The Healthy Athlete

From grassroots to championships, keeping competitors infection-free requires a robust routine.

- Lesley Barwise-Munro MRCVS

TRAVELLING to and staying away at shows again is an exciting prospect. To ensure a healthy, infection-free season, however, we must undertake thorough preparation to protect our competition horses from a variety of potential health threats.

The outbreak of the equine herpes virus-1 (EHV-1) paralytic strain this year in Europe was an extreme example, highlighting the risk of rapid spread of an infectious disease at a show.

Biosecurity – the term for the good hygiene practices that prevent disease transmission – must start at home. This means every yard should have an isolation system for newly purchased horses and short-stay visitors. Ideally, each incoming horse should undergo testing for strangles, equine influenza (flu) and EHV, prior to integration.

Currently, there is a health declaration form to complete for all competitions, to certify that horses arriving at a competition have no known signs of illness and have not had contact with any infectious diseases. This relies on the honesty and vigilance of owners in observing their horses in the run-up to the show, which should include temperature-taking at least once a day for a week or so in advance.

International eventer Oliver Townend is a great advocate of biosecurity. Having recently travelled two horses to the Kentucky five-star in the US – Cooley Master Class and eventual winner Ballaghmor Class (pictured in action at Badminton, left) – the Townend team quite rightly prides itself on effective quarantine and preparation of horses for top-level competition.