Teton Equine Mobile Veterinary Practice

11/25/2025

Keep updated on the spread. More cases and states identified.

‼️ EHM Outbreak Update‼️
Cases have now been confirmed in 8 states. Currently there are still no confirmed cases in California.

Please be aware that there may be other states with reported cases that are NOT related to this outbreak originating from TX. For the most accurate and up to date information please refer to:
https://www.equinediseasecc.org/news/article/Equine-Herpesvirus-Myeloencephalopathy-%28EHM%29-Outbreak

Please maintain strict biosecurity measures to keep our beloved horses safe this holiday season ❤️

11/23/2025

EHM has been identified in all these states now. Please take this seriously and keep your horses safe. Is that one event you want to go to really worth the risk?

11/22/2025

Thanks to Dr. Cooper for all this extremely important information. A current update on EHM prevalence as of now and all the important changes in regards to travel and event requirements. Please read to stay in the know!

𝐄𝐇𝐕-𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐇𝐌 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

The initial outbreak of EHV-1 with an EHM (Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy) form occurred after a Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals event in Waco, TX (Nov. 5-9). After this event, many of the same horses attended other events in TX and OK before experiencing any clinical signs (average of 4-7 day incubation period), which is what contributed to the multi-state spread of this disease. After the BFA event in Guthrie, OK was cancelled, owners were advised to leave the premises, bringing potentially exposed horses back to their home states and is another reason why we are seeing the disease in so many areas now.

As of 12:00pm on 11/21/2025, there are 15 confirmed cases of EHM and 1 confirmed case of EHV-1 without neurologic signs in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado and New Mexico. There is one unrelated case (not associated with this event/outbreak) reported in Maryland. There are many other horses undergoing testing without confirmed, reported numbers at this time.

So, what does this mean for current travel recommendations, health certificate requirements and upcoming events?

𝐀𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐚 & 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐠.: Horses that have been at the following locations will not be allowed entry into the state for 21 days following potential exposure even if they are not symptomatic if they have been on the following premises (subject to change):

- Extraco Events Center (Waco, TX)
- 377 Arena (Stephenville, TX)
- Lazy E Arena (Guthrie, OK)
- Jackson County (Edna, TX)

Health certificates for the horses traveling into these states will require a statement from the veterinarian filling out the health certificate stating that the horse has not been on one of these premises (or any that come up with an EHV-1/EHM positive case) for the 21 days leading up to the date of the health certificate.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝟑𝟎 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟓 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐇𝐕-𝟏/𝐄𝐇𝐌.

The National Finals Rodeo Committee released the following statement this morning in regards to the NFR event happening in December:
- “All horses must have a 7 day Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) and unique entry permit number obtained from the NV Dept. of Ag.
- All participants and competitors are responsible for daily temperature monitoring of their horses.
- There is a no-travel advisory for all horses participating and competing at the NFR.
- Enhanced verification and check-in procedures will be in place at the Thomas & Mack Center.
- Biosecurity measures will be maintained throughout the event.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 (𝐎𝐃𝐀) has additionally released new rules to mitigate EHV risk. Exhibitions/events where other equines will be present need to register with the ODA at least 20 days prior to the event. Additionally, event organizers/producers need to have a record of all animals/competitors for 90 days following the event, which will only need to be made available to the ODA in the case of an outbreak. They recommend consulting with your licensed veterinarian on protocols to establish if a sick animal is discovered during the event, and a licensed veterinarian of record must be available to provide services during the event. If any animals show potential signs of infectious, contagious or communicable disease they will not be allowed entry to exhibitions/events, and should remain isolated until they are able to be examined by a veterinarian.

As this is an evolving situation, guidelines will likely continue to change. Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below.

Up to date information on reported positive cases can be found here: https://equinediseasecc.org/news/article/Equine-Herpesvirus-Myeloencephalopathy-(EHM)-Outbreak

Rules for the state of OR can be found here: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/animal-health-feeds-livestock-id/exhibitions/pages/exhibition-rules.aspx

-Dr. Cooper

11/21/2025

FAQs about the EHM outbreak

11/21/2025

For updated information daily this is a good reliable site to follow

The Equine Disease Communication Center is monitoring an outbreak of EHM that originated at the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals and Elite Barrel Race event Nov 5-9. To date, officially confirmed cases have been reported in the following states-

11/20/2025

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR ALL OF THOSE STILL TRAVELING WITH HORSES AND attending EVENTS!!

The rules may be slightly different depending on the event you are attending or the state you are traveling to.

Note: if you have any more concerns regarding specific states you will be traveling in, you can always contact that State’s Animal Health Official who should be able to answer more in depth questions.

1. Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) which would normally be valid for 30 days will now only be valid for 5 days for many events and states if the origin state has had an EHM / Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1) detection in the previous 30 days.

2. All Coggins must be dated within 6 months of your event you are attending. This means that many of the coggins that were good for a year and now going to be VOID for entry into many states or events if not performed within the last 6 months.

3. All current Extended Equine Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (EECVI aka 6 month health certs) are cancelled and EECVI availability will be paused for the next 30 days at which time the EHV situation will be re-evaluated.

11/20/2025

Protect Your Horse From EHM If you are traveling or still choosing to attend events!!!!!

1. Avoid High-Risk Exposure: Choose venues with strong biosecurity. Avoid contact with sick horses and shared spaces like wash racks and communal water sources.

2. Prevent Nose-to-Nose Contact: Maintain distance from unfamiliar horses. Avoid stalled contact and casual petting by others.

3. Do Not Share Equipment: Bring your own buckets, hoses, tack, grooming supplies, and thermometers. Never share water buckets or hoses.

4. Practice Safe Hydration: Use your own travel hose. Do not submerge hose ends in water buckets. Clean buckets daily.

5. Support Your Horse’s Immune System: Keep EHV vaccines up to date. Minimize stress, ensure hydration, and provide proper quality nutrition while traveling. Electrolytes can also help to encourage water consumption.

6. Take Daily Temperature Readings: Monitor for early fever (99–101.5°F is considered normal). A fever is often the first sign of EHM.

7. Post-Travel Quarantine: Isolate returning horses for 7–14 days after events. Monitor temperature twice daily. This protects your other horses, it prevents and the spread of any diseases your horse may have been exposed to.

8. Essential Biosecurity Supplies: Carry disinfectant, hand sanitizer, spare halter, thermometer, paper towels, and personal water buckets. A 50:50 bleach to water solution can be used to decontaminate wheel barrows, stalls, trailers, etc. Note- it will not decontaminate organic material such as dirt on the ground.

9. Recognize Early Signs: Watch for fever, nasal discharge, lethargy, inappetence, ataxia (lack of muscle coordination leading to clumsy movements), hind-end weakness, tail tone loss, or urine dribbling.

10. Confirm Event Biosecurity: Ask organizers about recent EHV cases, monitoring protocols, and emergency response plans. Find out what measures they are taking at the event to keep the horses safe in regards to vet checks, health certs, vaccination certificates etc.

11/19/2025

The State Veterinarians are meeting today to make a decision on what to do in regards to the recent outbreak. We will keep you updated as we find out more information.

Equine herpesvirus (EHV) is a family of equine viruses named by numbers including EHV-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 with EHV-1,3,4 posing the most risk for domestic horses. EHV is a common DNA virus that occurs in horse populations worldwide. The two most common species are EHV-1 and EHV-4.

10/30/2025

As we go into fall, some of our mares are coming in for their midterm pregnancy checks. Here is a video of a fetus approximately 5 months in gestation. The pregnancy begins to sit low in the uterus and abdomen during this time of gestation as the fetus is growing quickly, but sometimes you get lucky and you can still see the entire anatomy of the foal beginning to
form. Dr. Morgan explains what structures are apparent on the exam. Turns out there's is a 50% chance this foal will be a mare! 😜

10/24/2025

We are headed to the Star Valley area October 29th. Please reach out to us at 208-881-7753 if anyone needs anything while we are in the area!

09/22/2025

MEET OUR STAFF!! If you've ever hauled in to us you have probably both seen and heard our sweet little Teton Equine Mascot. His name is Biscuit. He is a 4 year old miniature donkey who enjoys life to its fullest. Biscuit is commonly seen either hanging out in his pen with his best friend "spud" one of the largest horses on the property (aka Biscuit's security guard). Or free roaming and eating weeds. Biscuit likes to greet everyone who arrives and loves attention especially from kids his size. He has big plans to come along for a pack trip with us this fall and has his own miniature sawhorse pack saddle he proudly wears!

09/19/2025

This is a patient of ours that came in on emergency due to an injured eye. This poor horse sustained a deep enough injury to the cornea that it actually ruptured the globe. The eye itself is full of what we call aqueous solution. Although the eyeball appears to be a solid sphere, it is actually more like a balloon full of this aqueous fluid. Therefore, if something punctures the cornea deeply enough, all the fluid is expelled, the eye deflates and becomes non-visual because the structures like the iris and the lens (normally suspended within the fluid) fall to the front of the eyeball without that suspension and can even prolapse through the punctured cornea if the opening is large enough. This is an extremely painful condition for the horse and is considered an emergency. The eye is typically surgically removed if the damage is severe enough as it will never be functional again and only be a source of intense pain. In fact, most horses with this condition come in so painful that even after the surgical procedure they actually leave with less pain than what they were experiencing when they came in.

However, we recommend clients reach out even if the cornea only appears scratched, because even a small corneal scratch (or ulcer) can turn into a ruptured eye if treatment is not initiated immediately. Ulcers in horses are one of the most concerning conditions as the equine eye tends to be one of the most susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections secondary to the scratch that eat away at the cornea rapidly and can lead to rupture. Once the eye ruptures, it is extremely unlikely that the eye will ever recover and function properly. In fact, most require surgical removal due to the damage and pain associated with such an injury. Therefore, dont ever wait on contacting your veterinarian if you notice eye issues in your horse before it's too late.

You will be happy to know that this patient went on to recover well and is just as happy with only one functional eye. Horses tend to do better than most would think even with only one eye and many can even still compete at a high level as well. The resilience and heart of the horses never ceases to amaze us!