AN outbreak of the deadly Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) has caused shows in California to be cancelled, while two horses at two seperate competition venues were euthanized after being infected with the neurological strain of the virus.

At the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) in Thermal, California, weeks five and six of the tour have been cancelled. On February 19th, the show announced that one horse had been euthanized due to severity of clinical signs of the neurological virus.

DIHP first reported three cases of EHV-1 non neurologic on February 11th. The horses were immediately quarantined and put under bio-security restrictions.

Steve Hankin, CEO and President of the park has been releasing daily updates. “The situation at the horse park is very serious. And it is constantly – almost hourly – evolving. It is nearly impossible to create an accurate picture of the situation on an ongoing basis. This is a complex virus. We are working closely with the experts, and at their direction, on priorities, actions, and resources,” Hankin said.

On February 24th, the Californian Department of Agriculture updated that a total of five horses that had left the show grounds in Thermal and returned home had tested positive for EHV-1. The horses are located in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Mateo, Riverside and Los Angeles counties.

Co Meath show jumper Nicky Galligan has been competing on the tour. He reported to The Irish Field that his horses are all “safe and well” and stabled off-site at a rented farm since before the outbreak occurred.

Horse dies in Los Angeles

Meanwhile, at the LA February Horse Show at Los Angeles Equestrian Centre, it emerged that three horses at the show had previously been at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal and had not completed seven days of isolation before arriving to Los Angeles. The show reported the horses left the property on discovery and the risk of infection was low.

However, on February 21st, organisers reported that a horse had an elevated temperature and was awaiting test results. Two days later they reported a second horse with symptoms and sadly, that horse was euthanized.

A press release said: “This horse exhibited no symptoms until late yesterday afternoon when it became neurological, and experienced such severe symptoms that it was euthanized. Lab results will take a couple days for conclusive answers on what happened.”

The United States Equestrian Federation has introduced strict protocols which includes a 14-day isolation for any horse that was at DIHP and laboratory testing. Noncompliance will result in penalties for trainers and owners as well as competitions that knowingly permit noncompliant horses on the grounds.