The forgotten victims of the horse flu outbreak

Broadcast: 02/11/2007
Reporter: Tamara Oudyn

LAURIE LEVER, SHOWJUMPER: Seven days a week, morning and evening. You know, you have to look after them. They are expensive animals. They cost as much to feed as racehorses, you know. So the cost does not go away and that is probably one of the biggest things that hurts. You can't just put it on standstill.

TAMARA OUDYN, REPORTER: Equine influenza still has a menacing presence in Australia so it will be with an enormous sense of relief for the racing industry that the starter's pistol sound at the Victoria Derby tomorrow marking start of the biggest week in the state's racing calendar.

COMMENTATOR: Ready! Racing! They're off...

TAMARA OUDYN: But it is not just the racing industry that has borne the cost of dealing with the equine influenza outbreak. Olympic riders like Mary Hannah face huge financial hurdles just the stay in the competition

MARY HANNA, OLYMPIC EQUESTRIAN: There is a massive population of horses out there and people who want to travel and do things with their horses and they can't.

Caroline Wagner runs a saddlery business on the Mornington Peninsula and says her turnover is down to 20 per cent capacity because of the ban on horse movements in Victoria. She is worried this won't be the last time EI affects her.

CAROLINE WAGNER, SADDLER: Maybe it will be gone in a few months and then it will break out again which means suddenly we will all be halted again. So this could go on for over a year or two years. Who knows? Whereas if we are able to vaccinate, then we have some sort of timeline where things can get back on track and people can resume their normal activities.

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