Quarantined Horses Missing In Missouri!

[osu_barrelracer]

I don't think these people are thinking about the effect that their actions could have on the horse industry.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/19794765/detail.html#

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

I don't know why I am still amazed by people's stupidity and selfishness. I hope they find those two horses asap.

 

[Jill]

That is very disturbing

 

[~Lisa~]

I just heard this when some friends tried to cross horses into canada they said if they had been in this state it was a no go across the border

 

[shelly]

STUPID SELFISH PEOPLE!!!!!

:No-Sad

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Oh my God! This could be awful if they don't find those horses quickly. Must have been the owners that took them. Uggg!!! Some people, I swear.

 

[Annabellarose]

I know what they are doing is wrong, but I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling knowing that their horses are going to be euthanized.

I know the terror that you feel as the owner of a horse that is quarantined in this manner. A friend of mine used to breed and show Arabians and she would occasionally take a horse or two in for board; the owners/boarders were almost always friends of hers. She offered me a stall for my (soulmate) mare before/during my first show season ever because I didn't have a barn with stalls at that time (only a run-in shed). The other boarder at the time had just purchased an older Thoroughbred gelding for her daughter who was learning to ride; my friend was giving her lessons. One afternoon, his legs began to swell and in a very, very short time they had swelled so much that the skin covering his legs splint open the entire length of his legs. The owner rushed him to a major equine medical/surgical center in Lexington (Kentucky) as soon as we found him that way and they diagnosed him with purpura hemorrhagica. They quarantined my friend's property; her entire herd of Arabian (some of them were bought for the outrageous amounts of money that people were selling/paying Arabians for in the early-80s) show horses, broodmares, and stallions along with my mare. We had to check all of their temperatures rectally every four hours for two weeks and vets were constantly coming and going to check on things. I ended up with a stomach ulcer. I was so stressed and terrified! I will never forget that time in my life, it was awful.

 

[krissy3]

maybe its wrong to think this way, but if they were fancy racehorses they are worth money...are the owners trying to make a quick buck off them by selling them to some poor people? Arent you suppose to have a Coggens test first before entering the US..Before I shipped my animals to the US , I would have them tested for everything that might get them rejected on the other side. I did this for my 2 dogs and cat before moving to Europe.I feel sorry for the horses, I am sure they will find them, I am sure the paperwork is a mile long on the owners ,vet,trainers etc. But to risk the spread of a disease is rotten to the core. I read that horses from some places south of France had some kind of condition from ticks and wouldnt be accepted into US. I read it on the quarantine application once.

 

[Annabellarose]

A Coggins test does not detect equine piroplasmosis. Per this document (an educational read) you can learn how they typically detect equine piroplasmosis by reading under "Laboratory tests" on the second page.

 

[Minimor]

I know what they are doing is wrong, but I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling knowing that their horses are going to be euthanized.

I know the terror that you feel as the owner of a horse that is quarantined in this manner. A friend of mine used to breed and show Arabians and she would occasionally take a horse or two in for board; the owners/boarders were almost always friends of hers. She offered me a stall for my (soulmate) mare before/during my first show season ever because I didn't have a barn with stalls at that time (only a run-in shed). The other boarder at the time had just purchased an older Thoroughbred gelding for her daughter who was learning to ride; my friend was giving her lessons. One afternoon, his legs began to swell and in a very, very short time they had swelled so much that the skin covering his legs splint open the entire length of his legs. The owner rushed him to a major equine medical/surgical center in Lexington (Kentucky) as soon as we found him that way and they diagnosed him with purpura hemorrhagica. They quarantined my friend's property; her entire herd of Arabian (some of them were bought for the outrageous amounts of money that people were selling/paying Arabians for in the early-80s) show horses, broodmares, and stallions along with my mare. We had to check all of their temperatures rectally every four hours for two weeks and vets were constantly coming and going to check on things. I ended up with a stomach ulcer. I was so stressed and terrified! I will never forget that time in my life, it was awful.

How bizarre. Why would they quarantine a farm because of purpura??? It is NOT contagious--it is simply an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection. Of all the horses that get strangles each year only a very small number get purpura. Barns get quarantined for strangles, but not for purpura! I know of what I speak, for we have had one case of purpura. Believe me, the only concern the vet had was for that particular horse--by the time he showed signs of purpura the illness caused by the S.equi was long gone. There was no point in quarantining for the strangles, and no need to quarantine for purpura.

I'm a bit puzzled--a search I did on the internet indicates that there is no cure for piroplasmosis, and yet my vet book states that horses can be treated (catching it early gives the best chance of success) though it may take several weeks for the horse to stop shedding the protazoa. Horses in areas where the disease is common develop a pretty good immunity to it according to this book. I'm just wondering why these horses were euthanized--were they that sick? And if so, then I can't see how taking them away will save them anyway. If not, is it the US policy to euthanize rather than treat?

 

[Annabellarose]

I know what they are doing is wrong, but I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are feeling knowing that their horses are going to be euthanized.

I know the terror that you feel as the owner of a horse that is quarantined in this manner. A friend of mine used to breed and show Arabians and she would occasionally take a horse or two in for board; the owners/boarders were almost always friends of hers. She offered me a stall for my (soulmate) mare before/during my first show season ever because I didn't have a barn with stalls at that time (only a run-in shed). The other boarder at the time had just purchased an older Thoroughbred gelding for her daughter who was learning to ride; my friend was giving her lessons. One afternoon, his legs began to swell and in a very, very short time they had swelled so much that the skin covering his legs splint open the entire length of his legs. The owner rushed him to a major equine medical/surgical center in Lexington (Kentucky) as soon as we found him that way and they diagnosed him with purpura hemorrhagica. They quarantined my friend's property; her entire herd of Arabian (some of them were bought for the outrageous amounts of money that people were selling/paying Arabians for in the early-80s) show horses, broodmares, and stallions along with my mare. We had to check all of their temperatures rectally every four hours for two weeks and vets were constantly coming and going to check on things. I ended up with a stomach ulcer. I was so stressed and terrified! I will never forget that time in my life, it was awful.

How bizarre. Why would they quarantine a farm because of purpura??? It is NOT contagious--it is simply an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection. Of all the horses that get strangles each year only a very small number get purpura. Barns get quarantined for strangles, but not for purpura! I know of what I speak, for we have had one case of purpura. Believe me, the only concern the vet had was for that particular horse--by the time he showed signs of purpura the illness caused by the S.equi was long gone. There was no point in quarantining for the strangles, and no need to quarantine for purpura.

We might be talking about something different as purpura hemorrhagica is or can be related to influenza. The horses were quarantined by our county for influenza, which was the cause of this particular case of purpura hemorrhagica. Here is an article about the link between influenza and purpura hemorrhagica. Whatever your experience has been with this disease, we were at the mercy of the county and we were under quarantine by order of the county and there was nothing that we could do about it.

Here is another article, from Cornell, that associates purpura hemorrhagica with influenza (page 6, line 7, the equine influenza virus is listed as the first disease as "other pathogens associated with purpura hemorrhagica").

I try not to post about what I do not know.

 

[Minimor]

As far as I know there is only one condition known as purpura hemorrhagica--it's often shorted to just "purpura"...and it is most often associated with strangles infection. I can't say "always" but everything I've read says most often.

http://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/4/45664.html

http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/abstract/135/5/3134

The Merck vet manual on line is down this morning; I'm quite sure they have a good reference to the condition--I looked it up & sent it to a friend a few weeks ago.

Even one of the articles you referenced states that the purpura occurs well after the influenza infection so it would seem pointless to quarantine for influenza after one horse comes down sick with purpura. Of course you would be at the mercy of your county's regulations, but I'm sure glad that our officials here haven't come up with such pointless restrictions. I didn't think there were any places in North America that require quarantine for equine influenza. Strangles isn't even a reason for official quarantine--it's usually a self-imposed quarantine by the individual barns when they have an outbreak.

I would suggest that a number of cases of "influenza" are actually strangles, and people just don't realize it--quite frequently strangles does not include the most obvious symptom of abcesses, and I've found that if there are no abcesses then owners don't think they have strangles. It's not necessarily so. This could account for why some believe that purpura goes along with influenza--just something to consider.

Just as an FYI for everyone--purpura hemorrhagica is the reason why you are not supposed to give the stranges vaccine to any horse that has previously had strangles. (or to any horse which MAY have had strangles in the past, if you do not know the horse's history) Giving the vaccine to such horses may cause purpura. This is a very serious condition with a very high mortality rate and of those horses that recover many are left with permanent damage from the severe swelling and from the damage to blood vessels.

 

[Annabellarose]

Even one of the articles you referenced states that the purpura occurs well after the influenza infection so it would seem pointless to quarantine for influenza after one horse comes down sick with purpura.

Minimor, I am not arguing with you that it "seem(ed) pointless to quarantine for influenza after one horse comes down sick with purpura." I just wanted to point out to you, after your post, that purpura hemorrhagica can be caused by more than just "an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection" (what you stated). I backed up my statement with resources, one from a prestigious university (Cornell). Unfortunately, I am very familiar with purpura hemorrhagica as I was witness to a particularly violent case that was found to have been caused by equine influenza and not "an allergic reaction to the toxins released by the dying S. equi bacteria following a strangles infection" (your statement). The case in question was treated at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

Of course you would be at the mercy of your county's regulations,

Which was the point of my post; irregardless of the disease, I was sharing my story to explain why I understand how horrifying it can be to be in a similar situation (forced quarantine).