A Hoofers Riding Club horse and one horse which had been boarded at the organization's barn were put to sleep after University of Wisconsin veterinarians believed the horses contracted a neurological virus.
According to Hoofer's Riding Club President Andrea Bill, the organization voluntarily quarantined the barn where the horses were housed because of the potential that the virus could spread to other horses.
While UW veterinarians are still waiting for final confirmatory results, according to a memo from a top official at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, researchers had "very strong evidence" from initial tests that the horses developed cases of the neurological form of Equine Herpes Virus-1.
A contagious disease, EHV-1 is most commonly found in the respiratory form, but in the neurological form, it attacks the spinal cord and brain stem, causing horses to become uncoordinated and making it difficult for them to stand.
EHV-1 can cause pregnant mares to abort their fetuses, early neonatal death in foals, respiratory disease and, occasionally, neurologic disease.
The first horse was euthanized Feb. 7, and the second horse was admitted to the UW School of Veterinary Medicine the following day and put down Feb. 10.
According to Peter Vanderloo, director of the UW Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, it is in the best interest of both horses and handlers to have a horse euthanized if it contracts the neurological form of EHV-1.
"The horses become very hard to manage," Vanderloo said in a phone interview Sunday. "[Handlers] can't get them upright. … [Horses] get sores and injuries from being down."
And Vanderloo added the injuries could sometimes result in paralysis.
Comparing the low-grade respiratory form of EHV-1 to a cold, Vanderloo said EHV-1 is an "aerosol" virus contracted through the air, with symptoms such as coughing and nasal discharge that often go unnoticed.
Bill said "several" other horses have shown initial fever symptoms of EHV-1 but that the severe neurological form has not been discovered in any other horses.
With one of the 10 horses used by Hoofers for riding lessons already lost to EHV-1 and facing a potential outbreak of the virus, Bill said Hoofers has cancelled its first session of spring riding lessons.
However, Bill said riding lessons would begin again March 19, when the second session of lessons was originally scheduled to start.
According to Bill, the other horse put down with EHV-1 was owned by a UW student and was one of 20 horses not owned by the university that are boarded at the Hoofers barn.
Despite the loss of the horses — and the loss of revenue as a result of the cancellation of the first session of riding lessons — Bill said there is something to learn from the tragedy.
"Even though it's been hard to deal with, in terms of educational experience, it's been eye-opening," Bill said. "It's worthwhile in terms of the educational experience."
