Vets didn't suspect EI at Eastern Creek

Veterinarians attending horses at Eastern Creek had no experience with equine influenza (EI) and little reason to suspect it was present at the quarantine station, the inquiry into the outbreak has been told.

Dr Greg Nash, a partner in the Randwick Equine Centre (REC) which was contracted to look after imported stallions from Darley Stud, said high temperatures and nasal discharge did not immediately alert him to EI which until August had never been present in Australia.

All horses imported must also have been vaccinated against the disease which is endemic in most other countries with large commercial horse populations.

"The barriers for quarantine are established outside Australia," Dr Nash said.

Read more.

Restrictions Lifted As Horse Flu Eases

From Friday 7 December 2007 Movement restrictions for some horse owners will change. There will also be a new Amber Zone.

Restrictions on horse movements in southeast Queensland's "red zone" are being significantly eased for the first time since the outbreak of equine influenza in August, Premier Anna Bligh announced today.

Ms Bligh said EI had peaked in early October and was slowly trending down.
"This is a clear sign there's an end in sight to the tough times felt by horse owners and businesses throughout Queensland," she said.

"Thanks to the ongoing dedication of horse owners, Queensland is winning the battle against EI and we are well on track to achieving eradication. "

"However, it is as important now as it ever was to ensure everyone follows the rules to the letter. This is a critical time and everyone must be continue to be vigilant."

From Friday, some areas in the existing Red Zone, including Maroochy Shire, Dalby and Stanthorpe, would be reclassified as "amber", allowing free movement within.

Read more.

Fears horse flu vaccination causing mares to miscarry

A Wide Bay horse stud owner in south-east Queensland has raised concerns that equine influenza vaccinations are causing pregnant mares to lose their foals.

Belinda Butterfield recently sent semen from her stallion to mares based on the Darling Downs.

She says the mares conceived, were vaccinated and then miscarried.
"The owner rang me to say the mares had lost their foals and they're putting it down to the vaccination because the fact is they also vaccinated another mare and they're having extreme trouble keeping her in foal as well, she's been talking around and they've found out other people are also experiencing the same thing," she said.

The Department of Primary Industries says it has not received any reports of inoculated horses miscarrying.

Information for event organisers and participants

Various competitions that are planned for the first half of next year are devising their conditions for attendance. It will NOT be necessary to vaccinate horses that are only competing in events in the green zone against other green zone horses. If a competition involves horses crossing zone boundaries vaccination will be required.

Furthermore any horse moving out of a zone of high risk to a zone of lower risk will have to be, at very least, proven immune, tested free and have the property quarantined for 14 days before moving. It will not be as simple as getting your horse vaccinated and turning up to the show. The DPI’s requirements for moving between zones will have to be followed.

An information page for event organisers and participants has been added to the NSW DPI web site. It contains vital information for people planning and attending horse events in NSW including a summary of the rules and restrictions that apply as well as biosecurity and horse health information. See:http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/horse/influenza/information/info-event-organisers-participants

The requirements for cross zone events have yet to be added when the decision on these movements has been formalised.

Equine influenza daily update - 3 December 2007

HRCAV Competition starts in 2008

January
13 SHOW (Official) - Alpine ARC Joy 5755 1060
20 DRESSAGE JACKPOT (Official) - South West ARC Jannie 5597 9273
27 DRESSAGE JACKPOT (Official)-Smythesdale ARC - Golden Spurs Sries Ian 5344 8440

February
Refer to the HRCAV website.

Network Ten seeking horse riders!

In April 2008, Network Ten in conjunction with the BBC in the United Kingdom will be producing a new television show that will take four Australian children and four UK children on a journey to become Jack and Jillaroos. This will be screened both in Australia (nation-wide) and in the UK in late 2008.

To whom it may concern,

My name is Kristen Souvlis and I am writing on behalf of Network Ten’s Children’s Television Department.

In April 2008, Network Ten in conjunction with the BBC in the United Kingdom will be producing a new television show that will take four Australian children and four UK children on a journey to become Jack and Jillaroos. This will be screened both in Australia (nation-wide) and in the UK in late 2008.

We are looking for children from all walks of life and all backgrounds that have a passion for adventure and the outdoors and a willingness to learn and try new things.

This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity for your young members and I would like to invite anyone you think would be suitable to apply.

Click here for the cover letter and here for the application pack. Please distribute both to any interested parties. We look forward to some great responses from your association.

Kind Regards,

Kristen

EI dampens Olympic hopes

Equestrian events are still suspended in areas which have been affected by the devastating Equine Influenza virus, severely disrupting Australia's planning for next year's Beijing Olympics.

Read transcript.

Watch video report.

Letter to PPHI Committee

Dear PPHI Committee

I thank you for the work that you have done for the industry to date but there are still several questions that I have posed to various people & as yet have not had a direct response to so I am going to list them for you in the hope that you can answer them or at least point me in the direction of someone that can.

Why can’t I get my horses vaccinated when the majority of racehorses in South East Queensland have been vaccinated regardless of whether they were within 500m or 10km of an infected property?

Why do I have to pay the associated vet fees for vaccination when it is no fault of my own or of my PPHI constituents that EI was bought into Australia & ultimately South East Qld?

Why can’t pleasure & performance horses that have been vaccinated or have been declared resolved be allowed out of lockdown as their racing counterparts are?

While I understand that you, the DPI and government are very busy trying to deal with this crisis it seems to me that since day one everyone has bent over backwards to help the racing industry get back on it’s feet as fast as possible, while leaving the rest of us to manage as best we can and if we are lucky have our horses come through this alive & reasonably unscathed.

I for one am sick of having my life turned upside down. I’ve gone from riding 3 horses 5 days a week to riding 2 horses for 10 minutes each every second day so that they don’t go nuts & kill themselves running around the paddock because they are bored.

Where do we go from here? The racing industry is back on it’s feet & saying EI is over while the rest of us are looking at February as a best case scenario for slowly starting to be allowed out. Well that is not good enough! If they are allowed out then why aren’t we? I understand and have fully supported the lockdown but now it seems that there is one rule for them & one rule for us. Last time I checked a thoroughbred (coincidently my horses are thoroughbreds, must be a different type of thoroughbred I suppose) could just as easily become a carrier of the virus as a warmblood or a donkey but the powers that be are behaving as though a thoroughbred could not possibly carry or distribute the virus. Oh what short memories considering it was a thoroughbred that bought the virus into Australia in the first place.

I thank you for taking the time to read this email & look forward to a response. I understand that you “the committee” are in no way responsible for our situation and my anger and frustration are not directed at you, merely the frustrating situation that I find myself in 12 weeks after the initial outbreak.

Kind regards

Jenny Kunde

Why would ER celebrate Randwicks return to racing ??

The media are proclaiming that we should all be celebrating the return of racing to Randwick ?? Umm please forgive us poor plebs who don't give a rats if we never see another horse race again. What's there to celebrate exactly ?? Don't try and kid us that we're getting some normality back...what a load of rubbish.The racing industry has been running it's own race since the very start of this monumental cock up. The DPI /Government didn't have the intestinal fortitude to shut them down like the rest of us.

If we want to go to a show next year we have to jump through burning hoops. Just how are we supposed to be able to go if we aren't even given the courtesy of receiving the free vaccines (oh yeah another big milestone for the government handing out 100,000 of them). We can't get access to vaccines period !! How are our horses in the green and amber zones supposed to gain some sort of immunity ?? Then we're expected to get a vet out AT OUR EXPENSE to take blood samples to prove the horses immune status before we go. It might be ok for people in the city, but out here, its $160 just to get the vet to travel here, before they even touch a horse.

We've experienced enough losses. Time for the government to cancel the booking for rooms at Motels in Orange so the DPI workers can go have nap times, time to take some action on all the phone calls that are complaints, instead of palming us off. Maybe then the call staff could be cut back to an acceptable level and we could see some improvement happening in the flesh.

We are fed up to the back teeth with all this self gratification the DPI is languishing in. It has been badly managed from the get go, we know it, they know it.

I was told 7 weeks ago that protocols for moving immune horses from the purple zone to other zones was being implemented within the "next 2 weeks" STILL WAITING HERE. Unless your a race horse, then the blanket answer is "no you can't do that" easy for the call staff to deal with, or call the RLPB who'll then tell you hmm, the manual says nope can't do that.
We need everyone to call their local TV/radio stations, show them your suffering at the hands of the DPI & Governments indifference to us - the 80% of the industry. Until you stand up and be counted in the public eye, then you can whinge and gripe all you like on blogs, but it doesn't affect those departments. The whole nation needs to be constantly reminded how much we're suffering STILL. They (DPI) need to be brought back down to the real world......our world.

Sue

Sold within the first 2 hours of magazine on sale!

Our stunning golden buckskin
Sold on the first day within the
first 2 hours of magazine being
on sale! (Decemeber issue Horse
Deals) He sold to Adelaide in
South Australia and we had 15
calls on the first day and we are
still getting calls!
**click to enlarge**

EI dampens Olympic hopes

Equestrian events are still suspended in areas which have been affected by the devastating Equine Influenza virus, severely disrupting Australia's planning for next year's Beijing Olympics.

KERRY O'BRIEN: An important milestone in the long awaited recovery from equine flu was reached on the weekend, when horse racing resumed in both Sydney and Brisbane.

It's a big step back for the thoroughbred industry, since the virus swept through parts of New South Wales and Queensland in August, leaving some of the nations' top racehorses and stallions stranded in quarantine.
But most other equestrian events are still suspended in effected areas, imposing further hardships on tens of thousands of people. And it's severely disrupting Australia's preparations for next year's Beijing Olympics, with some of the top horses trapped in contaminated zones and missing vital competition.

Paul Lockyer reports.
Read the transcript or download the program footage

Could your Business or Club survive another Stock Standstill? - Mt Gambier Change of date

*Please note that date will need to be changed* Registrations of Interest being taken.

Surviving Stock Standstill Free Workshop

Do you provide products or services for the horse industry? How will you survive another stock standstill or other emergency or business disruption?
While Equine Influenza is present in Australia, another stock standstill can be called at any time – is your business (including organisations & self-employed) ready& able to cope?
Horse training & breaking, farrier, fodder, agistment, saddlery & repairs, horse clubs, shows and events, transporting, hired horse venues, coaching etc. are invited to this Business Contingency Planning FREE workshop.
Mt Gambier Racecourse Date TBA 7 – 9.30pm
Bookings essential with Horse SA Ph 08 8294 2460 or Email horsesa@ho

Horseracing returns to Cooma

Tight security measures were in place at Cooma on Saturday for the return of horseracing to the area.

The Sundowner Cup meeting was the the Monaro's first since the outbreak of equine influenza in August and about 3,000 people turned out for the annual gathering.
Although the south-east is part of the green zone which has been free of the virus, Cooma race club spokesman Roger Norton says people at the meeting on Saturday appreciated the need for continued security.

Search on for temporary horse quarantine site

The South Australian Government is on the hunt for a horse quarantine facility and has taken the unusual step of appealing to the public for help.

With the containment of equine influenza, South Australian horses which have been stranded in Queensland and New South Wales can come back across the border
But they will need to be quarantined in SA for two weeks before being allowed to to their home stables.
Dr Rob Rahaley, from Primary Industries SA, says the property they choose will have to meet some specific conditions.
"The facility must of course be isolated from other horses, at least 300 metres away from other horses," he says.
"It then has to be able to accommodate horses in a reasonable situation, with covered stables, good water and good fencing.
"The other requirement is that people have to look after these horses, so there need to be toilet and shower facilities on site."