11/19/2025
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⚠️ IMPORTANT EHV NOTICE FOR OUR CLIENTS AND ALL HORSE OWNERS⚠️
There is an active Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) outbreak in Texas, traced to a recent event in Waco. This strain is believed to be highly aggressive and has been fatal, and we are taking it extremely seriously to protect your horses and our community.
⛑️ HERE IS HOW WE CAN HELP
To help keep everyone safe, we are implementing the following:
🐴 1. Temperature Monitoring at Home
• Please take your horse’s temperature twice daily (morning and evening), especially if:
• Your horse was at Waco, or
• Has been to any show or large event in the last 14 days.
• A re**al temperature ≥101.5°F is a concern. Call us if you see fever, nasal discharge, coughing, or any stumbling/neurologic signs.
🚚 2. “Stay on the Trailer” Policy for Suspect Cases
If you are worried about EHV exposure or your horse has a fever:
• Do NOT unload your horse when you arrive at the clinic.
• Park in our isolation lot and call the front desk from your vehicle upon arrival.
• We will send a team out to your trailer to:
• Check your horse’s temperature
• Perform an exam
• Collect nasal swabs or run stall-side EHV tests as needed
This is to minimize any risk of spreading the virus on our property.
📍 3. Waco Exposure Screening
When you call to schedule, our staff will ask:
• “Was your horse at Waco?”
• “Has your horse been to any large show in the last 14 days?”
• “What is your horse’s current temperature?”
Please be patient with these questions, they are in place to protect your horses and everyone else’s.
💊 4. Testing & Antiviral Support
We are working to ensure we have:
• Adequate stall-side testing for EHV
• Adequate antiviral medications for high-risk or confirmed cases
If warranted, we will discuss testing and treatment options with you on a case-by-case basis.
🧼 5. Biosecurity & Quarantine Measures
We are preparing an alternate isolation facility with designated staff, should it become necessary to quarantine EHV-positive horses in a separate barn under strict lockdown. This will help us continue to care for all patients safely.
If you suspect EHV exposure, please call us before hauling in, and remember:
✅ Take temperatures twice daily
✅ Do NOT unload if you’re concerned, we will come to your trailer
Thank you for working with us to protect your horses and the wider equine community.
👉🏻 How Horses Get EHV-1 👇🏼
Horses pick up EHV-1 when they’re exposed to the virus from another infected horse or from a contaminated environment. The virus spreads in a few main ways:
1. Nose-to-nose contact
This is the most common route.
An infected horse sheds the virus in nasal secretions, and another horse can inhale or come into contact with those droplets.
2. Aerosolized particles
When an infected horse coughs or sneezes, tiny droplets carrying the virus can travel through the air and be inhaled by nearby horses.
3. Shared equipment
Anything that touches an infected horse’s nose or mouth can carry the virus:
• Water buckets
• Feed tubs
• Halters/lead ropes
• Grooming tools
• Tack
• Thermometers
This is called fomite transmission.
4. People spreading it
Humans can carry the virus on:
• Hands
• Clothing
• Jackets
• Boots
• Equipment
and transfer it to another horse without realizing it.
5. From infected mares to foals
Pregnant mares infected with certain forms of EHV-1 can pass the virus to their unborn foal, leading to abortion or weak newborns.
👀 The tricky part
Horses can carry latent EHV-1, meaning the virus goes “silent” in their body. Stress (hauling, showing, illness, weather changes) can reactivate it, and the horse may start shedding virus again—even if they don’t look sick.
📸 Provided by: The Horse
