There has been an attack of the virus called Rhino in Pennsylvania, this post is courtesy of www.useventhorse.com
[This message was edited by Erin on Apr. 23, 2001 at 11:01 PM.]
Second chance -
Thanks for posting this here. I used to read USEventhorse but stopped when they started charging. I’d sure appreciate it if you would continue to post Jane’s notes.
She’s a remarkable person - when I read this I sent her a quick note of support and I was amazed when i got a personal note back.
All of you - people and horses - are in my thoughts and prayers.
There has been an attack of the virus called Rhino in Pennsylvania, this post is courtesy of www.useventhorse.com
[This message was edited by Erin on Apr. 23, 2001 at 11:01 PM.]
The scary thing about this story is that it can happen to any barn at any time…you just don’t know how it’s brought in.
It has been 10 days since the last horse got sick! So we may be done with it. Still in the incubation period but things are a lot calmer here right now! By May 10 we will know when we can resume a semi-normal existence here at Pleasant Hollow. Thanks for all the supportive e mails, we all appreciate the kind words and support!
Thank you for sharing this. I cried, but I appreciate her letting us know what to look for.
I’ll keep track via her website.
Didnt they vaccinate?
Betsy
Second Chance, I’m sorry, but I had to delete the content from USEventHorse. It’s copyrighted, and shouldn’t be distributed without permission… even though it’s on the web. Theirs is a subscription-based site, and it’s not fair to distribute the content on other sites for free.
If you do subscribe to USEventHorse, definitely go read the article – it’s very informative and moving. I haven’t looked, but there might also be some info on the Pleasant Hollow website:
http://www.pleasanthollow.com/
I’m also going to move this over to Horse Care, since it’s more appropriate to that forum.
Thanks!
It said that even horses who were vaccinated could contract the virus… so my guess is yes, but they still contracted it somehow.
Laura & Uno
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=1361403&Auth=false
Sorry Erin I didn’t see copy right information. I didn’t know where to post it before so, I just posted it at the H/j fourm.
Sorry once again!
How scary and how very sad… I feel for those people. 
Dealing with a rampant infection like that is so difficult, and as Jane noted, the barn with the infection is stigmatized by the rest of the horse world. Infections like that can break out even in the most clean, carefully managed facilities and I think people tend to forget that!
Hopefully things start to get better for them… They are in my thoughts!
I had my horses at a barn once where a mare aborted due to rhino. The owner blamed me since she heard one of my horses coughing. The horse was hardly coughing (meaning about once or twice every 3 hours) and it was due to seasonal allergies.
This is a wonderful place full of really good and extremely hard working people (even if they are eventers - or should I say, because they are eventers?!).
It is a shame this has happened, and especially a shame it happened to them.
Not a problem Nellie… that’s what moderators are here for, to nitpick about the rules. If everyone knew them all, we wouldn’t have anything to do! 
For those who haven’t seen it, there’s also a discussion about this on Off Course, which I should probably move as well, but… oh well.
Many years ago there was an outbreak of this same type of Rhino at the barn I boarded at. Only three horses had neurological complications–two recovered, and one died. Most other horses in the barn had respiratory effects, and a few, including mine, just stocked up for a day or two. There were two mares in foal who quickly aborted, and it was because they did that the disease was identified. They had no other symptoms, just the abortions.
Our barn was quarrantined–I don’t recall for how long.
To this day, whenever I tell about this experience, and state that Rhino can be much more dangerous than a flu and that it can pose a serious threat to any operations but breeding farms people are very skeptical, and tell me I am mistaken and that it must have been some other infection…But the possibility is very real! It is my understanding that vaccination does offer some protection, however–I will now have to worry if this impression is wrong…What was the vaccination status of the horses in the affected barn? Were they completely up to date? Recently vaccinated? Not yet due for shots, and presumed to have immunity?
Having read the first post regarding this horrible situation, I found the email address for Jane. I sent her a sympathy email to which she so kindly replied.
I think it is good to know how much support is out here country, or worldwide for all of us horse nuts.
I recommend visiting their website, they seem to have a great facility and program. The other thing we can all do is be educated about these “contagious” diseases. More than just for protection of our critters, but to help understand any “long term” effects of the disease.
As Jane had indicated her next battle is fighting the stigma attached to this unfortuate situation and how it will affect her business in the long term. The more educated we are, the better we can stop any rumor or ill-founded fear.
Continued good wishes for a very speedy recovery of their facility and all the horses.
I s to the word what my students parents described to me when it happened to them.How horrific!
The fact that one cannot vaccinate against this is really shocking to me!!
but after talking to several people it seems true .Gives me chills
This is from"the horse’mouth", so to speak. It is my barn with the neurologic rhino. I am writing a diary of this terrible time for US Event Horse, plus I will today write something for our website www.pleasanthollow.com, available later today or tomorrow. Thanks for the mostly positive comments.My vets as well as others who have e mailed or phoned me assure me of the randomness of these outbreaks, that even though our horses were all regularly vaccinated, it does not matter, and that we are doing exactly what needs to be done. Keep up your positive thoughts and prayers.
