A Cautionary Tale.

So many people Horse Deals have spoken to over the last month have expressed a certain “relief’ that their horses have contracted Equine Influenza. The constant waiting for EI to spread its six kilometers a day would be worse than water torture.

With so many horses now in EI recovery, it would be timely to speak to someone with experience in post EI care. Horse Deals contacted Fiona Gruen, who came to Australia in 1992 from Cambridgeshire in England and is experienced in post EI nursing. Fiona, a rider and coach and breeder lives with family and horses close to Hall in the ACT and at the time of writing are EI free. It was interesting to hear of Fiona’s thoughts on the EI outbreak, how it is handled in the UK and some advice regarding the horses’ recuperation.

“When I first heard that EI was out, I thought, oh my God everything will have to be vaccinated. what for? Because it is such at highly contagious disease. I did not know about the Ausvet plan or realize that the disease was not endemic. When I heard its spread was to be controlled without any vaccination in a naive population, I could not imagine how, especially knowing how it had arrived in the first place. It is unrealistic to expect a population to adhere to a bio-security code that the professional quarantine people could not keep. I am seriously impressed with the horse industries response to the DPI demands and the faithful attempts to adhere to strict bio-security.

“When word got out about the EI virus I asked to have my horses vaccinated, but was told I could not, due to Government policy. The average horse owner will never get hold of vaccine, unless the Government decides they have lost the fight. But when competition starts again, if my horses have not been vaccinated, I will be very anxious about going to competitions within the (formerly) affected areas. In the UK it is standard procedure for competition horses to be vaccinated and have a vaccination certificate.

“Even though the horses were vaccinated in the UK there were still periodic EI outbreaks for a variety of reasons. Often vaccinated horses would show very mild symptoms, those whose vaccination had lapsed would not fare so well. Immediate quarantine would follow with tough bio security and the outbreak would be contained. From what I am reading on the internet, there seems to be a high incidence of secondary infection here, which is very serious and extends the recovery period. If you are lucky and your horse does not get a secondary infection, you must still remember that it has had a high temperature, been under stress and that there has been respiratory tract damage, no matter how mild the bout of flu might seem to have been.

“It will often take a horse longer to recover from a bout of EI than its coat or appetite suggests, the horse looks well with a shiny coat, no cough and becomes cheeky and bouncy. However, if you bring them back into proper work too soon, you run the risk of them succumbing to mild ongoing low grade infections, we used to turn them out for a month and let Dr Grass look after them. The paddock and low stress worked wonders, the turn out policy was assurance that the horses would be sufficiently recovered before starting a slow return to work. If a horse has been just a little bit off color with EI and better after only a few weeks, we are perhaps tempted to resume where we left off and that can cause permanent damage. Be careful not to stress them as they regain fitness, the program followed should flexible with the horse’s best interest at heart, not on an impending event schedule.

“ The conditions are so different in Australia, especially with the drought; dust management and the ability to find really good grass hay could be a problem. The option of a paddock, rest and low stress will work wonders. We made sure everything they ate was dampened down, the hay and the feed etc. to keep the moisture levels up and the airways moist.

“Also being aware of the affect the high temperature, antibiotics and stress has on the horse especially on the quality of hoof growth. The horse’s hoof is a history of the horse’s well being, and down the track there may be a band of weakness. That might not seem too significant now, but for any competition horse, especially if it is heading for Beijing, the time frame is not good. Just when preps for Melbourne 3DE next June are roaring along, that weakness might cause some frustrating hoof problems. Biotin or something similar for the horses pre flu is a good precaution, especially if they have not yet contracted EI, you are then ahead of the game. Caring for a post flu horse or pony only requires common sense and a bit of patience, as you have already done the hard yards. Hoping my green zone stays and this may be of some help”.