Is it Deja Vu all over again………..hopefully not
7 February 2016
So your Super Bowl hangover is still there and here I am again bringing up an old
subject that we all would rather not revisit. Word travels quickly in the horse
world so I figured I would fill everyone in on the straight scoop. You might have
noticed or heard that we have quarantined the Empire West stabling area.
Hopefully this is just a temporary precaution. On Sunday afternoon, I examined
one of the school horses stabled there that was depressed and exhibited fairly
profound neurologic behavior. While no definitive diagnosis could be made on the
spot, given the horse’s condition and the current problems and EHV quarantine at
the racetracks in New Mexico and Arizona, the owner was consulted and the horse
was quickly euthanized. Because of the importance of the potential implications to
all horses, we transported the horse to the Animal Disease Lab at UC San
Bernardino so testing and necropsy could be started as quickly as possible. We
anticipate this to happen first thing Monday morning with some results possibly as
soon as Monday afternoon or evening. I have been in contact with the State
Veterinarian and they are fully informed of the situation.
Currently Empire West is on a lockdown with no horses in or out until further
notice. Unfortunately some horses stabled there had just been sent out midday
Sunday for brief pasture rest to the Chava Gonzalez ranch in Thermal. That whole
property is also on voluntary lockdown until further notice. The director of the
HITS show in Thermal has been made aware of the situation and will also be kept
in the information loop given the potential for crossover of show and polo ponies.
While there is no use in postulating on what will happen, I can only ask everyone
to be mindful of their own horses. Let’s all go out and get new thermometers and
check temperatures daily. Please try to get the message out to not bring horses in
to the polo club property for the next 48 hours if at all possible. More importantly,
please do not try and move horses out the club until we know testing results.
While you might think you are “helping” your horses, you could actually be
making the problem worse. We are only asking you to wait for a short time until
we have more definitive information. Fortunately the location of Empire West is
such that by itself an isolation area pretty much already exists. But I do not need to
remind everyone of the normal intermingling of horses that goes on in the daily
training, riding and playing of polo. And we did just have 4 days in a row of
practices and games. As usual, the Empire staff and personnel worked quickly and
efficiently to close the entrances and exits to the stabling area. I cannot emphasize
enough the importance of individuals to do the right thing – stay calm, stay put and
please be cooperative with our requests. Hopefully this will not be EHV, but until
we are certain one way or another, we need everyone’s help and cooperation. As
always, I will keep you as informed as possible. Think positive.
Michael Manno, DVM, MS
San Dieguito Equine Group
760-591-9952