Twice I have had horses infected by other horses this year while stabling at A rated horse shows. None of the shows I have been to in the past year have requested any vet info when I pick up my number - Before Covid I was always asked for vert cert/vac records. I have called upon USEF to do something about this but so far nothing has changed. I currently have a horse at a clinic because his temp spiked at 105.5 F two days after returning from a show.
Well, first I thought shows were cancelled during Covid. Second, if the shows aren’t asking for vaccination records from you they aren’t asking from anybody. Third of your horse is vaccinated then it isn’t going to catch any illnesses that can be spread by other unvaccinated horses so you should be safe from those. But on the other hand there are dozens of respiratory type viruses similar to human flus and colds that make the rounds of horses that don’t have vaccines and often aren’t even cultured and diagnosed.
I doubt that A level show horses aren’t getting proper vet care due to Covid. There might be dude strings and lesson barns and backyard ponies suffering from economic downturn at the lower end of the scale but I understand the upper level of horses is doing very well, prices rising.
3 Likes
Yes my horses are UTD on all vacs, and yes the virus can not be vaccinated against. Perhaps I was not clear- I am not saying horses are not getting proper care due to Covid; I am saying horse shows are no longer monitoring horse health since the onset of Covid because they are understandably focused on human health. Many of us have not been required to submit health certs as we had been pre-covid before picking up numbers to show. I fear that some horses will slip through that are not UTD on shots etc. A temperature check of horses within hours of entering grounds would be helpful, but there might be some fudging going on.
Sincere question @Atlas_Shrugged, since it has been over a decade since I did a rated hunter show - when did they start requiring an actual health certificate? I always showed in the same state I live in so I only ever had to provide proof of rabies and negative coggins, no health certficate.
Yep, same prior experience here. We always got health certs to cross state lines to go to shows but they were never checked by the show. Just Coggins.
1 Like
I live where I can cross 3 state lines within 1 hour’s drive, depending on which direction I go. Our trainer always gets a health cert/vacc record for the horses showing on a weekend. Horse owners bring their Coggins copy and they’re all kept in a folder. In the 5 years I’ve been showing, we’ve never opened the folder once we leave our farm. No one ever asks to see our documentation and we attend nationally sanctioned shows. I hauled myself to 2 out-of-state shows this past summer. I frankly forgot about the health certificate since I’m not the one who usually gets it, and had a copy of my Coggins in the glove box. Never asked for either, although Coggins is uploaded into my online entry form. Luckily my horse has never gotten sick from showing.
Any show that I’ve been to (pre-COVID) that has asked for this has asked for the barn to fill it in, not had a person actually walking around with a thermometer. So… not sure how useful it actually is. Maybe post-COVID they will adapt the temp guns to be used on ponies through the trailer window 
Every show (dressage , both recognized and schooling) I have entered here in Florida required Coggins with the entry. Some organizations (notable those running shows in Wellington and at the new WEC here in Ocala) also require shots within 6 months. The Florida Horse Park has newly added vaccinations within 6 months as well for all equestrian events held there.
Same in the Northeast. Submit Coggins and proof of flu/rhino vaccine with entry. They used to let you bring both to the office with you when you check in, but since COVID started they have been requiring it electronically.
While I haven’t been to any big rated shows in gosh two decades, I have shown at smaller “fun” shows. They always require a negative coggins test when turning in the entry paperwork on the morning of the show. I have never been asked to produce a shot record, although I always bring it with me just in case. I had a friend recently go to a schooling show, and she had to produce a negative coggins and that was it. I have never had to produce a health certificate, however I have never traveled across state lines to show, either. IMO it has always been my responsibility to make sure my horses are fully vaccinated, especially before I bring them anywhere, at least to make sure they are as protected as possible. I am aware that there are plenty of diseases that you can’t vaccinate against, however. I also never allow them nose to nose contact with other horses at the shows, for what it is worth.
Edited to add: I am located in Florida.
