WHO IS HANDLING THE EI DEBARCLE???

Is it Humphrey from 'Yes Minister' or Mr Bean or perhaps a combination of the two!!!

The Traveling Horseman Grounded.

25th October.

There would be few in the equestrian community who have not heard of Richard Sharman, The Traveling Horseman from Toowoomba. When observing Richard in action, whether it is breaking in a horse or showing one, it does not take long to realise why he is in such great demand, or indeed was before the outbreak of EI. It was a grand understatement, when Horse Deals enquired how EI was affecting him, Richard commented, “it has not been good for business”. Richard relies on being able to move around and show horses. “The way my business works is that I go from one place to the other. I may work for half and hour at one place, an hour at another and a little longer somewhere else and so on and try to do as many places as I can to make the day work. And with all the EI bio-security protocols, I just can’t do that. Also it is very stressful just waiting for it to close in and worrying that when I do visit a client when and where I can, that I have been careful enough with all the bio security regime. I really dread the idea of actually spreading it to somebody.

“The first day we heard anything about EI on the 25th August, I was at a show at Hawkesbury just out of Sydney. We had already had a few classes and then we were told to shut it down. I thought OK, it’s only in NSW and then on Sunday we heard about the horses at Warwick and I thought that was not good. I had a job planned for Minden on Monday morning and I thought maybe I should just give it a couple of days and see how this thing unfolds. It was the best thing I could have done, as on Tuesday, EI was reported at Minden and had I gone there I would have gone to another six places that day.

“But really I make my money at the shows and we don’t know when they will start again. I am usually very busy at this time of year. I have had a bit of work here and there and good clients, Peter and Jenny Pond at Wyong in NSW had some horses to break in, and I have had a months work there doing that and it has been good just being at the one place and not listening to the radio too much and not having to constantly worry about where EI is. They have not had EI, but of course they say if you haven’t had it, you soon will. I have done a weeks work in Canberra, but with all the bio-security I can only manage three properties a day and they are in the Green Zone.

“One of the biggest disappointments is the cancellation of the show the Toowoomba Arabian Club organised for October. I have been the president for 18 months and we have a really great committee and were building such momentum for the show, scheduled for this weekend. We had organised an international judge from Belgium, everyone was just brilliant and we were really looking forward to the show. The judge has agreed to come next year, but it will be hard to maintain the momentum.

“Financially it has been a disaster, but there are some positives. I have had a much better family life and have been able to spend some quality time with my son and we have done some good things together. We have done up a little fishing boat and gone fishing, which we would not have done normally, as I would have been at shows. We have had a bit of support from the government and I am lucky, as my wife Sandy is working and I have been able to pick up a few jobs here and there. I had never been to a Centerlink office before and that has been a bit of an eye opener. I really feel sorry for the people just starting out. I am established and lucky to have some good clients. Quite a few of them got EI early on and are looking to come out of it after the 60 days, so its to be hoped I can start going to a few of the places that have had it and are over it.

“It just depends on how long it’s going to drag on for, as to how it is really going to affect us. We have been going steady, Sandy is working and we have fewer expenses like petrol and the usually busy phone, which has not been ringing, and the government has come through with a bit of money and we have no horses to feed. It has been pretty dismal for us financially, but on the personal side, I haven’t been happier for a long time”.

Horse flu fallout cancels Pambula Show

The south-east New South Wales agricultural circuit will be missing one of its most important shows next year because of the impact of horse flu.

The Pambula Show committee has decided to abandon plans for its centenary show in January, after two of its main fundraising events were cancelled because of the equine influenza outbreak.

Read more.

NSW 'slowly recovering' from horse flu

Authorities say NSW has turned the corner and is slowly ridding itself of the scourge of equine influenza (EI).

The number of properties affected by the virus has topped 5,000, the NSW government says, but the rate of new infections is falling and the newly infected horses are in existing quarantine zones.

"We believe we have contained the disease and we are now on the road to recovery," Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald told reporters in Sydney.

"Although the number of properties has reached 5,050 we're not getting any infection in any other area outside of those purple and red (quarantine) zones.

"Therefore the disease is not spreading and if you look at the incidence of it we believe there is a decline."

Mr Macdonald said 8,500 horses had been vaccinated in buffer zones surrounding the areas under quarantine and the buffer zones were holding.

Read more.

Has our premier listened at all?

Thanks for your comments Maureen, did you read the bit about Anna Bligh meeting the new reps of the Qld assoc just formed? In NSW I have yet to hear a peep from our premier about what he's going to go to help the non racing sector! As I said in my last blog, the AHC say they are talking to govts but I'm not sure that is enough.. Are any of you out there prepared to go it alone as they have in QLd? Maybe we should get some high profile NSW riders or trainers to represent us? Can we not organise our selves as the Qld people have, maybe NSW can join with Qld for an even louder voice? Yours in ever increasing frustration, Penny.

Vaccination targets Queensland border EI buffer

25 October 2007

More than 280 horses on properties near Woodenbong have been vaccinated for equine influenza as NSW builds a buffer along the Queensland border to stop the spread of infection into NSW.

“Veterinary teams have been vaccinating horses near Woodenbong over the last week or so and they plan to start west of Tenterfield today,” said NSW deputy chief veterinary officer Steve Dunn.

“The Tweed is being left at the moment as we assess the protection provided by the buffer north of the border in that area.”

Mr Dunn said Local Vaccination Centres had been established at Woodenbong and Tenterfield.

“Local knowledge is helping us choose where best to target the vaccination for maximum effect,” he said.

“We are taking into account high traffic crossings to Queensland, including Wallangarra and Woodenbong, natural buffers such as national parks and the level of disease pressure immediately across the border in Queensland.”

Mr Dunn said the gazetted area of the Queensland border vaccination buffer extends from Texas in the west across to the coast, but not all horses in the area will be vaccinated.

“We have gazetted a larger area to give us the flexibility to vaccinate where there is a risk of spread from Queensland,” he said.

According to Mr Dunn the Queensland border buffer was playing a very important role protecting the north coast from infection.

“The north coast, the mid-north coast and much of the northern tablelands is an EI amber zone,” he said.

“This means there is no confirmed disease there but horse movements require a permit from the Rural Lands Protection Board.

“We would like to keep these areas disease free and return them to a green zone as soon as possible.”

Horse owners who are not sure if they are in the buffer area can contact the EI hotline on 1800 675 888 or look on the internet at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/equine-influenza

Boost horse flu guards' powers: Vic Oppn

The Victorian Opposition wants horse flu border control officers to have more power to stop and search vehicles.

The Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, says horse floats have crossed from New South Wales to Victoria about 200 times.

Eighteen of those cases are being investigated by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and one person is facing possible prosecution.
Ms Lovell says cars and trucks are being allowed over the border unchecked, risking the spread of horse flu into Victoria.

"The border control people should be given greater powers," she said.
"At the moment they have no powers to actually pull up a vehicle, all they do is ring the police and report a vehicle and the police have to intercept that vehicle."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

Cut to Ribbons

October 25th

Running a successful business requires a good business plan, a lot of hard work and careful financial planning. As Brett Gillespie from Computer Sashes and Rosettes explained; “I am sure no one had an outbreak of EI in their business plan. At Computer Sashes and Rosettes, we are fully committed to providing excellent customer service along with value for money and the highest degree of individuality in our range of award sashes, ribbons and rosettes. Our sashes and rosettes are available in over 60 colours and our products are awarded annually to competitors at the Sydney, Auckland, Hobart, Launceston, Darwin and Geelong Royal Shows as well as nearly all major equine, dressage and showjumping societies. We proudly manufactured sashes and rosettes for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Equestrian events.

This is normally our busiest time however show after show are canceling their orders due to EI. At this stage we look to be severely impacted until January with almost 80% of our work gone. We can keep the business ticking over with dog and cat shows and a little bit of help from the Government, but it is really just a token gesture. We are holding our breath until after the Cup, when we might start to get some answers to when things might start to return to some normality.

Sydney Show is one of our biggest orders, taking over a week to produce, their order normally comes in soon but unfortunately my crystal ball is on the blink, and I have no way of know what the future holds. Hopefully things start to pick up at the end of the year and I can work over Christmas when we normally have holidays.

We like people to order four weeks in advance but at the moment we are recommending people order ribbons without the date on them, then they are guaranteed to get their order and be able to use them now or if the show is cancelled later down the track.”

http://www.computersashes.com/

Confusion

Thank you Horse Deals for clearing up the rumours that have been circulating re vaccination . Surely the EFA and other relevant horse affiliated bodies , even the DPI could have assisted in the early stages of EI with concise and precise commmunication.
Thank you once again,
Jenny

Vaccinations to establish inner buffer zone south of Sunshine Coast

Thursday 25 October: There are currently 1640 infected properties (IP's) in Queensland, this is an increase of 76 from 23 October . DPI&F have introduced an inner buffer zone as part of the strategic plan to further contain this disease to South East Queensland. Vaccination, as part of DPI&F program of containment and eradication is continuing

More horses near the Sunshine Coast will be vaccinated to establish an inner buffer zone to help further contain equine influenza in South East Queensland.


Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Ron Glanville said the new inner buffer zone was part of a strategic plan to 'back-burn', as you would with a bushfire, to stop any further spread of horse flu.


"Like the outer buffer, we are using natural features like forests, national parks and mountain ranges to mark the boundaries of the inner buffer," he said.


The Southern Sunshine Coast inner buffer will run north-west from Wild Horse Mountain forestry tower (see attached map).


Further inner buffer zones are planned that run from Inglewood in the west, through Crows Nest and Esk districts and link to the Sunshine coast inner buffer.


This will effectively split the red zone in two containing the disease in the south east corner of the Red Zone.


Dr Glanville said veterinary teams would vaccinate all horses within a 10km wide strip to reduce the chance of infection through the areas with low horse populations.


"The vaccination teams working in the inner buffer are in addition to the teams already working to finalise the outer buffer zone," he said.
"To date, 27,000 dose of vaccine have been dispensed to veterinary teams.
"Progress in the outer buffer zone has gone very well with more than 95% of horses vaccinated in the Goondiwindi section.


"The Gympie section is about 70% complete, while the Chinchilla, Yarraman, Tweed and Granite Belt sections are about 50-60% complete.
"After eight weeks, horse flu in Queensland is still restricted to the South East corner of the state - this is directly attributable to the tight horse movement restrictions in the Red Zone and the buffer strategy, which help prevent any further spread.


"These restrictions may be relaxed in December depending on the success of our vaccination program, but for the time being it is critical that people continue complying with the movement restrictions, decontamination and other biosecurity precautions."


New maps showing the inner buffer zone can be viewed at www.dpi.qld.gov.au/equine-influenza


If you haven't already done so, all horse owners are required to register by completing the on-line form or calling 13 25 23 to complete the horse registration process over the phone.

EI in Vic?

The rumors keep on coming, only stronger & stronger. I guess we'll find out soon if they are true. If it is announced shortly after the cup that EI is in the Ballarat/Bendigo areas how is that going to make the DPI look??

How will the connections of Leica Falcon feel if it comes out that EI was in Vic all along and they couldn't get across the border yet horses have been flown in from Ireland. Perhaps the real story is they are worried Leica Falcon might be a bit too much of a challenge for Miss Finland??

My heart goes out to the connections of the Falcon, they have been through so much to get this gelding back.

I guess we will have to wait and see - it would be very UnAustralian I'd say if the rumors are true and lies and deception have been going on right under our nose.
JH

Happy Days

I’m struggling on my own (I have no staff) with my 13 .I called the DPI, operator didn’t want to know as we were in the purple zone & said vet should report it. I’m not the only person to be told this. I didn’t need a vet to tell me they had it.Give me some credit, my horses were very healthy prior & every horse in the suburb is sick.

I am at day 7 since I noticed the thick yellow mucus, consistent as custard along with the dreading barking cough. The stallions were almost falling over while trying to cough, racking their whole body. One stallion has had blood in his eyes now for 4 days, my daughters old pony had a lot of blood through her nose for 2 days before she even started coughing. They have nearly all colicked at one time so far. Some are off food & not drinking , I paste them with meds twice daily. To hear them struggling to cough all day & night is something ill never forget. My vet said I have got approximately another 2 weeks of this. The heat was knocking them about now I’m hoping they don’t get pneumonia with the wet weather as they all still have green & yellow mucus with high temps .

The bute & antibiotics has cost me hundreds of dollars so far .I will pay the levy, if I’m compensated for my vet bills . I’m not a registered business these horses share our life, so I’m not entitled to a penny.

August we were told vaccination was not an option, then the virus ran rampant through 2 states, while we were told it was being contained .Majority have missed out on vaccination. A lot of horses have died .

This Breeding season is lost to most of us, now we are told we have to sit tight until June 08 or longer, but the thoroughbreds will be back to normal by December. How is this all fair ??

This whole situation has been handled badly. Now there are surveys circulating asking the 'recreational' horse owners for our input.What a joke, our opinions & concerns haven’t mattered to date. I have sent many letters out & only one has bothered to reply.

To the unaffected states, BE PREPARED as this virus is not just a cold!

Regards
Julie

BUNTING – THE MIRACLE CURE

2007 heralds a medical breakthrough, with extensive research from top scientists worldwide the miracle cure to EI is bunting – yes orange bunting.
Did you know ‘bunting’ has the magical power to stop the spread of EI?

We are so grateful to the DPI who have given racing the green light to continue whilst the rest of Australian horse sports are put on hold indefinitely. The DPI’s line (refer Horse Deals October issue page 12) “The racing industry has been allowed to resume because of the extensive bio-security the clubs are able to put into place”, they are able to police the requirements and have agreed to manage the risks. The clubs have proven to be very vigilant in this regard and are working hard to ensure the bio-security requirements are met”.

Vigilant they have been – Regional racing clubs across Australia have erected metres and metres of orange bunting to stop the spread of EI. Bunting has proven to be the medical breakthrough we have all been looking for, forget eradication, forget the pox vaccine, forget the killed vaccine – racing have introduced bunting, and this is their extensive bio-security and the DPI endorse it.

To the recreational industry - I suggest that you go forth and multiply and purchase orange bunting, but hurry worldwide supply is limited and by past experience there’s a fair chance the racing industry will snaffle all the bunting first – and where will that leave the rest of us – well high and dry just like we are now.

EI forces major change to Olympic Dressage Team Qualification Process

The 2007 FEI Regional Olympic Dressage Qualification Event, which was scheduled to take place this week 24-28 October in conjunction with the 2007 Australian Dressage Championships at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre (SIEC), is among the hundreds of equestrian events that have been cancelled since 25 August as a result of the equine influenza outbreak.

Teams of riders from Australia, New Zealand and Japan were to have competed for the two team dressage slots allocated to the Asia-Pacific region for the 2008 Games. Japan and New Zealand have never fielded a team of four dressage riders at an Olympic Games. As host nation for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Australia was represented by a team. At the 2004 Athens Games Australia participated with two individual riders.
The Japanese riders and horses are based in Germany and were due to fly into Sydney in early October. The New Zealand team was due to arrive last week.

“The cancellation was a major blow to International Dressage competition in our region”, EFA CEO Franz Venhaus said. “This would have been the first occasion where teams of international horses and riders had competed at SIEC since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.”

The affected National Federations have been negotiating with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) to reschedule the Olympic qualifying event to early 2008. The FEI has agreed that, instead of transporting horses to Australia, the five judges that make up the Ground Jury will travel to competition venues in France, Australia and New Zealand in late January/early February 2008 to make their assessments.
Riders from Australia, Japan and New Zealand based in Europe and selected for a team position by their country’s National Federation will be assessed at a competition in Cannes in the south of France in late January 2008.

Following this the Ground Jury will travel to Australia to assess Australian-based riders selected to represent Australia at SIEC 4-5 February 2008. The Ground Jury will then fly to New Zealand to assess that country’s team. Shortly after, the FEI will announce the two Asia-Pacific region nations that have gained qualification for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Eventing is back in Victoria with 309 entries.

Anita Smith, Wednesday, 24 October 2007

EFA Horse Trials - 27th/28th October 2007

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Contact details of all people attending the event must be recorded before entry will be permitted.
Please fill out the Attendance Form (attached to the draw below) - and give to security on the gate to help avoid delays on entering WPNEC.
The Centre will be open from 1pm Friday. No horses are to enter prior to this time.

Attendance Form & Draw - click here

The number for scratching until Friday is (03)9974 0544 Scratching or enquires on the day to 0439 88 88 27


I look forward to seeing you at the event J
Best Regards
Elaine Edwards
Eventing Coordinator
email eventing@efavic.com.au

Notice For Inter-Schools Competitors

Laura Decker, Wednesday, 24 October 2007


Due to the current EI situation within the state the ENIC committee and the EFA NSW has made the decision to postpone the 2008 NSW State Interschool Championships originally scheduled for 14th-17th February. We feel this is in the best interest for all the competitors and their horses to ensure that you all have enough time for your horses to recover (if they have had EI) and to hopefully get a few local comps under your belts before the Championships.


The new date will hopefully also erase some of the problems many of you have with getting everything organised with Christmas in the middle of everything!!

We are looking at a date towards the end of April however this is yet to be confirmed. As you can imagine there are a number of large scale competitions trying to reschedule during this time so we are trying to ensure that as many competitors are catered for as possible and avoid clashes with other events.


Entry forms will posted on the website as soon as they become available.
On another note, after unfortunately having to cancel the 2007 Australian Inter-School Championships, Queensland will be hosting the 2008 event and are currently looking at a September/early October date….much kinder weather!!


Thank you for your patience at this busy time, lets all look forward to a busy, hopefully EI free 2008!!


See you at the Champs.


Laura Decker
EFA NSW Inter-School Coordinator

Police horses free of EI, back on duty

Signalling that the threat from equine influenza is receding, NSW Police's mounted division will resume operations on Thursday.

All 36 of the horses stabled at the Mounted Police Complex in Redfern have been declared free of EI by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, and a quarantine order on the stables in Sydney's inner-city lifted.

"The horses play a pivotal part in many policing operations, from protests and public order incidents to routine patrols," Assistant Commissioner Garry Dobson, Major Events and Incident Group Commander said.

"It's wonderful to see the horses back on deck."

Eradication survey ??

Ok, not sure if I'm having another "blonde moment" here, or if other people are finding the last couple of questions ambiguous too.

Q3. Do you support the National program of eradication of Equine Influenza - Yes or No
Hmm, I would support a united program, where everyone was treated on an equal basis. I can't give a definite yes or no answer.

Q4. Do you agree with the providing of vaccine to unaffected areas of Australia if this means that eradication will not be achievable ? Yes or No
Ok having trouble here too. Why would the providing of vaccine to unaffected areas mean that eradication would not be achievable ? Again not a question that can be answered with a simple yes or no.

Q5. If given the choice, are you prepared to live with endemic Equine Influenza, with the horse owner meeting the costs of ongoing vaccination, treatment of sick horses & business disruption ? Yes or No
Here again, not a question that can be answered with a Yes or No answer. I doubt that we'll be given the choice. Most people seem to be resigning themselves to the fact that we will have to live with it. As for the horse owners meeting costs, well apart from vaccinations that are "currently free" (though I'm sure with the proposed levy we'll be picking up the tab for those too), horse owners are CURRENTLY paying for the privilege of having EI with paying for vet treatments and many businesses are suffering huge losses and disruption already. I'm sure though, if we have to live with it, just as they do in Europe we'll cope.

What I would like an ANSWER to is this:-
What provisions are being put in place right here, right now, to PREVENT this from happening again next year. The DPI say it's not their responsibility, it's a Federal decision. I really don't give a rats who's decision it is, but it needs to be done as a priority, especially if eradication is a possibility. I really don't feel like going through all this again next year, and I can just about guarantee every other horse owner out there feels the same.

Anyway, I don't want to have to live with EI, but nor do I want to remain in lock down with no idea of when we'll be free to move. I can't afford to keep paying agistment.
SR