11/19/2025
Due to a recent & spreading EHV-1 outbreak in Texas and Oklahoma, horse owners should be taking extra precautions to prevent the spread. Here’s what you need to know:
🦠Reduce Movement
Avoid shows, clinics, and co-mingling horses for the next few weeks. Movement is the #1 driver of spread.
🦠Check Temperatures
Fever is often the very first sign. If temp is 101.5°F or higher, call your vet immediately.
🦠Know Symptoms
• Fever
• Weakness or incoordination
• Wide-based stance
• Changes in tail tone
• Difficulty urinating
• Lethargy or decreased appetite
🦠Biosecurity
• Do not share water buckets, grooming tools, nebulizers, or tack
• Disinfect thermometers with Lysol & disinfect trailers and stalls with a 1:10 bleach to water ratio
• Isolate any horse with a fever 30+ yards away & handle them LAST
• Wash hands, use bleach foot baths, and change clothes between barns when possible. Gloves and other PPE, like boot covers, should be used when handling potentially infected horses.
🦠Vaccination
Vaccines do not prevent the neurologic form, but boosters can reduce viral shedding and shorten viremia—both of which help limit barn-wide spread. We recommend vaccinating horses at least bi-annually with a flu/rhino vaccine if they are traveling.
Do NOT vaccinate febrile or exposed horses until cleared by your vet.
🦠Our Stance at EMC
If your horses have travelled to Texas or Oklahoma, or been exposed to horses traveling from these areas, a 14 day quarantine is recommended, with twice daily temp checks. If fever is noted, contact us. Horses will be tested via nasal swab & started on prophylactic valacyclovir (an antiviral medication) and provided with supportive care.
Here are links for more information on EHV:
AAEP EHV Consensus Statement:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1ConsensusStatement2024.pdf
AAEP Fact Sheet:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1-4-guidelines-2021.pdf
Equine CDC Outbreak Alerts: https://www.equinediseasecc.org
EMC is committed to providing up to date information to help best protect your horses.