Bio-Security - Why Worry?

Equine biohazard beware

Extra caution is required in times of horse disease epidemic.New window.

Bio-security measures help to protect your equine's health in times serious disease outbreaks. New and old threats emerge almost every year. West Nile Virus was unknown in the U.S. prior to 1999, but now has affected equines and people in all but Washington, Oregon and Nevada in the lower 48 states.

By following a few simple rules relative to what's happening with your horse, bio-security can be a lifesaver whether you have one horse or fifty. Implementing these practices is especially important in times of localized or epidemic outbreaks of disease.

Bringing in new horses

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  Vaccinate and isolate

  Keep your equines vaccinated and vaccinate/isolate new horses with unknown vaccination histories.New window.

  Make sure that all horses are up-to-date on vaccinations and keep the new horse isolated for 30 days. Use separate equipment for the new horse, including pitchforks, grooming tools, feed, and water buckets.  Mark all equipment used with the new horse with a piece of red tape or other noticeable marking.
• Work with the isolated horse last each day. Wear boots and coveralls and remove them before going near your other horses.  Keeping them in a plastic tub near the new horse will make this easy.
• Always wash your hands thoroughly and blow your nose immediately after working with the new horse. Germs and viruses can be carried on your hands and in your nose.

Visiting other farms, horse shows, or auctions

• Wearspecial boots or plastic shoe covers when visiting other farms or attending events away from your own horses.
• If actually working with a horse in another situation, wear coveralls or change clothes before coming in contact with your own horses.
• If there are farms or events that you visit on a regular basis, check to make sure their vaccination program and bio-security measures are as good as your own.

For visitors to your farm or horse

• It's best to have just one access for people coming onto your property.  Usually this is a main entrance for visitors that takes them directly to the horse area.
• Plan a parking area away from your horses to help keep disease-carrying organisms from being tracked from car floors or tires.
• Give visitors plastic shoe covers or plastic bags to cover their feet or have them brush dirt off their shoes and spray them with disinfectant.
• If you have many visitors, such as tours or open houses, make a disinfectant foot bath for them to walk through.

Showing your horse

• Use your own trailer and don't ship your horses with horses from other farms.
• Ship only in a trailer that has been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.  If you can "smell horse," it has not been sufficiently cleaned and disinfected.
• Don't let your horse touch other horses, especially nose to nose.
• Don't share equipment with other horses.
• Wash your hands frequently and especially after touching or working with other horses.
• Don't let strangers pet your horse, especially those with horses at home or people who have been out of the country in the past two weeks.
• Before leaving the grounds, clean and disinfect tack, boots, equipment, and grooming supplies. Brush off dirt or manure and disinfect everything, either with spray or wipes.
• When you get home, shower, blow your nose, and put on clean clothes before going near other horses.

What to look for in a disinfectant

3/4 of a cup of household bleach mixed with a gallon of water works well to disinfect shoes, grooming equipment, buckets, shovels, pitchforks, and other equipment that can be sprayed or wiped down.

Waterless hand sanitizers are good for use at a show or after visiting other horses.  Be sure to wipe carefully between and around fingers and under fingernails.

If you use a commercial disinfectant product, make sure the label says it kills bacteria and viruses.

Making an easy foot bath

Obtain a large, low-sided plastic pan or bin, wide enough to accommodate an adult's feet and shallow enough to step into easily, and a plastic doormat.  "Fake grass" mats work very well.

Choose a disinfectant that works when manure or dirt is present. Mix the disinfectant with water, following label instructions. Add the disinfectant so that the bottom of the "grass" is wet.  Visitors walk through the foot bath, wiping their feet on the mat, which scrubs their shoes a bit as they wipe them.  When the liquid begins to get dirty, empty it and add new disinfectant.

By being alert and taking a few precautions, horse owners can protect themselves and their horses from infectious diseases and biological threats to their health, safety, and welfare.