UPDATE #34 Wwyd?

[moonlitoaksranch]

Oh my! I’m sorry you’re going through this and I hope your horse makes a complete recovery.

I went through a similar situation where two of my animals died, and my horse got sick, because of the negligence of one person who supposedly cleaned her facility after a contagious disease but failed to say anything to people who picked up their animals from her farm a month later.

I paid the bills. It sucked.

People talk and reputations are made or broken from irresponsible behavior like this. I would be surprised if the reputation of the boarder, the vet, the trainer, and the barn, didn’t go down after this.

[Peggy]

I watched a horse die from WNV bc the vet didn’t test for it bc the owner incorrectly stated that the horse had been immunized. The owner wasn’t trying to defraud but apparent forgot that the horse had been temporarily out of her care when her other horses were immunized.

The vet tested for EPM (a longer disease progression, but longer to get results back, at least then), and didn’t test for WNV until the EPM test came back negative. May not have made much difference since the horse was already neurological looking when the vet was called.

Several people learned a sad lesson that week.

Hoping for the best for the OP’s horse. Strangles is a major PITA, if that’s what it is.

[FormalAlter1]

How about we approach it from this angle: would a reasonable prudent person who unknowingly brought a horse with an illness into a boarding barn, watch a horse get sicker and sicker and spread it down the aisle to his other horses, then watch his trainer spread it to his string of horses in another aisle, without notifying the barn owner or the other boarders or getting an accurate diagnosis? This person probably has more life experience with horses than anyone else in the barn.
My answer to this question is no. I find the behavior egregious and reprehensible. I don’t feel he used reasonable care. But I have no idea if others believe this as well.
Thank you; yes the most important thing is my horse. I don’t think i could forgive myself if he does not recover.

[FormalAlter1]

Thank you! Sorry you went through that as well. I feel horrible for the farm owner and somewhat bad for the trainer. FO was in the dark and now has several sick horses.

[FormalAlter1]

How horrible! I don’t know if I could deal with that guilt. I am sure the vet felt just as bad that it happened.
Thank you!

[McGurk]

My vet used to tell a story, as a cautionary tale, of a very high end show horse, the kind that got leased all over the place for kids to qualify on, that died of tetanus. Because everyone associated with the horse assumed that someone else in his long history of barns with excellent care had vaccinated him.

[Ghazzu]

@FormalAlter1

How about we approach it from this angle: would a reasonable prudent person who unknowingly brought a horse with an illness into a boarding barn, watch a horse get sicker and sicker and spread it down the aisle to his other horses, then watch his trainer spread it to his string of horses in another aisle, without notifying the barn owner or the other boarders or getting an accurate diagnosis?

I have seen similar scenarios more than once. The key is that not everyone is “a reasonable prudent person”.

[3PonyFarm]

I knew of someone whose horse was very sick from an illness and they had confirmed strangles cases going through their barn. They planned on taking it to a couple shows and when they found out their prepaid entry fees were not going to be refunded they took the horse anyway to both shows. Terrible to do that to your own horse let alone expose it to others.

[FormalAlter1]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your input! Today me and my horse were pretty much thrown under the bus, most people are not even caring where or how this started. I feel a lot of people would have preferred I hadn’t tested at all. Since I am the only one who actually had a positive test, they are considering my horse the only positive horse on the property at this point. It is optional whether or not the others test their horses. Temps need to be monitored but by the same people who were not honest from the start so not sure why they would even bother with this. This is all the state is requiring for compliance.
I almost believe that not testing would have been a better option at this point.

[EmilyM]

You disnthe right thing because the place should be quarantined and hopefully that qt will protect surrounding farms due to awareness.

[NaturallyHappy]

Agreed w all of the above saying you did the right thing. I hope you are able to find a better place to board as soon as possible. The instructions from the state sound lax to me, but I know nothing about this kind of thing. I don’t know if it’s strangles, but It is my understanding strangles has been reportable since 2017 and I don’t believe everyone may be aware-or care.

[Peggy]

@NaturallyHappy

Agreed w all of the above saying you did the right thing. I hope you are able to find a better place to board as soon as possible. The instructions from the state sound lax to me, but I know nothing about this kind of thing. I don’t know if it’s strangles, but It is my understanding strangles has been reportable since 2017 and I don’t believe everyone may be aware-or care.

Strangles is not reportable in all states, including California. https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/animal_health/pdfs/ca_reportable_disease_list_poster.pdf

[FormalAlter1]

That is really surprising. California is usually on top of things, or so I always thought.
This is reportable in my state, which is why I am surprised the state vets were so lax about it. But I have never dealt with this stuff before either. I’m kind of at the bottom of the food chain in terms of money and horse worth so it seems like someone was trying to protect the members of the other barn.

It took me about a year of searching before I found this place. I loved everything about it up until now. I can go back to my old barn if he recovers but it doesn’t have riding facilities which is why I left.

[trubandloki]

Thank you, @Peggy. I was going to say that I did not think it was reportable in every state. I looked up my state and I am surprised to see that it is reportable here.

[FormalAlter1]

Just an update to this thread: my horse ultimately had to be euthanized as he developed pneumonia secondary to the original illness. The only good thing that has come out of this is that the barn owner finally realized the severity of the issue and required all horses tested and positive horses confined to one barn.

[trubandloki]

@FormalAlter1, I am so sorry for your loss.

[SadieRidingHorses]

@FormalAlter1 that is heartbreaking. So sorry for your loss.

[Peggy]

@FormalAlter1I am so sorry for your loss. Sending virtual hugs.

[Gardenhorse]

Oh no. How heartbreaking. I am so sorry for your loss.

[Gesaffelstein]

OMG how heart breaking. I’m so very sorry for your loss.