Equine Flu - Is my horse at risk?
In short - Probably Not
As long as your horse has been vaccinated within the past 6 months & not at a yard where Equine Flu has already been confirmed or stabled at a racing yard or have come in to direct contact with race horses your horse should not be at risk or have anything to worry about as advised within a statement issued by BETA today:
"Firstly, please note that the current outbreak is currently affecting small pockets of the racing thoroughbred sector and there is no evidence of spread across the wider country or beyond the racing sector. General advice is that common sense should prevail. The virus is spread through close contact or proximity (up to 20 metres) and will persist for some time after contact (hours potentially not days)."
The BEF have advised via their own site that they believe the wider equestrian community is not in any risk at this time & that there is no need to cancel events for other disciplines. Further information on what to look for aswell as advice on how to reduce the risk of infection can be found on the BEF site & can be viewed here - https://bef.co.uk/Detail.aspx?page=Horse-Health-Biosecurity
With the news reporting only snippets of generalised information members of the equine community are not receiving all of the facts. It is recommended to use common sense & take sensible bio security precautions for new horses entering yards or if travelling to events. If you suspect that your horse or any other horse may have become infected we would recommend reporting this to your vet & seek out medical advice immediately.
For those wishing to learn more the following video has been released by the Racing Post & can be viewed here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=12&v=9BG51tPdNzE
Further information listing all recent outbreaks also can be found at - https://www.aht.org.uk/disease-surveillance/equiflunet