Horse Quarantine in Wyoming and Montana???

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Miniv

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Do any of you Montana or Wyoming folks know anything about a quarantine that will prevent driving through either state or picking up/delivering horses there???

I have heard a rumor that this is the case. Don't know what disease it is supposed to be but the rumor is saying that this will be in effect through October. If this is the case, it will GREATLY impact any of us in the Northwest going to both Nationals.

Usually, I can check this out but can't find any information on it at the USDA site.

Thanks in advance

LarryC
 
Hi Maryann -

I just called my vet, and I was told that it relates to VS and horses coming in and out of Canada.

You need a current coggins and health certificate just like always, but there is no quarantine that they are aware of for horses coming through Wyoming or being picked up and delivered.

Jean Howard
 
I have not heard a word, Maryann. I'll sure let you know if I do!

Susan O.
 
There is also an Anthrax epidemic that is going through the Northern states. It's affecting mostly cattle, but some horses have been diagnosed and I know my vet said some hauling and transporting has been shutdown. I don't know what states are affected.
 
Larry I know a transport company t hat was just in MT and in fact heading back in there tomorrow. VS is the issue and I have heard they are really checking paperwork all over the place and stopping trailers along the highways to make sure it is all in order
 
Hi Larry...this may or may not help, but thought I would mention it anyway.

On August 5th, I was told NO HORSES ARE ALLOWED IMPORT from Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado. So unless something has come up since then??? This was in regards to importing horses from those states into Canada.
 
I don't know if this is anything to help but I was told by a potential buyer that a horse sale in Montana was cancelled because of some stomach desease, she'd had 7 horses consigned to it.
 
Wyoming was added early this month, Mona. THEN without our Vets knowing it Montana was added on August 10th. We have two horses that were met in Shelby, Montana to transport into Canada.................

Unfortunately they found out at the border abt Montana. USDA had not notified any of the vets abt Montana until THIS week. So I had to scramble and find someplace for these two to go for a 21 day quarantee. A WONDERFUL vet clinic in Deer Park, Washington has put them up and really helped on the price of their boarding because of the circumstances the new owner was in.

I learned one thing from this and that is to call the day the horses leave for an updated list!

Debi
 
ohmy.gif
OMG Debi, that is AWFUL! How frustrating that must have been! YIKES!!!
 
It was just terrible, Mona. The new owner was so upset and there was nothing I could do to help but find somewhere for the babies to go. Thank goodness these two fillies are very laid back so they have adjusted quickly to the clinic. But I can only imagine the disappointment of the new owner when she got to the border after picking her babies up in Shelby thinking they were on the way home.

Your Ministry of Ag says it is our USDA that is really dropping the ball on this! By the way, you know the new owner. She told me last night on the phone (she is still in Washington getting them settled) to be sure and let you know today abt it..... I forgot til I saw this thread!
 
Right now there is no problem of horses going through Montana to other states but they can't be shipped into Canada from Montana due to this state having an outbreak of VS. Yes, the very large horse sale here at Billings has been postponed until the end of October due to the outbreak. Hopefully by then a hard frost will have killed off what ever it is that spreads the desease. There has also been a case of Potomac fever diagnosed here and possible others who have it. Not a good thing. Mary

DebiM said:
It was just terrible, Mona.  The new owner was so upset and there was nothing I could do to help but find somewhere for the babies to go.  Thank goodness these two fillies are very laid back so they have adjusted quickly to the clinic.  But I can only imagine the disappointment of the new owner when she got to the border after picking her babies up in Shelby thinking they were on the way home. 
Your Ministry of Ag says it is our USDA that is really dropping the ball on this!  By the way, you know the new owner.  She told me last night on the phone (she is still in Washington getting them settled) to be sure and let you know today abt it..... I forgot til I saw this thread!

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Just make sure on your health certificate your vet actually writes on it VS Negative and you should be OK...That is what I was told to do when I move to New Mexico and started going into Texas alot for barrel races.
 
Am I understanding this correctly that we can travel through these states from other US states we just cannot transport across US/Canada border?

This is the route we planned on taking to Tulsa as we are supposed to pick up a filly in Billings to take to Tulsa.
 
Yes Annette, There is no problem in coming through Montana. Anyway at this time]Everything here is in quarantine that has VS. Canada is not allowing anything in from Montana. Have a good trip. Mary

hhpminis said:
Am I understanding this correctly that we can travel through these states from other US states we just cannot transport across US/Canada border?  This is the route we planned on taking to Tulsa as we are supposed to pick up a filly in Billings to take to Tulsa.

455375[/snapback]

 
I was planning on posting a thread on this but I see it has already started.

I am the person Debi was referring to in her post on this thread. This has truly been a week from heck. Prohibited from going home but also compelled to get my horses out of Montana ASAP. My girls will not be able to enter Canada until they have been out of Montana for 21 days. So I left my girls in WA.

I truly would have been lost if Debi hadn't been turning over every rock trying to find an appropriate place for me to take my two horses. I meanwhile was getting settled in to a hotel and trying to secure such horse necessities such as hay. Meanwhile the weather in Montana took a dive and my southern girls had to endure rain and temperatures that were hovering near 33 degrees F.

So I arrived back in central Alberta tonight alone. Now, about what I have learned about VS and the movement of horses both across the border and between states. I was told at the clinic in WA today that WA state requires now that resident horses that are leaving the state for a period of time be granted a permit to do so and that an itinerary is required and that the permit is valid for 30 days only. Until this outbreak in Montana the permit would be for 6 months and no itinerary was required. I am fuzzy on this interstate transport business so I would suggest that you deal with appropriate agencies in your state as well as federally.

The other thing I have learned is this. The situation is extremely fluid. A state can be clear yet that can change on a dime. All it takes is one case of VS and everything changes. I can only hope and pray that there are no cases diagnosed in Washington state in the next three weeks or the border will remain closed to my girls.

Now I am sure too that some folks will do some thinking and come up with ways to try and get around all this, just as I did. First off, when I enetered Montana early Tuesday morning, I told US Customs what I was doing with respect to getting my horses and that I would be crossing back in to Canada that same day at the same crossong. I was not told by US Customs that the border would be closed to my horses on my return. If I had been told that then I would have crossed in Idaho or North Dakota. Another day of driving but I still would have been able to cross with the horses. Secondly, when I did try to cross in to Canada my health certificates were stamped at that border crossing. That meant they were useless for entry at a border crossing in another state. As it stands now their health certificates will expire while they are in WA and new certificates will need to be issued.

On the bright side of this whole thing though is the knowledge I have that my two little horses are in the best possible place I could hope for. The staff at Deer Park were exceptional in their dealings with Debi and with myself upon my arrival there the next day. So In that respect I have peace of mind but the next person may not be as lucky as I was to have somone working the phones for them and to also have a place like Deer Park enter the equation.

All I know is that once my girls cross the border I would think long and hard about having them cross back over for any reason. Not wanting to put a damper on all those folks getting so excited about Nationals and AMHA worlds, but you need to think about what the possibilities are. To find yourself turned back at the border and stranded with your horses is not something I would ever want anyone else to experience. At the very least have a back up plan ready in the event the worst case scenario happens. All it takes is five minutes of driving down the highway in an affected state and it's game over unfortunately.

Now I will try and get some sleep. It has been an exhausting and truly heartbreaking week.
 
EMB said:
I was planning on posting a thread on this but I see it has already started. 


 


I thought the restriction was if you unloaded and stayed overnight in a state which had VS present then you were caught in a quarantine. I'm trying very hard to recall the VS statement I had to put on the Federal health papers of horses going from Kansas to Canada last week for an Arabian horse show- I work for an equine vet. Seems like the statement focused on whether the horses had been on a premise in a state w/ positive VS verses passing through a state, but I could be wrong.
sad.gif


 


You are correct to mention plan your route very carefully to avoid driving through a VS postive state. Last year Kentucky required a negative VS test w/in 10 days of entering the state which caught exhibitors off guard when they arrived at the showground of a major show to unload. A whole lot of scrambling went on for a few days while blood was pulled and sent to the Fed lab in Iowa for testing.


 


Anyway, glad you had a good outcome given the hoops and problems you encountered. How very, very frustrating!!!!
 

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