DENVER — Just like any athlete, the horses competing at the Colorado Horse Park in Parker need to stay healthy.
"You don’t know where these horses have come from so you need to have an idea of what they miight have been exposed to," said Marion Maybank, the Director of the Colorado Horse Park. "We have horses from California, from Mexico, Argentina, Canada, New York, Chicago, pretty much anywhere in the U.S."
With an outbreak of the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) reported in Colorado, the park is implementing new procedures to keep the animals safe. On a normal day, horses competing here get checked out by a vet within 10 days of arriving at the park. Now, the requirement has been pushed to just five days.
"That health certification verifies not only that the horse is in good shape, but that it has not been exposed to a horse that was showing symptoms within recent history," said Maybank.
There have been 26 cases of VSV reported in Weld County, Larimer County, and La Plata County. Hundreds of cattle and horses are now under quarantine. The virus is expected to spread.
"They do health checks or certificates of veterinary inspection, for participants at fairs, shows, and events to make sure that the animals that arrive don’t have any sort of disease," said Keith Roehr, the Colorado State Veterinarian with the Department of Agriculture. "It can cause blisters on the mouth and tongue, sometimes around the feet, primarily spread by insects."
The main way the virus spreads is through insects. Roehr says while the disease is serious, it is not usually deadly.
"Take the appropriate measures to control the disease, but we don’t want to inhibit participation of equine events throughout the summer," said Roehr. "It’s very important to our livestock producers in the state to try and prevent this disease."
You can learn more about signs of the virus and how to report a suspected case here.
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