11/19/2025
🚨EHV Outbreak Update 🚨
With multiple cases in the US linked to recent horse events, we are asking all clients to stay informed and take proactive precautions to protect their horses and barns.
📌 What is EHV-1 and why is it a concern?
EHV-1 is a highly contagious virus that can cause:
• Respiratory illness
• Abortion in pregnant mares
• Neurologic disease (Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy, EHM)
Neurologic cases may show hind-end weakness, incoordination, urine dribbling, and in severe cases, the inability to stand.
✅ Steps Every Horse Owner Should Take Immediately
1. Monitor temperatures twice daily.
Fever (101.5°F / 38.6°C or higher) is often the earliest sign.
2. Isolate any horse showing fever, nasal discharge, cough, or neurologic symptoms.
3. Separate recently traveled or competed horses for at least 21 days.
4. Strengthen barn biosecurity:
• No nose-to-nose contact
• Disinfect equipment: buckets, trailers, tack, grooming tools
• Wash hands between horses and use dedicated clothing/boots around newly arrived or sick horses
5. Limit unnecessary movement of horses during this outbreak.
6. Vaccinate as recommended by your veterinarian.
While vaccines don’t prevent the neurologic form, they do help reduce viral shedding and respiratory disease.
🔍 Watch for These Signs
• Fever
• Nasal discharge or cough
• Depression, loss of appetite
• Hind-end weakness or incoordination
• Drooping tail, urine dribbling
• Pregnant mares aborting
📅 Important for Upcoming Appointments:
If your horse has:
• Attended events,
• Traveled recently, or been exposed to a horse with fever, respiratory signs, or confirmed EHV-1…..
👉 PLEASE contact us before your appointment.
This allows us to implement proper biosecurity measures and helps protect all horses on premises.
What is Equine Herpesvirus (EHV)?
You've probably heard it called Rhinopneumonitis, a respiratory tract disease that results in "snotty noses," but EHV is more than that. Depending on the strain, this virus can also cause abortion in broodmares, and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM) — the often-deadly neurologic form of the disease.
Because EHV is endemic in many equine populations, most mature horses have developed some immunity through repeated natural infection. However, they remain a source of infection for other susceptible horses, like weaned foals and yearlings, who usually display symptoms of the respiratory form of the disease in autumn and winter. Performance and show horses are also more vulnerable to the disease, as they commingle with unfamiliar equines in close quarters while under stress from travel and competition.
Proper biosecurity protocols can help reduce EHV outbreaks and other disease transmission. A variety of vaccines are also available for protection against both the respiratory and abortive form of the disease, but there is no equine licensed vaccine at this time that has a label claim for protection against the neurologic form (EHM).
Consult your primary equine veterinarian to learn more about this disease and work with them to determine the optimal vaccine protocol for your horses.
You can learn more about all three forms on the Equine Disease Communication Center's website here: https://equinediseasecc.org/infectious-diseases
