How to Prevent Contagious Disease Outbreaks in Horses

How to Prevent Contagious Disease Outbreaks in Horses

By Dr Duncan Houston

A new horse can arrive looking completely healthy while already incubating an infectious disease. By the time a fever, cough, nasal discharge or swollen lymph node appears, other horses may have shared airspace, buckets, handlers, transport or equipment with them.

The mistake is thinking biosecurity begins once a horse looks sick. Effective biosecurity starts before the horse unloads from the trailer.

The most important controls are surprisingly simple: separate higher-risk horses, monitor temperatures, prevent shared equipment, maintain appropriate vaccination and act immediately when the first abnormal sign appears.

Quick Answer

Newly arrived horses should generally be quarantined for 14 to 21 days, depending on where they came from and their exposure risk. They should have no direct contact with resident horses, use dedicated equipment and have their temperature recorded twice daily.

A fever above approximately 38.6°C or 101.5°F, coughing, nasal discharge, swollen lymph nodes, diarrhoea, abortion or neurological signs should trigger immediate movement restrictions, isolation and veterinary assessment.

A negative Coggins test only assesses equine infectious anaemia. It does not prove that a horse is free from influenza, herpesvirus, strangles or other contagious disease.

What Is Equine Biosecurity?

Biosecurity is the combination of practices used to prevent infectious disease from entering a horse population and to limit its spread if it does arrive.

It includes:

• Controlling horse movement

• Separating horses according to risk

• Monitoring health and temperature

• Preventing direct horse-to-horse contact

• Using dedicated or disinfected equipment

• Cleaning hands, clothing, vehicles and facilities

• Maintaining appropriate vaccination

• Investigating illness early

• Keeping accurate records

Biosecurity is not about attempting to create a sterile stable. That is impossible.

It is about placing enough barriers between an infectious organism and the next susceptible horse that transmission becomes much less likely. (AAEP)

What Is the Difference Between Quarantine and Isolation?

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe different groups of horses.

Term	Which horses belong there?	Main purpose
Quarantine	Horses that appear healthy but are newly arrived or may have been exposed	Allows time for incubating disease to declare itself
Isolation	Horses that are sick, febrile or suspected of carrying infection	Prevents a potentially infectious horse from exposing others
Outbreak containment	Sick, exposed and unexposed groups across an affected facility	Stops further movement and separates horses by risk

A healthy-looking horse arriving from an auction belongs in quarantine.

A horse in quarantine that develops a fever belongs in isolation.

The rest of the quarantined horses must then be treated as exposed animals, not automatically moved into the resident herd because they still look normal.

How Do Contagious Diseases Spread Between Horses?

Different diseases spread in different ways. This is why no single biosecurity measure protects against everything.

Direct horse-to-horse contact

Nose touching, mutual grooming and close contact can transmit organisms contained in saliva, nasal secretions or pus.

This is particularly important with:

• Strangles

• Equine influenza

• Equine herpesvirus

• Some bacterial respiratory infections

Respiratory droplets and shared airspace

Coughing, snorting and nasal discharge can distribute infectious material into the immediate environment. Horses do not need to touch noses for transmission to occur when they are stabled closely together.

Contaminated equipment and people

Infectious material can be carried on:

• Water buckets

• Feed tubs

• Hay nets

• Halters and lead ropes

• Grooming equipment

• Thermometers

• Twitches

• Endoscopes

• Tack

• Stable tools

• Hose nozzles

• Hands, boots and clothing

• Trailers and transport vehicles

Equipment that looks clean may still carry infectious material.

Manure and contaminated surfaces

Diseases causing infectious diarrhoea may spread through manure contamination of boots, wheelbarrows, stable tools, hands, water and the environment.

Blood and medical equipment

Equine infectious anaemia can be spread through contaminated blood, reused needles, syringes, intravenous equipment, dental instruments or unapproved blood products. Blood-feeding flies can also transmit the virus. (USDA APHIS)

Aborted material and reproductive secretions

Placenta, fetal fluids and aborted tissues must be treated as potentially infectious until a cause has been identified. Equine herpesvirus and other infectious agents may be present in large quantities.

Do not allow people, dogs or other horses to contact aborted material.

Which Infectious Diseases Should Horse Owners Plan For?

The diseases of greatest concern depend on the country, horse population and type of facility.

Disease	Common early signs	Important biosecurity issue
Equine influenza	Fever, dry cough, nasal discharge, lethargy	Spreads quickly through travelling and closely housed horses
EHV-1 and EHV-4	Fever, respiratory signs, abortion or neurological abnormalities	Fever may be the first sign; neurological EHV-1 requires immediate movement restrictions
Strangles	Fever, nasal discharge, difficulty swallowing and enlarged lymph nodes	Recovered horses can become silent guttural pouch carriers
Equine infectious anaemia	Fever, anaemia, weakness or no obvious signs	Lifelong blood-borne infection with no treatment
Infectious diarrhoeal disease	Fever, diarrhoea, reduced appetite, colic and dehydration	Manure can contaminate equipment, hands and communal areas
Equine viral arteritis	Fever, nasal discharge, limb swelling and reproductive losses	Can spread through respiratory secretions or breeding
Infectious abortion	Abortion, premature mammary development or vaginal discharge	Placenta and fetal material may contain a high infectious load

Not every coughing horse has influenza, and not every fever is herpesvirus. The purpose of early isolation is to protect the herd while the veterinarian determines what the disease actually is.

How Long Should a New Horse Be Quarantined?

There is no single quarantine period that fits every situation.

Routine lower-risk arrival

A minimum of 14 days may be reasonable when the horse:

• Comes directly from a known private property

• Has a documented health and vaccination history

• Has not recently attended a sale or large event

• Has not shared commercial transport

• Has had no known disease exposure

• Can be monitored properly throughout quarantine

Current AAEP owner guidance uses two weeks as a practical baseline for new arrivals.

Higher-risk or unknown-history arrival

A 21-day quarantine is more appropriate when the horse:

• Comes from an auction, sale yard or dealer

• Has an incomplete medical history

• Has travelled through several facilities

• Has shared commercial transport

• Has recently attended a large competition

• Comes from a yard with recent respiratory disease

• Has a possible history of strangles exposure

• Will enter a breeding farm, large boarding stable or other high-consequence population

AAEP strangles guidance recommends quarantining new arrivals for three weeks while monitoring temperature.

Known disease exposure

A horse returning from a confirmed or suspected outbreak may require 21 to 28 days or longer, depending on:

• The disease involved

• The date of the last possible exposure

• Whether another horse develops signs

• Temperature records

• Diagnostic test results

• Local animal health regulations

• Veterinary and regulatory instructions

For EHV-1 exposure, AAEP guidance commonly uses at least 21 days, with 28 days often recommended after the last suspected new infection.

The quarantine clock may need to restart if another horse in the group becomes sick.

Do not release horses simply because the original calendar date has arrived.

How Should a Horse Quarantine Area Be Set Up?

The ideal quarantine area is in a separate building or paddock with separate airspace and no direct contact with resident horses.

Where this is not possible, ask your veterinarian to design the safest practical arrangement. Placing a new horse in the next stable and calling it quarantine is mostly quarantine theatre.

The area should have:

• No nose-to-nose contact with resident horses

• No shared fence line where horses can touch

• Dedicated feed and water containers

• A dedicated halter and lead rope

• Dedicated grooming and stable-cleaning equipment

• Its own thermometer

• Restricted access and clear signage

• A safe route that does not pass through resident horse areas

• A method of handling manure without contaminating clean zones

• Facilities for handwashing or hand disinfection

Separate wheelbarrows, pitchforks and brooms are important. A manure fork used in an isolation stable should not later be used to distribute hay to healthy horses.

If dedicated staff are unavailable, resident horses should be handled first, quarantined horses next and sick horses last. Clothing and footwear should be changed or cleaned before returning to healthy animals. (Equine Disease Communication Center)

Do not mix unrelated arrivals

Several newly arrived horses from the same source may sometimes be quarantined together.

Horses arriving from different farms should ideally not be mixed. If one develops disease, every horse sharing that area becomes exposed and may require a new quarantine period.

How Often Should Temperatures Be Taken?

Take and record the horse’s rectal temperature twice daily, ideally around 12 hours apart.

Temperature monitoring is valuable because fever may develop before obvious nasal discharge, coughing or bacterial shedding. With strangles, there can be a period between the initial fever and significant nasal shedding, creating an opportunity to isolate the horse before it infects more of the yard.

For accurate temperature monitoring:

• Use the same thermometer where possible

• Keep a dedicated thermometer for each quarantined or isolated horse

• Do not take the temperature immediately after exercise

• Allow a hot or excited horse to settle

• Record the number rather than relying on memory

• Take the temperature before giving fever-reducing medication

• Record any phenylbutazone, flunixin, firocoxib or other anti-inflammatory medication

A resting temperature above approximately 38.6°C or 101.5°F should be reported to your veterinarian. A smaller rise may also matter if it is clearly above that horse’s normal baseline.

Medication can partially suppress a fever. The EDCC advises reporting temperatures above approximately 38.3°C or 101°F in horses receiving an NSAID. (Equine Disease Communication Center)

Practical decision checkpoint

If the temperature is mildly increased immediately after exercise, allow the horse to cool and repeat it.

If the horse has an unexplained resting fever, do not allow contact with other horses while waiting to see whether it rises further.

Does a Negative Coggins Test Mean a Horse Is Safe to Introduce?

No.

A Coggins test is an equine infectious anaemia test. It does not screen for:

• Strangles

• Equine influenza

• EHV-1 or EHV-4

• Equine coronavirus

• Salmonella

• Equine viral arteritis

• Other respiratory or gastrointestinal infections

EIA is an untreatable viral disease. Horses that survive infection remain lifelong carriers and may appear completely normal. A negative test is therefore an important biosecurity and movement document, but it is not a general health certificate. (USDA APHIS)

There is also a testing window. USDA guidance notes that it may take 60 days or more after infection for a horse to test positive.

A recently infected horse could therefore have a negative result if tested too early. (USDA APHIS)

Testing and movement requirements differ between countries, states, events and disciplines. Confirm the required test type and validity period with your veterinarian or relevant animal health authority.

Should Every New Horse Be Tested for Strangles?

This should be decided according to the consequences of introducing a carrier and the horse’s individual risk.

Testing deserves serious consideration when the horse:

• Has previously had strangles

• Came from a recent strangles outbreak

• Has an uncertain history

• Came from an auction or high-turnover facility

• Has unexplained nasal discharge

• Has enlarged submandibular or retropharyngeal lymph nodes

• Has recently been treated for a respiratory infection

• Is entering a breeding farm or large boarding facility

• Will join young or immunologically naïve horses

• Is entering a yard with a strict strangles-free policy

AAEP strangles-specific guidance recommends three weeks of quarantine and guttural pouch endoscopy with lavage PCR before introduction into the resident population. Whether this is applied to every arrival or targeted to higher-risk horses should be decided with the facility veterinarian.

Why Can a Healthy Horse Still Carry Strangles?

Strangles is caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi.

Most horses stop shedding after recovering, but the organism can persist within the guttural pouches or occasionally the paranasal sinuses. These horses may appear clinically normal while shedding bacteria intermittently for months or years.

A silent carrier may:

• Eat and exercise normally

• Have no nasal discharge

• Have no visible lymph node swelling

• Have normal blood results

• Produce a negative nasal swab

• Begin shedding after transport or another stressful event

This is why a visual health check alone cannot rule out carrier status.

What Is the Best Test for a Strangles Carrier?

For a recovered or clinically normal horse, the preferred investigation is generally:

1. Endoscopic examination of both guttural pouches

2. Guttural pouch lavage

3. Quantitative PCR testing of the lavage fluid

4. Culture where appropriate

A single nasal swab is not sufficiently reliable for detecting silent carriers.

In one comparison of convalescent horses, detection of S. equi DNA was dramatically more likely from guttural pouch lavage than from nasopharyngeal samples. Guttural pouch lavage is therefore the preferred sample for carrier investigation, although no testing method is perfect. (PubMed)

What about a nasopharyngeal wash?

A nasopharyngeal wash can be useful when testing a horse with acute respiratory signs or when guttural pouch endoscopy is unavailable.

However, a negative nasopharyngeal sample does not reliably exclude bacteria retained inside the guttural pouches.

Can a PCR-positive, culture-negative horse be ignored?

No.

PCR is more sensitive than culture but may detect DNA from non-viable bacteria. However, transmission from PCR-positive, culture-negative carrier horses has been reported, and AAEP guidance advises treating these horses as potentially contagious. (AAEP)

How Are Strangles Carriers Treated?

Treatment depends on the endoscopic findings.

It may involve:

• Repeated guttural pouch lavage

• Endoscopic removal of chondroids

• Removal of thick purulent material

• Locally administered antimicrobial medication

• Systemic medication in selected cases

• Repeat endoscopy

• Follow-up PCR and culture testing

A generic “penicillin flush” is not a complete treatment plan. Chondroids and thick material may physically protect bacteria and must often be removed before treatment is likely to succeed.

The horse should remain isolated until the attending veterinarian is satisfied that infection has been cleared.

Can Vaccination Replace Quarantine?

No.

Vaccination is one layer of protection, not a force field.

Vaccination may:

• Reduce the likelihood of clinical disease

• Reduce disease severity

• Reduce some shedding

• Reduce outbreak impact

It may not:

• Prevent every infection

• Prevent every vaccinated horse from shedding

• Eliminate a pre-existing carrier state

• Protect against every strain or disease form

• Replace separation and monitoring

In the United States, influenza, EHV and strangles vaccines are considered risk-based. Horses that travel, compete or have frequent contact with outside horses may require more frequent influenza and EHV boosters than horses with little exposure. The appropriate schedule depends on the horse, region, product and risk profile. (AAEP)

There is currently no licensed vaccine labelled to prevent the neurological form of EHV-1, known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy. EHV vaccination may still reduce some respiratory disease and transmission risk, but it must be combined with biosecurity. (AAEP)

Strangles vaccination is also risk-based and is not recommended as an outbreak-control strategy once an outbreak is already underway without specific veterinary guidance. (AAEP)

How Can You Reduce Infection Risk at Shows and Events?

Before leaving home

• Confirm required vaccinations and movement documents

• Check the horse’s resting temperature

• Do not travel a horse that is dull, coughing or “not quite right”

• Check official disease alerts for the destination area

• Clean and disinfect the trailer

• Pack your own buckets, feed tubs and thermometer

• Record which horses and people will be travelling together

At the event

• Prevent nose-to-nose contact with unfamiliar horses

• Do not use communal water troughs

• Do not dip a shared hose nozzle into your bucket

• Do not share tack, grooming equipment or feed utensils

• Avoid allowing strangers to touch multiple horses

• Monitor temperature during multi-day events

• Report illness to event management promptly

• Keep your horse’s equipment within your own stable area

After returning home

Use a risk-based approach.

A private trail ride with no contact with outside horses is very different from a large multi-day show with shared stabling, commercial transport and a reported respiratory case.

Higher-risk returning horses should be separated and monitored before they rejoin non-travelling horses. AAEP owner guidance specifically recommends assessing returning show and trail horses according to exposure risk.

How Worried Should You Be?

Low Risk

The horse:

• Appears bright and healthy

• Has a normal temperature

• Has a known health history

• Has no known disease exposure

• Is completing routine arrival quarantine

• Has not shared equipment or direct contact with resident horses

What to do: Continue quarantine, twice-daily temperature monitoring and dedicated equipment for the planned period.

Moderate Risk

The horse has:

• Mild dullness

• A temperature slightly above its usual baseline

• One or two coughs

• Reduced appetite

• Recent high-risk travel

• Contact with horses of unknown health status

• An incomplete vaccination or movement history

What to do: Stop direct contact with other horses. Repeat the temperature after the horse has rested and contact your veterinarian if the change persists, worsens or cannot be explained.

High Risk

The horse has:

• A resting temperature above approximately 38.6°C or 101.5°F

• Repeated coughing

• Nasal discharge

• Enlarged or painful lymph nodes

• Difficulty swallowing

• Diarrhoea

• Colic with fever

• An abortion

• Marked lethargy

• Known contact with a confirmed infectious case

What to do: Isolate the horse immediately, stop unnecessary movement and contact your veterinarian the same day.

Critical Risk

The horse has:

• Weakness or incoordination

• Difficulty standing

• Urinary retention or dribbling

• Tail weakness

• Severe breathing difficulty

• Profuse diarrhoea and dehydration

• Collapse

• Severe colic

• Sudden death

• Rapidly progressive neurological signs

Or the facility has:

• Several horses developing fever

• Multiple abortions

• Rapid spread of coughing or nasal discharge

• A confirmed EHV-1, EIA or other reportable disease

What to do: Stop horse movement immediately and obtain urgent veterinary assistance. Regulatory animal health officials may also need to be contacted.

When Is This an Emergency?

Contact an equine veterinarian immediately if a horse develops:

• Neurological abnormalities

• Repeated stumbling or falling

• Inability to urinate normally

• Collapse or recumbency

• Severe breathing difficulty

• Severe or persistent diarrhoea

• Marked dehydration

• A very high fever with profound depression

• Rapidly worsening colic

• Abortion with maternal illness

• Sudden unexplained death

• Heavy nasal discharge with difficulty breathing or swallowing

A facility-level emergency exists when more than one horse develops an unexplained fever, respiratory disease, diarrhoea, abortion or neurological signs.

Do not continue moving horses on or off the property while waiting for test results.

What Should You Do if You Suspect an Outbreak?

1. Stop horse movement

Suspend:

• New arrivals

• Departures

• Lessons involving outside horses

• Competitions

• Breeding movements

• Shared transport

• Haul-in appointments

Movement restrictions are often the single most important immediate action.

2. Separate the suspect horse

Do not march a coughing or neurologically abnormal horse through a clean stable merely because the official isolation box is at the opposite end of the property.

Initially restrict the horse where it is if moving it would contaminate additional areas. Your veterinarian can then plan a controlled transfer.

3. Call your veterinarian

The veterinarian will determine:

• Which diseases are most likely

• Which horses have been exposed

• Which samples are required

• Whether regulatory authorities must be notified

• How long restrictions may be needed

• Whether emergency treatment is required

4. Establish clean, exposed and sick groups

Horses should be separated into:

• Clean: no known exposure

• Exposed: contact with the suspected horse but currently normal

• Sick: fever or clinical signs

Do not move horses backwards and forwards between these groups.

Whenever possible, use separate staff. If staff must cross zones, work from clean to exposed to sick.

5. Begin twice-daily temperature monitoring

Record:

• Horse identification

• Time

• Temperature

• Appetite

• Coughing

• Nasal discharge

• Manure

• Neurological signs

• Medication

Include every horse within the affected perimeter, even those that still appear healthy.

6. Create an exposure list

Identify every horse that may have shared:

• Airspace

• Transport

• Water

• Equipment

• Handlers

• Stable aisles

• Turnout

• Arenas

• Wash bays

• Veterinary or farrier areas

Review at least the previous 14 days initially, then adjust the period according to the disease suspected. EDCC guidance specifically recommends identifying horses exposed through travel, events, shared personnel and communal areas. (Equine Disease Communication Center)

7. Collect the correct diagnostic samples

The correct sample depends on the disease and stage of illness.

Possible samples include:

• Nasal or nasopharyngeal swabs

• Nasopharyngeal wash

• Guttural pouch lavage

• Whole blood

• Serum

• Faeces

• Abscess material

• Placenta and fetal tissues

• Respiratory samples

A negative test collected too early or from the wrong site may create false reassurance.

8. Clean before disinfecting

Disinfectant cannot reliably penetrate manure, mucus, dirt and organic material.

The correct order is:

1. Remove bedding, manure and loose material.

2. Scrub with detergent.

3. Rinse.

4. Apply an appropriate disinfectant at the labelled concentration.

5. Maintain the required contact time.

6. Rinse where directed.

7. Allow the surface to dry.

A muddy footbath is usually little more than expensive brown water. Replace contaminated solution promptly and follow the disinfectant label. (AAEP)

9. Communicate clearly

Notify owners, staff, trainers and anyone whose horse may have been exposed.

Provide:

• What is known

• What is not yet known

• What restrictions are in place

• Which signs must be reported

• Who is authorised to enter restricted areas

• When the next update will be given

Hiding an outbreak rarely protects a business. It usually creates a larger outbreak with angrier clients.

10. Release horses only under a disease-specific plan

Quarantine does not end automatically when the horse stops coughing.

Some diseases continue to be shed after clinical recovery. Strangles shedding usually resolves within several weeks, but persistent guttural pouch carriers can remain infectious much longer. In the absence of testing, AAEP guidance advises considering a recovered strangles horse potentially infective for up to six weeks after all signs have resolved.

Release should be based on:

• The disease involved

• The final clinical case

• Temperature records

• Test results

• Treatment response

• Veterinary advice

• Regulatory requirements

Common Biosecurity Mistakes

Treating a negative Coggins as complete disease clearance

A Coggins test addresses EIA only. It says nothing about the horse’s strangles, influenza or herpesvirus status.

Quarantining the horse in the next stable

Shared airspace, nose contact, hose handles and stable tools can defeat the purpose of quarantine.

Mixing arrivals from several sources

One infected horse can expose every horse in the quarantine group and restart the quarantine period.

Sharing the “small” items

Thermometers, feed scoops, halters, lead ropes and hose nozzles are frequently overlooked.

Giving Bute before recording the temperature

Fever-reducing medication can hide one of the earliest warning signs of infection.

Using one negative nasal swab to clear a strangles carrier

Persistent infection is most effectively assessed using guttural pouch endoscopy and lavage testing, not a single superficial swab.

How Can You Prevent Future Outbreaks?

Create a written biosecurity plan

The plan should state:

• Who makes movement decisions

• Where quarantine and isolation will occur

• Who calls the veterinarian

• Who contacts owners and authorities

• Which equipment belongs to each zone

• How temperatures will be recorded

• How waste will be handled

• How trailers and stables will be cleaned

• When a horse may be released

Do not wait until three horses have fevers to decide where the isolation stable is.

Maintain appropriate vaccination

Build the vaccination programme with your veterinarian according to:

• Age

• Travel

• Competition

• Breeding status

• Local disease risk

• Facility size

• Contact with outside horses

• Previous vaccination

• Product availability

Never reuse needles or syringes

Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every horse.

Avoid contaminating multi-dose vials with previously used needles, blood or intravenous equipment. These practices are especially important for preventing EIA and other blood-borne infections. (USDA APHIS)

Monitor horses before they travel

Do not transport a horse that has:

• A fever

• New cough

• Nasal discharge

• Diarrhoea

• Reduced appetite

• Unexplained lethargy

• Recent contact with a confirmed case

Clean transport vehicles between groups

Remove all manure, bedding and feed before washing and disinfecting.

Pay particular attention to:

• Tie points

• Dividers

• Breast bars

• Doors

• Ramps

• Floors

• Water containers

• Hay net attachment points

Keep health records

Record:

• Vaccinations

• Travel

• Event attendance

• Temperatures

• Illness

• Diagnostic results

• New arrivals

• Quarantine dates

• Horse contacts

• Medications

Good records turn outbreak investigation from guesswork into actual contact tracing.

Will My Horse and the Rest of the Herd Be Okay?

Many equine disease outbreaks can be contained when the first fever or clinical sign is recognised early and horse movement stops immediately.

The outlook depends on:

• The disease involved

• The horse’s age and health

• Vaccination status

• How long transmission occurred before detection

• Whether neurological, respiratory or gastrointestinal complications develop

• How quickly appropriate treatment and biosecurity begin

A horse recovering clinically is not always ready to rejoin the herd. Preventing one premature return can be the difference between ending an outbreak and beginning its second round.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I quarantine a new horse?

Fourteen days is a reasonable minimum for a genuinely low-risk arrival. Twenty-one days is safer for horses with unknown histories, recent travel, auction exposure or strangles risk. Known disease exposure may require 21 to 28 days or longer under veterinary direction.

Does a negative Coggins test mean the horse is disease-free?

No. It only assesses antibodies to equine infectious anaemia. It does not test for common respiratory, gastrointestinal or neurological infections.

Should every new horse have a strangles test?

The decision should be based on risk and the consequences of introducing a carrier. High-turnover, breeding and strangles-free facilities may require guttural pouch endoscopy and lavage PCR. A single nasal swab is not sufficient to rule out silent carrier status.

Can a vaccinated horse still catch or spread infectious disease?

Yes. Vaccination usually reduces risk or disease severity but does not guarantee that infection or shedding cannot occur. Vaccinated horses still require biosecurity and monitoring.

When can a horse leave isolation after being sick?

Only when the veterinarian’s disease-specific release criteria have been met. Resolution of fever or nasal discharge alone may not prove that shedding has stopped.

The Real Takeaway

Preventing contagious disease is not about using more disinfectant after the stable is already full of coughing horses.

It is about controlling risk before exposure occurs:

• Quarantine healthy new arrivals

• Isolate sick horses immediately

• Record temperatures twice daily

• Prevent shared equipment and direct contact

• Use vaccination appropriately

• Understand what each diagnostic test can and cannot prove

• Stop horse movement when an outbreak is suspected

• Release horses according to the disease, not an arbitrary date

The most dangerous horse is not always the one with obvious nasal discharge. It may be the healthy-looking arrival that has not yet developed a fever or the recovered strangles horse that remains a silent carrier.

A consistent biosecurity plan protects the horses, the people caring for them and the future operation of the entire facility.

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Introducing a new horse or concerned about a possible infectious exposure? ASK A VET™ can help you organise vaccination history, travel risk, quarantine dates and temperature records. A horse with fever, neurological signs, severe diarrhoea or suspected outbreak exposure requires immediate contact with an on-site equine veterinarian.