This. Glad it worked out but still wouldn’t want this horse at my stable or next to my horse at a show without a more concrete explanation and more tests. Roast me now.
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This is just the best news!!
Given that horse was negative (and possibly all along) and it sounds like they did have shipping insurance on the horse - I’d be having a long chat with an attorney who in turn would be having a looooong chat with the insurance company. In my experience, the de facto response is usually to deny claims BUT the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I fought for 6 months with Lloyds and finally got the full value paid on a mortality policy on a horse - they only wanted to pay me half.
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Agreed. Someone mentioned earlier that they should push back on the insurance company’s denied claim. We pay insurance for a reason. I too would be getting a lawyer to look into the insurance claim
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I wondered about the possibility of insurance now being on the hook… thanks for sharing your experience.
This seems like one MORE reason the family would be wise to get an attorney now to help them sort through the aftermath of this mess.
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Don’t believe USDA will release him without owner’s signature that the horse will be retested at their farm in 30 days. Yes they will be dressed in a hazmat suit when the USDA vet pulls the blood. If he’s negative again, he’s off their radar for good.
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YYYAAAYYYYYY. Suzie Q runs around with shirt over head and waving arms wildly.
Yes I understand the greater good of him being tested again to be studied, but I am torn, if he was mine I think I would never let them near him again.
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Yay!!!
Thanks for posting the picture. I hope it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 
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I can only imagine the emotional roller coaster this poor girl has gone through- so happy she finally gets to meet her horse, I hope they develop a great partnership! Thanks for sharing
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â¤ï¸ â¤ï¸ â¤ï¸
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I’ll admit that I did not see a happy ending coming. I was pretty sure that this horse was just being left to suffer until the inevitable outcome where he was euthanized.
I’m happy to be wrong.
Hopefully Waffles will have a long and happy life with Gabby and get some much deserved time to get spoiled, enjoy the sun, and just be a horse. He’s got to be a bit of a mental mess after 2+ months with little contact with humans and no contact with other horses. I know what a mess my horse was after 6 months on stall rest - and that was with other horses around him.
While I still worry a bit about the money that this not super deep pockets family spent to get this outcome - good for everyone involved for not giving up.
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Goose bumps and teared up. Give them both hugs for me!
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Is that just regular protocol after a horse has a few problematic tests, then tests negative on both CFT and Western Blot?
It’s great that with one more negative, he’s completely off their radar. The next month will be stressful for this family though, I’d imagine. Uggh.
Can’t say about the WB, but yes, after our horse finally tested negative in the CFt (was negative on WB all along) he came home, but not before we signed a contract agreeing to a follow up test 30 days later. Thankfully, that one was negative too.
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So what will it take for COTH to write an article about all of this? I mean…how long til the next family gets hit?
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That’s interesting. I wonder how often there is a problem on the follow up test? And what happens under those circumstances?
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In a few other posts, it sounds like the JP staff was walking him and handling him. And the facility was open, so I wonder just how isolated he really was? I’m definitely curious as to what his living conditions were like the past few months…
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I have to disagree. Given the magnitude of the potential risk of allowing an inapparent carrier of what is currently an exotic animal disease with zoonotic properties to go wherever his owners choose, subsequent testing is a prudent action. And I suspect the courts would agree.
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And this concern seems heightened by the fact that at the same time he finally tested negative on the CFT, he came up positive on the Western Blot (the test apparently used in Europe) for the first time!
I am very happy for the horse and his new owner, and I hope they have many enjoyable and healthy years together. But I’m both troubled and puzzled by what seems like a very inconclusive outcome.
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Absolutely ecstatic for this outcome! I tend to classify myself as a realist and not an optimist, and did not anticipate this horse getting out alive. I’m so glad that I was wrong. Can’t wait to see this horse kick his heels up and enjoy life!
I understand and agree with the horse getting tested again in 30 days, but would the family be on the hook for that testing or would USDA cover it?
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