No Horses for Sydeny Royal

Sydney Royal Horse Show update

The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) announces that sadly the 2008 Sydney Royal Horse Show competitions will not go ahead. After an extensive review of the NSW DPI’s latest Equine Influenza protocols for the movement of horses to and from the Show from around the state, President Rob Vickery said the RAS had reluctantly come to the decision.

"While it was our greatest desire to accept entries for the Sydney Royal, the reality is that come March the disease may not be at the stage where horses can be easily moved between zones, without extraordinary quarantine and bio-security arrangements and some inherent risks," Mr Vickery said.

While the RAS was hoping to help reboot the struggling equine industry by delivering a safe Show, the conditions that exhibitors would need to meet to get to the Show and return home are far too complicated and onerous.

"We feel it is in the best interests of the exhibitors that we do not force them to meet such stringent and logistically difficult criteria just to be at our Show," Mr Vickery said today. "We know we have many loyal exhibitors who would have moved heaven and earth to get here, but at the end of the day, it would have placed too much pressure on them."

However, Sydney Royal 2008 will not be without horses. The Show is already working on an exciting revamped main arena program featuring events such as polo, polocrosse, tent pegging, showjumping and campdraft. There will also be plenty of horse activities around the grounds such as carriage displays, saddler and farrier demonstrations, along with horse and pony displays.

And no Sydney Royal would be complete without the NSW Mounted Police. As one of the first to contract EI, the NSW Police horses are now back in work and will be a welcome attraction at the Show on several days.

"I want to thank all of our exhibitors who entered the show in good faith and have been so patient while waiting to learn what they needed to do to get here." said Mr Vickery. "EI is on the way to eradication and I am confident it will be beaten. The RAS is acting responsibly and playing a leadership role in ensuring that the disease is defeated and rid from Australia."

For further information exhibitors should call the RAS Horse information line;
02) 9704 1202 or 02) 9704 1171

Media inquiries;
Philippa Lampe – RAS Media & Public Relations Manager 02) 9704 1453 or 0419 483 407

URGENT!! FOSTER MARE NEEDED

Gosh after all the sadness this year has presented for so many people I can hardly believe I am here posting about yet another tragic and unfathonable passing of a much loved horse.

For those of you who read about our phenomenal young 3yo Palomino Wb, Karizmah Malenka, who left us only 13 months ago as a result of a tragic accident I am devastated to report that we lost her mother this morning due to uterine torsion 2 days before her due date.

The vet managed to save the foal (please don't ask me what we had to do to do that as it is simply just too heartbreaking) but as result we are desperately in search of a foster mare.

We are located in the Green Zone on the far south coast of NSW near Cobargo and will travel anywhere if it means procuring a foster mare for our little survivor. We promise to take the utmost care of any mare we are lucky enough to borrow and to return her in the peak of health once the foal has been weaned.

If you could please pass this on to all your horse contacts it would be appreciated. The further and wider it is sent, the more chance we have of finding a mother for our beautiful new colt. His mother gave her life so he could live, please help us find a surrogate who will love him just as much.

I can be contacted on 02 64937322 or emailled at info@karizmah.com

Thankyou so much for your help.

Jenny Stock
Karizmah Performance Palominos

Adelaide Polocrosse Club

Adelaide Polocrosse Club training days Saturday and Sunday 19 and 20 January 2008.
To be held at the Adelaide Equestrian Centre, Lobethal, 10am start.

Contact: President Darren Hochuli 8179 0030.

No shows or events

Just in response to Sarah Allen’s previous email. I would concur with her thoughts and turn of phrase. I heartily agree that indeed thanks does need to go to the few brave individuals or organisations that have considered or have run horse events over the past couple of weeks. That includes the conclusion of the very successful 3 day event in Camperdown which some doom and gloomers predicted would lead to mass outbreaks of EI all over south west Victoria. I congratulate the organising committee for having the intestinal fortitude to continue to run the event in the face of much opposition.

I would like to point out though, that many events are being cancelled by owners’ own breed societies. The said breed societies often are not based in the EI free states, and have issued all sorts of warnings and bio-security protocols of their own (some of them I found quite remarkable) which has little to do with common sense. Further more, these breed societies are intent on not allowing any competition to run even after the New Year (that is, until well after March 2008) whereby most shows would be effectively over down in this neck of the woods anyway. That sort of leaves most of us with no shows or events to go to and to gain either experience or points for (should we be that way inclined) Makes you wonder a little whether there is more to this than just the blanket statements about the lack of insurance cover.

Aside from being cynical though, many of us are looking forward to attending even just one show with our horses.

Regards,

Karen Harrison

Confirmation from Qld DPI

After receiving email inquiries from concerned residents, Horse Deals has confirmed with the Queensland DPI&F that they are looking at 3 suspect properties in Woodford Queensland. Woodford is in the Caboolture Shire that is currently a Red Zone and has confirmed IP's. The DPI&F is currently awaiting for results on these 3 suspect properties and reminds all horse owners of the bio-security measures to stop the spread. The signs that have been erected on the boundaries of Woodford are controlled by the Shire councils and are receiving a great response from the general community to stop the spread.

Mossvale ASH show cancelled

The Mossvale ASH show to be held on the 15th & 16th February has been cancelled. For updates please see www.mossvalebranch.com

Sold within the first week

Received 10 calls and she sold
within the first week. Were very
happy with the response and
with the advert.
Sold to Windsor in NSW from
the December issue Horse Deals.



**Click on advert to enlarge**

Congratulations and THANKS

To Ian Mouser, Congratulations and THANKS for having the strength and the common sense to run the few weekends of showjumping, and clinic's at Tonimbuk. Standing up(but running with) the DPI of Victoria with its negative and illogical reasoning to cancel all shows and functions in a state that is free of EI, and has its borders protected. AND surprise, surprise, EI has not been contracted, or reported as erupting from the gathering of horses over the past few weekends! Lets go forward with logic, not sit still and lose what we have all been aiming for over a life time.

Sarah Allen

Nikki Castle: first woman in South Australia to oversee a race meeting.

RACE steward Nikki Castle will take the reins at Ceduna racecourse this weekend, becoming the first woman in South Australia to oversee a race meeting.

She will make state history as the head steward of the five-race program, and is one of the youngest, at 25, in the country to achieve the feat.
However it will be just another day in the office – or the steward's tower – for Castle, who has been a steward full-time for two years.
"It's something you expect to do one day when you become a steward," she said.
"Obviously there is extra pressure, and I'll be a bit nervous on the day . . . but it's important to be prepared beforehand.
"I've got a good team to work with on the day, too.
"It helps when you can rely on each other."
Stewards are responsible for processing the race applications, managing the track on the day and ensuring the safety of the jockeys and horses. The Equine Influenza outbreak in Australia earlier this year has also created more responsibilities for stewards to handle.
"We had the map of the racecourse out the other day to plan for restricted areas – it's something else we just have to keep in mind."
Castle completed an advanced diploma of horse husbandry and management at Adelaide University in 2001-02 before taking a work experience position with Thoroughbred Racing South Australia.
Her career has catapulted from there and the greatest prize is now well within her sights.
"Perhaps one day I will become the chairman of stewards, but that's a few years away yet," she said.
"In the short term I just hope to continue running smaller meetings and work my way up to provincials and the metropolitan races."
Despite the level of responsibility, it will be a flying visit to Ceduna for Castle.
She will arrive via plane on Saturday morning and return home that evening after a busy day on the track.
Yet it will be a surreal day for the Adelaide steward who as a child spent very little time around horses. Her equine experience was limited to dealing with her grandparents' ponies, which she "was fascinated by".
"I have no other family history with horses . . . it's just something I became interested in once I finished school," she said.

On the right track: vaccine expert

SYDNEY - The head of the development team for the equine influenza (EI) vaccine being rolled out across infected NSW regions travelled to Australia last week from France to update local veterinary experts on the vaccine and see how the NSW control program was progressing.

Director of Merial Equine Biologic Projects, Dr Jules Minke, presented results of trials to senior NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) veterinarians at Orange that showed the live ProteqFlu vaccine could stop most horses shedding the virus within a few days after vaccination.

Unvaccinated horses produced much greater quantities of virus in Merial trials and shed the virus for up to ten days.

“I am proud of this product. Short term protection is nearly absolute,” Dr Minke said.

“Based on overseas experience with related strains, I am very comfortable that the vaccine is doing a good job.”

The vaccine was developed by Merial because of the limited success of some inactivated vaccines, according to Dr Minke.

ProtequFlu is based on a modified canary pox virus that activates an immune response close to a natural infection, but without causing disease.

“It provides a much broader protection than most vaccines,” he said.

“Canary pox vectors have been used safely in vaccines in Europe and the US for many years in domestic animals and horses, and have been sought by zoos around the world to protect endangered animals from disease, including red pandas and leopards, because of their safety.

“I don’t know the exact numbers, but I would estimate that over 40 million doses have been used around the world.

“The vaccine has been tested in many species and has been found to be safe in every species tested.”

After being briefed on the progress of the NSW control campaign, Dr Minke said he believed there were still hurdles to be overcome in the battle to eradicate the highly contagious EI virus.

“This is a very contagious virus, there are compliance issues that are out of your control and there is no immunity in your naïve horse population,” he said.

“The whole world is looking at you. If you eradicate this you will have done a wonderful job.

“Everything I have been shown today looks promising and good. You are doing all the right things.”

EI Protocols - Biosecurity procedures for all people attending the December and Breeze Up Salea

Breeze Up 13 December 2007
Sale 14 December 2007

Please ensure you have taken all normal personal hygiene measures before attending the sale including showering, washing hair and clean clothes.

There will only be 3 entry points to the sales complex. Everyone entering the complex must ensure they use the footbaths provided and use the self-drying hand disenfectant which will be issued at each entrance.

Avoid physical contact with horses unless absolutely necessary.If physical contact is made, ensure hands are washed thoroughly before contacting another horse.

On leaving the complex, patrons should undertake biosecurity procedures upon their return home before having any contact with other horses.

Please ensure common sense prevails and assist us to keep Victoria EI free.

Horses purchased at Christmas Sale may have to serve a period of quarantine here at Newmarket before their release

CHRISTMAS SALE NOTICE - GUIDELINES:

• If your purchase is being sent to a property in the Purple Zone there are no restrictions on movement and no permit is required.

• If your purchase is a resolved horse (had EI and recovered) and you wish to travel it to a destination in the Green, Amber or Red Zones then the horse must serve three days quarantine here at Newmarket ($15 per day charge) and it will be released on Monday morning 10 December. From Newmarket it must travel under permit from DPI and complete a further three days of quarantine at its destination point. (Please see DPI staff for quarantine information at destination properties).

• If your purchase is a vaccinated horse that has not had EI then the period of quarantine to be served at Newmarket is 14 days with release on Friday 15 December 2007. on day ten of this period a PCR (nasal swab) will be performed. The horse must travel under DPI permit to its destination where it must undergo a further seven days of quarantine.

Another positive step to the road to recovery

7th December: Just as the Sydney racing industry started it’s journey down the road to recovery last Saturday, another critical step forward was taken today when William Inglis and Son conducted the first thoroughbred sale in NSW since the EI crisis commenced more than three months ago. Despite the current turmoil within the thoroughbred industry and strict bio-security procedures in place at Newmarket, a good turnout of buyers were active at today’s Christmas Thoroughbred Sale and were keen to show their support in the ring with three lots breaking the $100,000 barrier.
read the full report

United approach has horse flu eradication on track

All of the sectors involved in the equine influenza response in Queensland have been working cooperatively in a united front to eradicate horse flu and the work is paying dividends.

Biosecurity Queensland's Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Ron Glanville, in the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, said since the infection came into Queensland in August, the spread of horse flu had peaked in early October and was now quickly trending down.

"This is testament to the hard work and united effort by various government agencies and industry groups, led by Biosecurity Queensland in the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F), who have restricted the virus to the south east corner of the state," he said.

"The movement restrictions and vaccination program are working well.

Read more.

Equestrian events to resume in SA

Equestrian and other horse trials will resume in South Australia early next year if the state remains free of equine influenza, authorities say.

Chief vet Rob Rahaley said horse owners should not take risks over the Christmas period, a time when travelling between states increased.

"People movements between infected and non-infected states is a big risk but horse owners can continue to help keep SA free of equine influenza without being anti-social," Dr Rahaley said.

He said anyone travelling interstate who might come in contact with horses should ensure they wash their clothes and boots and shower before returning home.

They also should stay away from any horses in South Australia for at least three days.

"Now that we are working towards a resumption of activities in 2008, it would be very disappointing if a simple mistake puts the plans of equestrian clubs across the state on hold," Dr Rahaley said.