2008 East Coast Arabian Championships and Australian National Arabian Championships

CANCELLED 2008 East Coast Arabian Championships Feb Thursday 7th - Saturday 9th


The 2008 Australian National Arabian Championships WILL NOT be held in March as scheduled due to the Equine Influenza epidemic. The Board of Directors will meet in November to make a decision whether this will be a cancellation for 2008 or a postponement to a date later in the year, probably late August.

There may be a survey sent out with the membership renewals in early
December where we will ask members for their views before a final decision is made. In the meantime, if you have any comments you would like to voice before the November Board Meeting, please write to the Society or email judges@ahsa.asn.au or secretary@ahsa.asn.au

Listed below are pro’s and con’s which have been considered so far, please let us know if you can think of anything we may have missed!

FOR POSTPONEMENT:
1. It would be a marvellous morale booster after everyone has been in
lockdown due to the E.I.
2. Competitors wouldn’t miss a year which has been planned and worked for.
3. It would help kick-start things for our members who run auxiliary
businesses – saddlers, outfitters, artists, photographers, magazines,
therapists etc
4. Competitors will have something to look forward to after the E.I.
lockdown and cold winter months.
5. After August 1st, age of horses’ changes – program would have to be
altered to suit.
6. Aussie’s would remain “qualification free” so all would be eligible to
compete.
7. An August show would be a great kick-start to the 08/09 show season.
8. Horses would be fresh and eager to be out after their confinement.
AGAINST POSTPONEMENT:
1. Competitors may not be in a financial position to attend the show.
2. Would the weather in August mean that all events would have to be held
indoors and if so, either the program would have to be shortened or the
show extended an extra day.
3. Would our sponsors be available for two Championships in the same
financial year?
4. Will competitors still be wary of venturing out from E.I. free areas?
5. After August 1st, age of horses changes – will this disadvantage young
horses?
6. Competitors would have two Championships in the same financial year,
some have had huge E.I. related expenses and have not been able to earn
their living from horses.
7. To hold the Aussie’s in August would mean more work to get horses’ coats right for showing.

Ladies Day - Flemington Racecourse

This time of the year we are usually in full swing of the show season, the last thing on my mind would be having a day off work to go to the races in Melbourne! Yet the trek to Melbourne by car that takes around 5 hours with the Girls for a day of frocks and frivolity was a distraction to what we were missing this year.

My little Quarter Horse mare 'Roxy' and I had only recently started competing in Stockman's Challenges with the local shows providing a great circuit for us, this year I was hoping to have at least half a dozen competitions to go to over the summer - certainly something worth getting out of bed for in the morning to put in the hard yards. With fewer Campdrafts and rising fuel costs this was going to be 'our thing' this season in between being 'strapper' for friends with their show hacks at the local shows.

A trip to Melbourne had been planned to attend Equitana, we were all looking forward to a couple of days of Horsey retail therapy and catching up on some horse action as well. With the money saved it was with great disappointment for many reasons when Equine Influenza was announced and then later the postponement of Equitana.

So with no horse events in sight we decided a trip to Ladies Day at the Flemington Racecourse was on the agenda. It was a great day, the Bio-security was 'pleasant' with no orange bunting, but with spectators leaning over the fence to pat the Clerk of the Courses horse it did seem abit ridiculous - especially when we live 1500km away from the closest EI outbreak and all our local shows have been cancelled!

A great couple of days away, a good excuse to get dressed up and I hope you enjoy the photo's.

CM

SHOWJUMPING EVENTS CANCELLED AT WERRIBEE

Due to change in operating conditions there will be no showjumping events run at Werribee for the remainder of the year. Thank you to our sponsors and voluntary officials. We apologise to competitors for any inconvenience.

The major polo events with spectators will continue to run over at Chirnside Park. Polo organisers met with DPI several weeks ago and have implemented very strict Bio-security on their small compartment of horses.

Please refer to the Victorian EFA website.

Have a Tacky Christmas

Horse lovers are urged to 'get tacky' this year and do their Christmas shopping at saddleries, produce and tack stores as the industry buckles under the strain of Equine Influenza.
Retail sales were down 65-90% in Queensland and New South Wales saddleries; with Victoria also experiencing a 50% downturn in sales as horse shows, rallies, competitions, trail rides, riding lessons and pony club musters were cancelled indefinitely.
Queensland Performance & Pleasure Horse Industry group spokesman Graeme Aitken said the August 25 lock down of the State's horses had a direct flow on affect on the amount of disposable income horse owners had to spend in both red and green zones.
"Breeding programs, horse sales, competitions and riding lessons have all been cancelled reducing the income of horse owners and their need to visit saddleries," Mr Aitken said.
"But it is these saddleries and feed merchants that are the ones who sponsor and reward competitors at local, state and national levels. Now it's our time to support them."
Mr Aitken said while some horses were lucky enough to be vaccinated against the onslaught of EI, there was no magic vaccine to insulate equine retailers.
"These sorts of losses are unsustainable and these guys are in trouble,"he said.
"Some of them might not come out the other side, and potentially, that means less competition in the market and therefore higher costs.
"So instead of rushing into the multi-national super shopping centres, visit your local saddlery and select from a range of gifts and labels - including RM Williams, Driza-bone and Akubra - and no matter how little you spend, all purchases will help until EI is over."
He said non-horse owners were also urged to help save the industry.
"Saddleries have long kept the silence on quality Australian gift and clothing," Mr Aitken said. "Specialising for country people, urban farmers, horse owners and horse lovers, saddleries offer a range of gift
> options including clothing, figurines and statues, beer coolers, caps, hats, shoes and the like. Meanwhile, produce stores stock not only horse and cattle feed but food for cats, dogs, birds and fish and a whole range
of other interesting pets.
"The dreaded equine flu has put saddleries under financial stress and they really need your support."

Interview by Tanya Targett 15/11/07.

EI vaccine

Apparently in the US semi live vaccine 'Flu Advert' costs from vet supplies about $10.00-$15 this vaccine is given in the nostril Flu vac innovator a killed vaccine injection is about $9 US from vet supplies Federal Minister Peter McGauran said on the ABC news in the beginning of the outbreak the whole sale cost of the live vaccine Proteq Fluthat Australia is currently importing is $20.00AU.............. hopefully when the Government steps aside...our costs to vaccinate won't be in the $$$ numbers they frighten us with...another fear campaign from the government!!! Micro chipping should be a once only cost for unbranded unregistered horses
honestly
horse deals reader

In Response to "A free weekend of Thoroughbred race meetings"

Dear Mr. Close,

I am writing to you regarding the VRC offer for free pass's to the races on 24 and 25th of November. Thankyou very much for the gesture of an entertaining day out but honestly do you think that a pass to the races is going to make up for the losses to the equestrian industry in Victoria. While the excellent Biosecurity measures have been outstanding and have insured the races industry and particularly the Victorian Spring Carnival has been able to go ahead it has left many business to die. Due to these Biosecurity measure all horse events except the racing industry have been cancelled and this has resulted in many equine business coming to a grinding halt.
I ask you the question; 'How are these business suppose to survive with no income?', I suppose they can at least enjoy a day at the races..the question needs to be asked 'Will they have enough money to put fuel in the car, purchase refreshments while at the races?' I can assure you many of them will not!
For my self I run a riding apparel business which is home based and since August I have lost an average of $14,000 per month in sales as a result of cancellations of horse events, we would normally have trade shows at Adelaide and Melbourne Royal, Horse of the Years Shows in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania equating to loss of income exceeding $20,000, we are yet to determine how to find the funds to pay for the stock which had been ordered for these trade shows.
My home based business fits in superbly with being a stay at home mother however my husband and I are currently determining if it is better to shut the business down and for my self to return to work and put our 12 week old baby into day care, some thing we had not planned to do previous to these excellent biosecurity measures being put in place.
The Australia Government has put in place subsidy's which has been kindly accepted if you are eligible we are still waiting for a reply from centrelink, I would like to ask you the question 'How much money was generated from one day at the Spring Carnival?' 'Is that going to be shared around to all the equine industry who have had to adhere to these excellent biosercurity guidelines?'
I have in the past been an avid supporter of Victorian Racing, I have worked as a track rider, strapper, pretraining and always attended the local races, however frankly the VRC have left a very sour taste in my mouth I did not watch the Spring Carnival or the Melbourne Cup for that matter, such carnival behavior made me sick when a large proportion of the equine industry have come to a grinding halt and for many of us facing financial destruction.
Lets not forgot the poor struggling Agricultural Shows which rely on horse entries particularly districts such as the Wimmera who for many generations have had a huge following of equine competitors attending the shows in the district which runs for a fortnight generating not only income for the Agricultural Societies but also the towns in which the competitors stay at. The Wimmera have been suffering from a drought in recent years and this is just another nail in the coffin, but I am sure they appreciate your sincere gesture for a day at the races.
Mr. Close this is not a personal attack at yourself, however I feel that the Victorian Government and the VRC are not aware of the actual damage and impact it has had of the equestrian industry, more needs to be done. It should have been all equestrian activities cancelled no one should have been excluded from the shut down. The two times that I did happen to view the races on the T.V I saw two jockey's throw their goggles into the crowd, how can that be biosercuity?
On the flip side of the coin if races are to go ahead the rest of the equine industry should be allowed to move on, we can not just sit still and hope that the industry is going to start up again, and yes we could go to the races and have a good time thanks to your kind gesture however frankly we want more that, either help us service or allows us to start functioning again.

Kind Regards

Rebecca Farran
www.posh.net.au

If you would like to email Racing Victoria Limited like Rebecca email: information@racingvictoria.net.au Att: Stephen Allanson , Chief Executive Officer and feel free to email a copy to blogEI@horsedeals.com.au

Horse flu cuts Snowy River Festival horse numbers

Another event in the New South Wales high country is being hit by fallout from the equine influenza outbreak.

The Snowy River Festival will go ahead this weekend at Dalgety, but only with a fraction of the horses that would normally attend because of travel bans imposed by the Department of Primary Industries.
Organisers have compensated by finding alternative events to entertain the thousands of people who make the annual pilgrimage to the Snowy Mountains.
Spokeswoman Cecilia Welsmore says biosecurity will be in force on the day.
"We'll be at the gates having footrot baths just for people to keep their boots clean," she said.
"Most people have showered and cleaned themselves, but their boots may still have something that could be carrying the horse flu on it.
"In conjunction with our Rural Lands Department, they have suggested the footrot baths would be a good idea and so they are just full of wool and disinfectant and people just have to walk through that and it's not very sensitive at all."

Vets needed for EI inoculations

Posted 1 hour 5 minutes ago

The Thoroughbred Racing Council is finding it difficult to secure veterinarians to vaccinate Tasmania's race horses against equine influenza.

The council has secured enough vaccines to inoculate 1,000 thoroughbreds, but the state's vets are already busy because it is the breeding season.

But Rohan Mitchell from the Thoroughbred Racing Council says they are confident they can begin rolling out the vaccinations next week.

"It's their busiest time of year so their availability is limited," he said.

"What likely is that an expression of interest will be sent around to all vets in Tasmania, they'll be asked to contact us and the DPI and hopefully within the next 24 to 48 hours, we can confine that down to a realistic number."

Tasmanian News

Folks
Still no suspect EI cases in Tasmania

The number of permit applications to bring horses from non-infected mainland states has dropped to 5 or 6 a day. A total of 135 permits have been approved since the partial lifting of the ban on interstate horses

The recreational horse group organised out of the Ulverstone and Campbell Town meetings met with Minister Llewellyn this morning. It's the regular weekly event that was previously just the racing codes and the EFA meeting with the Minister. I understand the Minister indicated that the current arrangements re importing interstate horses will stay in place. But I'll leave it to the rec horse group reps to report back on that meeting - as I wasn't there!

The Huon Show is on this Saturday - with horse events. The organisers seem to be doing a great job biosecurity-wise.

Vaccination - I understand the EFA Tasmania has not sought vaccine for Tasmania. In which case, there'll be the 1,000 horses from each of the racing codes getting the vaccine. The two racing codes are currently working out the detail of their vaccination programs.

More on the vaccine. We've had a couple of questions about whether the vaccine, being a "live" vaccine, could actually introduce EI into Tasmania. The vaccine that's being used does not contain a whole EI virus. The GM science involved is complicated but, in short, the vaccine is canary pox with a part of an EI virus spliced in - the whole point being to prevent that risk of the live vaccine actually introducing EI. I'll change the wording on our EI website to clarify that.

If you're involved in planning horse events and your organising committee is thinking about getting back in the saddle, so to speak, please remember that we're here to help with advice on any biosecurity issues that might otherwise prevent your event from happening. Phone 6233 6875 or email me.

Cheers Barry Calderbank
Communications

Horse deaths

I too have lost a beloved horse because of Equine Influenza. 3 weeks after contracting EI one of my mares a healthy 8 yo who has never had an sick day in her life ,stopped eating and drinking, started to get swellings on her body and head ,she showed no major distress just seemed calmly resigned. Because she had EI she could not leave and go to a vet hospital and my vet did all he could, but her kidneys failed, we had her PTS on Sat 10/11.
I have read that stressful illness can cause the kidneys to fail as can extreme trauma/bloodloss.

In mine and my vets opinion if she had never contracted EI she would still be here with us .She was a maiden mare and I had planned to have her AI'd this season but then horse flu broke out and put an end to that.I bred this mare and had high hopes for her, she was the best one I have ever bred.
I also run a horse equipment manufacturing business from home and this flu has all but stopped my income, my heart goes out to all the people suffering one way or another because of this damned virus.

Janine Eades
Kirribee Custom Covers
Mt Edwards, Qld

Rallies Return.

15 November

Since the outbreak of Equine Influenza in August, all Pony Club and Adult Riding Club rallies in the Eastern States have been cancelled. Today we caught up with three of the major bodies to see how they were going.

Des Miller from Horse Riding Clubs of Victoria stated, “As long as there is no outbreak of EI in Victoria we plan to start HRCAV rallies and competitions as normal in January 2008. Obviously with all the necessary bio-security measures put in place by the DPI. Our first competitions will be Showing events in January, followed by our first State Championship, the TTT Showjumping, scheduled for the 15th and 16th of March in Sale The TTT Combined Training will be in April at Wandin and the TTT Horse Trials at Werribee in July. In conjunction with the Barastoc Horse of the Year show at Werribee in February, we will be running a full program of HRCAV showing events. We hope members will support these early events, as people seem to be influenced by what other people are saying, rather than assessing the situation logically themselves”. Keep up to date with all the HRCAV events and rallies at http://www.hrcav.com.au/ and your Chaff Chat newsletter.

Our next call was to Claire Lewin, Chief Instructor of the Pony Club Association of Victoria. “We hope to start rallies in January with all bio-security requirements in place. On Friday 16th all the Victorian Equestrian groups are meeting with the DPI to try and work on more user friendly bio-security requirements. At the moment the bio-security protocols make Pony Club rallies very difficult. We would then like to start competitions once rallies are running smoothly.

“Clubs have been very innovative during the EI outbreak at promoting the youth side of Pony Club movement. Clubs have organised art competitions, meetings at swimming pools, dog shows and unmounted rallies. Clubs have been working with their members to help them through the non-riding parts of their efficiency certificates. PCAV have also worked at helping members who live along the NSW/Victorian border, who may have their horse on one side of the border and attending a Pony Club on the other side of the border. Host clubs will be found until the EI crisis is over. A concern to us is the State Showjumping Championships to be held at Swan Hill. We have changed the date from February to the 30th of March, but being so close to the NSW border may cause problems. ” Keep up to date with all the PCAV news at http://www.ponyclubvic.org/.

Our final call was to Jenny Amadio of Pony Clubs NSW. “We have suspended all rallies and competitions until the end of the year and we will not make a decision about next year until later in December. Our situation is very difficult, as some clubs have a catchment area over three different zones. Before starting rallies we need to look at both bio-security measures and horse movements. We also need to look at how many members are in each zone and where horses live compared to where they attend rallies.”

“Our first major event planned is our State camp at SIEC, but this is looking unlikely. It is a State event so we will not run it if it can be participants from the Purple Zone only. Some of the clubs have organised social activities during the stand still, I know Yass Pony Club organised a Cave tour and Orange Pony Club had a picnic day, but Clubs have had to be very careful of bio-security even for social events. A number of clubs are now organising un-mounted Christmas parties.”

“PCA of NSW has been very mindful of keeping our members informed about EI. In September we sent a hard copy letter to every financial member, with maps about zoning and the different restrictions, symptoms of EI and what to do if the owner suspected EI. Information about the grants available and contact details for various organisations was also included.

“The Pony Club movement is the kindergarten of the Equestrian world and it is very important to keep the momentum going, if we loose kids now they may be lost to Equestrian sports forever.” PCA of NSW have a good website with lots of up to date information and online competitions at http://www.pcansw.org.au/

SA Pony clubs are in a very similar situation to Victoria however, they also have concerns with insurance, http://www.ponyclub.asn.au/ . Qld Pony Clubs have cancelled all rallies until the end of the year and plan to start competition in March 2008. There is a PCAQ Management Committee Meeting on the 6th of December. http://www.pcaq.asn.au/index.htm

In Tasmania Pony Club rallies are mainly being conducted as normal with good bio-security, however The Kentish Pony & Hack Club held their Topsy ODE with a difference. The club used the day to give riders and new mums and dads the opportunity to have fun and learn eventing rules with help from their other four legged family pets. If you did not have pooch or he was not very co-operative, some riders used their hobby horses. With the condition of having a vet come to events being very costly, Kentish used their initiative and consequently had a great day. There are some good photos of the doggy ODE at http://www.pcat.org.au/?page=6512 . Unfortunately the Tasmanian Pony Club event Calendar is in disarray due to the uncertainty of events being held. Please check with the clubs concerned for updates.

In the Northern Territory Pony Clubs seem to be operating as per normal and in WA rallies and competitions are going ahead with bio-security and a permit system. http://www.pcawa.com/equine_influenza

RDA Christmas Cards

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Our mission is: Enriching the quality of life of people with special needs through committed volunteers and innovative programmes with horses.

Christmas Cards now available!!

Download your Christmas Card brochure now.
Money raised from the sale of cards helps support our 1400 riders and carriage drivers and 350 horses throughout Victoria.

AQIS admits horse flu prevention measures 3 years overdue

The head of quarantine for the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service has told an inquiry that the horse flu outbreak could have been prevented if procedures were put in place three years ago. Jenni Gordon has made the comment during her appearance at the inquiry in Sydney today.

Follow this link to listen to the report. It is about half way down the page.

Embarrassing day for AQIS at inquiry

An executive of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, has faced heavy questioning at the horse flu inquiry. Jenni Gordon has admitted she didn't know about key outbreaks of the virus around the world and conceded that she'd never even been to the quarantine area at Sydney airport.

Follow this link to listen to the report. It is about half way down the page.

Lakes & Craters international 3DE

Lakes & Craters international 3DE, scheduled for 6-9 December, is the only major event left on the 2008 equestrian calendar that definitely will not have ‘cancelled’ stencilled across the program.

Event organiser Barry Roycroft said today, ‘While it’s very disappointing that we won’t be able to welcome any NSW or Queensland horses and riders, we’re still confident of having a great event with full fields across the competition.

‘Lakes and Craters is the traditional finale event on the Australian equestrian calendar and this year we hope it will close a frustrated and frustrating season on a positive note and have us all looking forward to a full ‘come one, come all’ calendar in 2008.’

Entries must be made on-line at http://www.nominate.com.au/ with entries closing on 21 November. For all event enquiries contact Lee Kavanagh on (03) 5593 1523 or email kavenagh@tca-online.com.au. All entrants must sign the EFA waiver form relating to equine influenza and the OC will follow bio-security procedures similar to those that Werribee Equestrian Centre has in place for its eventing and showjumping weekends.

Horse flu cost-sharing limit raised

NMG/EFA National Office, Wednesday, 14 November 2007

The National Management Group (NMG) has released a communiqué advising that the original cost-sharing limit for the control of the EI outbreak has now been raised.

The agreed upper limit for meeting containment and eradication costs of the equine influenza outbreak has been increased to ensure the national response to the disease continues.

The decision to increase the cost cap from 1 per cent to 2 per cent of the gross value of production (GVP) of the horse industry has been agreed to by the National Management Group (NMG) overseeing the response.

Under industry/government agreed cost-sharing agreements for emergency animal disease responses including equine influenza, control and eradication costs are capped at 1 per cent of the gross value of production (GVP) of that particular sector unless an alternative upper limit is agreed.

As horse flu response costs exceeded the previously agreed GVP limit of $36 million, NMG was required to hold discussions to seek the agreement of all parties including horse industries to a revised upper limit.

In agreeing to a new funding cap, NMG re-stated its view that eradication of the disease is achievable and presented as positive evidence of this goal a substantial reduction in the number of new infected premises being reported.

However, NMG stressed that control and eradication efforts will be jeopardised if adherence to ongoing good biosecurity and risk mitigation measures are relaxed by horse owners or those associated with horses, along with compliance with movement controls, quarantine and hygiene measures.

NMG has also agreed to a review of existing cost apportionments under the cost sharing deed as well as the eligibility of costs under the arrangement. Currently industry meets 80 per cent of the containment and eradication costs for equine influenza and governments the remaining 20 per cent.

NMG is comprised of the Chief Executive Officers of the Commonwealth and State/Territory departments of agriculture/primary industries across Australia and also the heads of the peak bodies representing the horse industry.

EI UPDATE

14th November 2007
The EFA NSW attended two meetings yesterday with the DPI.

For Purple Zone only competitions the EFA NSW and the DPI have established the following set of protocols to enable competition in this zone to get up and running as soon as possible. Only horses from within the Purple Zone may attend. Click here for protocols.

Regarding inter-zonal competitions, the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Disease (CCEAD) is meeting at the end of this week to establish policy enabling us to run competitions involving horses from differing zones and states to attend events. We will advise as to the progress of this as soon as information comes to hand. The CCEAD is composed of vets who are tasked to act in the interest of the state they represent. This means that it is difficult to adopt protocols which suit everyone equally. Inevitably those states which are infected with EI pose a threat to those who are not yet infected and this makes finding a way forward a complex issue.

In the interests of equity between all EFA members, we will be writing to the State Minister for Primary Industry, Hon. Ian Macdonald, requesting that the government cover the costs of vaccinations, micro-chipping and blood tests for EFA members. This idea was supported by other participants in the meetings who were representative of the majority of the sport and leisure horse industry.

Ei Inquiry

Follow this link to read what was said yesterday.

EI detected on property 20 km south east of Grenfell

14 Nov 2007

Rapid deployment of EI vaccination teams to the Grenfell area has led to the detection of EI infection in eight horses on one property at Lirambenda near Grenfell.

NSW chief veterinary officer Bruce Christie said the infected property was 20km south east of Grenfell and 25 km north of Young.

“The property has been placed in quarantine and the area around Lirambenda has been declared a restricted area,” Mr Christie said.

“The EI red zone around Grenfell has been extended to include Lirambenda but there is no extension to the EI amber zone,” he said.
“The township of Young remains in the EI Amber Zone.”

“Property owners in the area who may be unsure which zone they are in can call the EI hotline on 1800 675 888 or go to the website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/equine-influenza.”

There are currently six infected properties at Grenfell, one at Lirambenda and one at Crowther.

Veterinary investigations are underway to determine how the virus spread to Lirambenda.

Mr Christie said vaccination teams already deployed around Grenfell and Crowther would also vaccinate in the extended buffer around Lirambenda.

“Horses on the Lirambenda property were tested as part of the vaccination buffer program, leading to the detection of infection on that property,” he said.

Horse owners can contact the NSW EI hotline, 1800 675 888, for more information.

AQIS ignored horse flu suggestions, inquiry hears

The inquiry into the horse flu outbreak has heard more evidence that quarantine arrangements at Sydney Airport were not stringent enough to prevent the virus spreading.

The general manager of quarantine at the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS), Jenny Gordon, has faced questions over procedures at Sydney Airport for the second day.

Ms Gordon was shown emails from senior New South Wales vet Dr Phillip Widders, who recommended in 2003 that AQIS improve procedures at the airport to reduce the risk of a horse flu outbreak.

Dr Widders recommended all people who came into contact with imported horses at the airport shower and change clothes immediately afterwards.
But the recommendation was never adopted.

Read more.