11/21/2025
Preventing EHV-1, Strangles, and Other Contagious Diseases at Walden Ridge Equestrian Center
I'm sharing so that hopefully other horse and farm owners will take the time to educate themselves on how to reduce the risk of infectious viruses or bacteria from entering and spreading on their farms. IT'S NOT FUN!
Protecting our horses from contagious viruses and bacteria requires a shared commitment. While the farm can implement protocols, it is ultimately each individual horse owner’s responsibility to follow them diligently—and to ensure that anyone you invite onto the property does the same.
If you do not advocate for your horse’s health, no one else will.
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Biosecurity Practices at Home
• Mandatory Testing and Quarantine:
All incoming horses are tested and quarantined before entering the main barns or joining any herd. Any sick or high-risk horses will be placed in quarantine until testing can be done.
• **NEW** EHV/Rhino Booster Schedule:
Horses will now receive EHV/Rhino boosters every six months to help reduce viral shedding.
Please note: Vaccination does not guarantee a horse won’t contract EHV-1, but it does significantly reduce risk and severity.
• Sanitation Stations:
Boot washes and hand sanitizer will be maintained in each barn and the arena so that all visitors can disinfect before entering.
• Daily Temperature Monitoring:
Every owner should take and record their horse’s temperature daily to establish a baseline.
Temperatures can fluctuate due to heat cycles, weather, exercise, or illness. Knowing your horse’s norm allows you to identify abnormalities early.
• Do Not Share Equipment:
Do not share tack, brushes, buckets, feed tubs, or grooming tools with other horses—at home or at shows.
• No Using Other Horses’ Stalls:
Your horse should never be placed in another horse’s stall.
• Disinfect Bucket-Cleaning Tools:
Brushes and tools used to clean feed and water buckets must be disinfected between uses to prevent cross-contamination.
• Visitor Protocol:
Coaches, veterinarians, farriers, body workers, saddle fitters, co-boarders, and any other visitors must not come directly from another farm.
If they do, they must:
o Perform a complete clothing change
o Disinfect boots
o Disinfect any equipment they bring into the barn
If a service provider is unwilling to follow basic biosecurity, consider whether they truly prioritize your horse’s health. These precautions only seem extreme until a disease outbreak affects their facility.
It's also VERY IMPORTANT to remember that you should do the same when visiting other farms, tack shop's or events!! Never wear the same clothing always do a complete change first. Remember that your car seats and floor mats can also become contaminated!!
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Biosecurity When Traveling Off-Property
• Shippers and Trailers:
If you hire a shipper, it is your responsibility to ensure the trailer has been fully disinfected.
Use your own trailer tie and hay bag.
Be cautious: if there are old shavings on the floor, the trailer has likely not been thoroughly cleaned. You should remove the used bedding, fog and disinfect the trailer yourself, then add your own bedding before loading your horse if bedding is something you want.
• Trailer/Show Stall Foggers Available:
If you are ever unsure, we have a designated disinfecting (Virkon) fogger available for everyone to use at Walden Ridge.
• Absolutely No Shared Rides:
Do not trailer your horse with horses from other farms.
• Show Stall Disinfection:
Upon arrival at a show, disinfect your stall completely—walls, bars, buckets, door latches, and floors. Never assume the stall has been cleaned. Take charge and do it yourself.
• No Sharing Equipment:
Do not share buckets, hoses, tack, grooming tools, or feed equipment with anyone else.
• No Touching Horses:
Do not allow people to touch your horse, and do not touch other horses.
• No Grazing at Shows or Unknown Properties:
You never know which horses were grazing there before you arrived.
• No Socializing with Outside Horses:
Do not allow your horse to nose or visit with horses that are not stabled at our farm.
• Assume Nothing—Protect Everything:
Biosecurity is about prevention. Never assume others have the same standards you do.
Take matters into your own hands to ensure the safety of our horses and our farm.
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A Final Note
I understand that some of these precautions may seem excessive or unnecessary to some. People often feel that way—until they experience an outbreak themselves.
Please know that we will continue to take every precaution on our end to prevent this from happening again. With everyone working together and staying informed, we can significantly reduce the risk of contagious disease entering our farms!
