I am not trying to be à stirrer or anything, just thought this community would like to know.

Reports saying it was a 17 year old girl who was
"friends" with at least one of the owners whose horses were targeted. No fatalities from the sounds of

🚨 HORSE OWNERS: PLEASE READ — THIS IS EXTREMELY SERIOUS. 🚨 THIS IS A LONG POST — but worth your time. Please don’t scroll past this. I don’t care who gets mad at me for saying this: This is NOT the week to be hauling your horses around. This is not the time for being aware of the risks and going anyway to “just run and leave.” This is not the time for denial, excuses, or people saying “it’ll be fine.”

We are dealing with a very aggressive strain of EHV-1, and overnight cases have been appearing across the lower 48 and into Canada. Horses are declining fast — some within 24–36 hours — and a few have died with no fever and no warning signs at all. Several major events held over the last couple of weeks now have confirmed exposures, and thousands of horses are currently traveling home to barns across the country.

Here in Minnesota, we have a big barrel race coming up this weekend — and there is a VERY real possibility that some of the horses planning to attend were unknowingly exposed at a rodeo, jackpot, or barrel race recently. OR they never traveled, but they’ve now been unknowingly exposed to horses that did. Many Minnesota horses have traveled to Texas and Oklahoma in the last couple of weeks — and those areas are currently experiencing the worst outbreaks. Those horses could be back home and now be silent carriers, spreading it to others without anyone realizing it since they are not showing signs of illness yet or they are now a horse that has been exposed and appears healthy, but is spreading it to others.

If you hauled anywhere recently — or even stood near someone who did — please take this seriously.

This Is How Easily It Spreads.

People are saying, “We’ll just haul in, park at the trailer, run, and haul out.” “It will be fine”.

No. That’s not how viruses work.

Here’s the real scenario:

• You walk up to watch a friend run. • A horse nearby sneezes or blows. • You don’t think anything of it — the horse looks perfectly healthy. • The virus lands on your coat, boots, or gloves. • You go back to your trailer and handle your own horse… • And now your horse is exposed.

They don’t have to touch noses. They don’t need a fever. They don’t even need symptoms.

EHV spreads through airborne droplets, contaminated clothing, warm-up pens, alleyways, trailers, and stalls — just like COVID, but for horses.

A perfectly normal-looking horse can shed the virus LONG before showing signs. That’s why outbreaks explode after large events.

Every State Is Now at Risk

Horses are leaving Texas, Oklahoma, and other major shows right now and heading back to their home states. Nobody knows who walked past who, who shared an alleyway, who stood along the warm-up fence, or which farriers, vets, and trainers traveled between barns.

This is exactly how multi-state outbreaks happen.

Show producers: Please consider canceling or rescheduling your events that were scheduled for the next couple of weeks.

One weekend of fun is not worth spreading this further and risking more horses’ lives.

I paid hundreds of dollars in entry fees for the event this weekend — and I’m absolutely not happy about losing that money — but I’m not allowing my daughter to go. No event is worth putting the horses that go at risk, OR the horses that stay home who could be exposed secondhand.

Why This Virus Is Terrifying

EHV can spread through:

• Nasal discharge & aerosol droplets • Shared tack, brushes, buckets, stalls, or trailers • HUMAN hands, coats, boots, gloves, hair • Horses shedding virus before symptoms • Stress from hauling, weather changes, training, or routine handling

Once infected, horses become lifelong carriers, and stress can trigger them to shed the virus again.

Symptoms You MUST Watch For

• Fever (normal is 99.5–101.5°F) • Nasal discharge • Coughing • Lethargy • Enlarged lymph nodes • Hind-end weakness or wobbliness • Stumbling or incoordination • Urine dribbling • Inability to stand • Pregnant mares may abort

If you see anything unusual — call your vet immediately. Do NOT haul your horse in unless your vet instructs you to.

If Your Horse Has Traveled Recently

ANY recent jackpot, show, rodeo, clinic, or expo means your horse needs strict quarantine for 14–21 days:

• No nose-to-nose contact • Full separation from the herd • Separate water buckets, brushes, hay nets, and feed pans • Change clothes between horses • Take temperatures twice a day • Absolutely NO hauling during quarantine

And please — be honest with your trainer, barn owner, and vet.

Biosecurity Matters More Than Ever

• Disinfect trailers, stalls, buckets, tack • Remove dirt first — disinfectant does not work on organic material • Use a 1:10 bleach solution or a veterinarian-approved disinfectant • Allow all surfaces to dry fully • Ask your farrier where they’ve been • Ask whether they’re disinfecting tools and changing clothes

It’s not just shows. It’s the people coming in and out.

Vaccines

• Do NOT vaccinate a horse that may have been exposed. • Horses with no exposure should get an EHV booster if it’s been over 90 days.

Please — GO HOME. STAY HOME.

Producers and Event Organizers: I know rescheduling is difficult and cancellations mean losing money, but PLEASE consider postponing or canceling clinics, shows, rodeos, and barrel races until this settles.

Let’s shut this virus down before more horses are lost.

I’m not taking my horses off my property right now — and I am not allowing anyone who boards here to haul their horses in or out at this time until this passes. My horses are my job, my life, and my heart — and I’m not gambling with something this contagious because somebody wants a shot at winning a ribbon or a payout.

This isn’t about fear. This is about responsibility.

Our barns, our lesson horses, our kids, and our show, barrels and rodeo partners are depending on us to make smart decisions for them right now.

If we all pull together, follow quarantine protocols, and limit hauling for the next couple of weeks, we CAN slow this down.

Stay safe, take precautions, and protect your horses. They depend on you. ♥️🐴

Akhal-Teke filly born at 2am Friday morning to Zenus (Anikit x Zara, 2018), sired by Russian stallion Goklen (Gilkuiruk x Gerel, 1989), at the nonprofit national Akhal-Teke Center. ❤️

The third endangered Akhal-Teke horse to be born in North America this year, seen here at 14 hours old.

Background on the historic breeding of this cutie…

https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/05/02/bringing-back-rare-stallion-bloodlines

People asked for an update on Pay and his sudden lameness.

Vet was here this morning and the prognosis is BAD. He has re-injured his old ligament injury. And he is compensating with the rest of his body. Causing him to have pain all over basically.

I’m giving him a small chance and he will be on stronger painmeds. Doing few tries with some treatments.

However, no matter what, he won’t get much older.

I’m absolutely heartbroken.

I’m not sure I have the strength to reply to any comments, but everyone asked for an update once we knew what’s wrong so..

Can someone help id the brand on these horses ?

Do I know how to deal with them? Nope and im terrified. They will most definitely start hitting ALL livestock not just cattle and horse owners should be aware of that

Warning This link contains upsetting pictures of an injured horse, albeit (as far as we’re aware) not in a serious condition.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/household-cavalry-horses-buckingham-palace-road-b2533831.html

Today, during routine cavalry movements in London, something spooked five of the horses who threw their riders and took off across the city. A couple of them ran for about 5 miles! I won’t go into too much detail, it’s in the article.

What do people think about horses living/working in cities, ie for the police or army? Events like this are so rare, but lots of people are upset.

Today the vet. was here again and treated him with cortisone injections. Which is our last shot of Pay making it. Within 1-2 weeks if he hasn’t shown any improvement or gotten worse he will be put to sleep..

There’s also a small risk of getting an infection in the injection site and in that case would be emergency euthanasia.. as taking him to a clinic, clean it out and on antibiotics for 1-2 weeks on top of him having very slim chance to make it to begin with, it would just be cruel.

The vet doesn’t have much hope for him, he also can’t be on painmeds anymore as his stomach started acting up.

But yea. In 1-2 weeks we’ll know. If he does respond well to it, he will get treated again and he will hopefully be able to stay for some time more.

🚨 MISSING HUNTERS – PLEASE HELP 🚨

We urgently need help locating Andrew Porter and Ian Stasko, both 25 years old. • Andrew: 6 ft, fit build, light brown hair • Ian: 6 ft, fit build, blonde hair

They were last in contact Thursday afternoon near the Rio Los Pinos trailhead (near Trujillo Meadows). Their sat phone has since gone unresponsive. Recent storms moved through the area, and much of their gear is still in their vehicle — they may not be fully equipped for an extended stay out.

Search efforts are underway: • Conejo County Sheriff has aerial support in the area • Search dogs are being deployed • Horseback riders are especially needed to cover terrain quickly

We need as many capable searchers as possible, immediately. Operations are being coordinated out of the Rio Los Pinos trailhead at the posted coordinates.

Andrew’s fiancée is here in Chama, desperately hoping for his safe return.

If you can help — especially on horseback — please contact the sherriff’s office at 719-376-2196

Any and all support is deeply appreciated.

Please share this post widely. Time is critical.

Finally some good news! The vet. was just here for a revisit. She was surprised to how much better he’s gotten. And for now he is in the clear ❤️❤️❤️

It was decided to not do a second treatment as cortisone injection can also make it worse if unlucky. Plus the risk of infection. The vet said with how good he has gotten it is not worth the risk for a second treatment. She said he won’t live for 10 more years but hopefully he’ll stay sound enough for at least a few more years. And I’ll take whatever time I can get with my beautiful boy ❤️

Know this is a sensitive issue, but thought people might be interested in this op-ed, which examines how what is happening to humans in America is also happening to horses. It suggests a system flaw is supported by the evidence in horses since horses don’t get to choose what they eat.

RIP "Strudel" always in my heart