, keep them home! Don't be *that* guy, just don't.
2) If you notice a sick animal at your event, avoid it! Notify the management so steps can be taken to remove the animal, if appropriate. Things to look for include cough, nasal or ocular (eye) discharge, diarrhea, or skin lesions.
3) If possible, decontaminate and disinfect your stall or pen before placing your animal. Remove any overt contamination (ie manure, old bedding, old feed, etc) and spray with a 10% bleach solution. This will not be foolproof, many facilities have wood stalls and dirt floors. Porous surfaces can prevent full coverage of the disinfectant and organic material can deactivate it.
4) Use your own equipment: feeders, water buckets, pitchforks, wheelbarrows, etc. and avoid sharing them. Communal equipment can carry bacteria and viruses even if the animals aren't in contact. Try to fill water buckets directly from the spigot instead of a hose. People tend to place hose ends in their buckets while filling, which can contaminate them. If the hose cannot be removed, consider wiping down the end and letting the water run for several seconds before filling your bucket.
5) Wash your hands often and keep your boots clean.
6) Make sure your animals are current on recommended vaccinations! Vaccines can prevent contracting a disease, or at least minimize the severity of infection.
7) If possible, keep your traveling animals separate from your home animals.
8) If your animal shows signs of illness after attending an event, isolate them and contact your veterinarian. We can run diagnostics and administer treatments, and make recommendations for prevention. Use separate equipment and take care of sick animals AFTER healthy animals to minimize transfer of infectious organisms. Use disinfecting foot baths coming out of the sick animal’s area to prevent carrying organisms on your boots.
Some bacteria and viruses can be carried and shed by asymptomatic animals showing no outward signs of illness, and we don't have vaccines for everything out there, so it is impossible to eliminate risk entirely when traveling with our animals.
However, these steps can go a long way to mitigating risk and keeping your animals happy and healthy!
❤️ Safe travels, my friends! ❤️
