Craigslist and No Coggins

[alibi_18]

The Coggin test doesn’t only shows that a horse wasn’t a carrier at the time of the test but also wasn’t a carrier prior to the test.

It is important to know if a horse could have infected other horses before the test.
If, at the moment of the test the horse is negative, then no need to alert anyone.
But if the horse is positive, it would be safe to investigate where the horse has been, where he’s been infected or who he might have infected.
If there was a previous negative record, then you only have that time frame to check.

That’s how diseases are spread, when people don’t care.

[red_mares]

[QUOTE=ReSomething;8664030]
so why do sellers put their poor, unthrifty cheap horses up for sale without one? .[/QUOTE]

Umm, because the vet work costs more than the poor, unthrifty, cheap horse does?

[Texarkana]

People freak out about a horse without a Coggins test or even no vaccination history.

I always find that bizarre. A Coggins, a vaccination record, and a health certificate are no guarantee of anything.

As mentioned earlier, a Coggins is merely a piece of paper reporting the results of a blood test that was possibly sampled months earlier. It is not a guarantee of health, it’s not even a guarantee the horse hasn’t been exposed to EIA in the time since sampling.

Of the AAEP core vaccines, none of them are directly transmissible from horse to horse. All of them are acquired via another means. (You may be able to argue Rabies could be passed from horse to horse, but that would be an extremely unlikely scenario.) The diseases that are passed from horse to horse, like flu, strangles, rhino, salmonella, etc., either are considered “optional” vaccinations by many or don’t have an effective vaccine.

Even health certificates are not foolproof-- just look at the cluster that occurred in New Mexico earlier this year with EHV-1. Horses with all the appropriate paperwork carried the disease from racetrack to racetrack thanks to poor handling and communication from the management.

If there is any question about a horse’s health or exposure to disease, quarantine is always the best route. Otherwise, I don’t see the sense in getting bent out of shape about what paperwork the horse does or does not have.

As for transporting without one, unless you are going to or through a specific destination that requires the paperwork to be shown, I find it hard to believe there would be any issue on local roads. Not encouraging folks to travel against the law, just saying I can’t imagine encountering an issue on a local run.

[Mosey_2003]

I feel a little underhanded about it, but I haven’t pulled a Coggins on the evil pony I’m trying to sell. He hasn’t been mosquito distance to another horse for years and getting the vet out for just a Coggins would mean leaving work and cost probably $100+. If a buyer wanted to pay for it I’d get it done, but I’m not going above and beyond for a pony I’m trying to eke $500 out of. I spent more than that to get him gelded, vaccinated, dentist-ed, and hooves up to par.

[Sandy_M]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;8664035]
I’ve never bought a horse with a current coggins and some of the shows in my area don’t even require one. I’ve also never seen a horse with a current coggins at the auctions. There’s an entire world out there full of horse owners who’ve never pulled a coggins on a horse and never will. Like it or not![/QUOTE]

Indeed. I’m here in California, and in 45+ years of horse ownership, only ONCE have I had a Coggins done, when I had to travel to an out-of-state competition in Oregon. I traveled to shows in Nevada without needed it. shrug

[ReSomething]

Right, SandyM, CA isn’t one of the states that needs one. But I bet your horse had to have a VEE shot and a tag in his mane along with the whole barn long years ago.

[Chief2]

It all boils down to finances and can be found in any size horse operation, from backyard places to large barns, and from financially well-off owners to poor ones. And it’s been this way for as long as I can remember. In the real world, not everyone lives up to the Coth standards.

The owners are trying to trim down the vet bill, or in some cases, eliminate it entirely. I’ve seen it done with everything from foals to old horses, particularly in cases where the horse hasn’t left the property and won’t until it is sold. It’s nice when an owner puts Coggins and vaccs on their horse, but I don’t expect in when I’m looking to buy. I accept that the possibility will exist that I will be updating the vaccs/Coggins and getting a Health Certificate before I ship the horse. The purchase should be contingent on a negative Coggins. If this can’t be done, then if you want the horse you decide to take the risk, or move on.

ETA: My horse hasn’t left the property in years. My vet routinely offers to leave the Coggins off of the annual spring shots and wellness exam, and I routinely decline his offer. I have always kept things up to date regardless of whether we were in a large show barn or in a small, backyard closed herd where no one had been in or out in years. It was drilled into me early on that doing so was simply good horsekeeping, so I am the one who can’t let go of doing it. Still, letting it go would save me some money on my overall vet bill. But, you never know how things are going to go, or if I will have to ship the horse out for one reason or another someday, so I keep things current. The large animal hospitals usually have a section for horses who do not have vaccs or Coggins, so that tells you it is not just poor owners who let this slide. Vet hospital bills are nothing to pass off lightly!

[GoodTimes]

[QUOTE=alibi_18;8664477]
I’m sorry but you need a valid Coggin test to show in Canada. It needs to be with your passport.[/QUOTE]

Each show is different, however they are no longer required at Palgrave, Angelstone, Spruce Meadows, RMSJ, or Thunderbird. Check your prize list, you might not need it. If you like the peace of mind of pulling a negative coggins than obviously there’s nothing wrong with that.

[bayhunter]

I don’t understand why people complain about it so much - likely, the horse is not UTD on anything because the owner can’t afford it, explaining why the horse is cheap. I once randomly found something on CL that I went out to try and ended up buying. Still did a PPE, and had my vet pull a Coggins and get it UTD on everything before I brought it home. No big deal.