Hopes Dashed At Moonbi.

It has been over a week since Horse Deals spoke to Meg Drury at the Moonbi lockdown.

“We are really disappointed,” commented Meg, “we have been her for 28 days now, and had blood tests and nasal swabs taken on the 21st. All the bloods came back positive, which is good, but one nasal swab was negative, which meant that one of the horses was still shedding viral spores. So how disappointed are we? We were told that they would be shedding for 10 to 14 days maximum after contracting the virus. So it is new science that one is shedding after 21 days. It was one of the first horses to get the virus on about day two and was quite sick, with a hard, hacking cough for a long time. It is interesting too that only one horse of the 38 is shedding. A private vet came and did the tests and let the DPI know.

“This is a bit out of hand isn’t it, but I suppose it is still early days.

“The horses all look pretty well to me, there is a little nasal discharge and every now an then you hear a cough, but it’s nothing compared to what it was. We have been told we will be re- tested next Thursday or Friday (27th/28th). It was recommended that we put in permits to go home, but not to expect anything to happen at this stage. But I suppose if all the paperwork is done it might be quicker to get home when we get the all clear?

“Everyone is going pretty well, but it’s been hard going, but everyone is managing alright, I think, and people are still being very kind”. When we pointed out to Meg that they must surely be closer to the end than the beginning, she laughed and said “that’s a very positive thought”. Let’s hope that for the marooned at Moonbi, it is in fact correct.