The Horse Flu Thread

[travop]

So is the flu capable of killing the horses?

yes only if you work them when they have the flu but not if they have lots of rest

[nflin3]

It is a shame Camilla Parker Bowels won't be competing anytime soon

[PROMETHEUS]

It is a shame Camilla Parker Bowels won't be competing anytime soon

BOOM-TISH!

[travop]

isnt it funny that that movie "Racing stripes" was shown last saturday night on nine in the middle of the flu crisis

[DIEHARD]

Apparently the flu has hit Queensland harness racing. And the champion Blacks A Fake has been struck down!

Queensland greyhounds will have a Saturday meeting at Albion Park this weekend. But this flu is still costing greyhounds $100,000 a week.

[HodgoBerro]

i think dad said he put motoring along in at capalaba on saturday whether he starts is another thing as he suffered a check last sat and injured his leg

[HodgoBerro]

just letting you know motoring along won at albion park tonight he won by a quarter of a length in 30.50. he was paying $16.10 for the win *DOH!*

[DIEHARD]

A great time and a hanson pay out. He will win a few at that speed.

[HodgoBerro]

dad said he can improve as he has a minor shoulder injury which weve been treating and is almost right

[HodgoBerro]

just saw on sunrise that all qld pony & horse club meetings are cancelled until next year due to ei

[HodgoBerro]

good night on monday for the bright ebony x jeanies queen litter we bred 3 winners

[jenny]

NSW horse flu crisis worsening
By Caryl Williamson
September 22, 2007

THE 2008 Sydney autumn carnival is now in serious danger following confirmation equine influenza (EI) has spread to the Warwick Farm training centre.
Rosehill, which is home to around 300 horses, is now the only EI-free precinct in the metropolitan area after Randwick was shut down last month.

Almost 700 horses are trained at Randwick and about 500 at Warwick Farm where two horses are confirmed with the highly-contagious virus.

Based on the experience at Randwick, most horses at Warwick Farm are now expected to get EI with concern now centred on horses in spelling paddocks and pre-training establishments.

Strategic inoculation is due to get underway next week with the importation of a vaccine from France.

A restricted race meeting scheduled at Rosehill today for horses trained at that track as well as Warwick Farm was abandoned when news of the Warwick Farm outbreak came through.

Sydney has already lost its rich spring carnival and no horses are allowed to travel across the border to Victoria to compete in the Melbourne carnival.

"It's a dark day again for racing in New South Wales," Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'Landys said.

"It's a major body blow for New South Wales racing today. This has set us back weeks if not months.

"There are a lot of horses getting ready to come back into work and we certainly don't want them infected so we need to vaccinate."

Last week, a meeting of racing officials conceded the autumn carnival, which traditionally reaches its climax over Easter, would more than likely have to be rescheduled to peak a month later.

The Sydney Turf Club (STC) stages the world's richest race for two-year-olds, the $3.5 million Golden Slipper, which is currently set down for March 15 at Rosehill, the Saturday before Easter.

"We are very concerned about the Golden Slipper," STC chief executive Michael Kenny said.

"The two-year-old horses need a preparation to be able to race.

"Clearly they are in paddocks now or in work now and clearly they are not going to be able to be prepared in time.

"We'll look to put the Golden Slipper back a number of weeks - we have to regroup.

"Everything changed today."

Kenny and V'Landys were still hopeful a meeting for Rosehill horses only could be staged soon after vaccination was carried out.

Investigations are currently ongoing as to how EI reached Warwick Farm with human error cited as the probably cause.

However trainer Clarry Conners, whose horses were the first at Warwick Farm to be diagnosed, said there were fears it was being carried by birds.

"I took all the security precautions so I don't know," Conners said.

"They say it could be human error but everybody who came into my stable did the right thing as far as I know.

"I'm concerned it could be tracked to the pigeons. They're a big problem in the stables and they could take it from feed bin to feed bin in their wings and shed it as they fly. You can't control that."
TELEGRAPH

[jenny]

No guarantee Melbourne Cup will go ahead
September 24, 2007

FEDERAL Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran says he cannot guarantee the Melbourne Cup will go ahead this year because of the horse flu crisis.

Victoria remains free of equine influenza despite other states being hit, particularly NSW.

About 1500 horses in Victoria will be vaccinated, with a shipment of 20,000 doses of vaccine expected to arrive from France on Thursday.

It takes up to three weeks for a horse to gain full immunity against equine influenza once vacccinated.

"We'll start vaccinating them at the end of the week but it's going to be a pretty nervous wait to make sure influenza doesn't get introduced into Victoria for three weeks," Mr McGauran said on Southern Cross radio.

Asked if he could guarantee the Melbourne Cup would go ahead, the minister said: "No, but I think the next three weeks will decide it.

"If it's not introduced into Victoria, the immunity will be acquired by the horses (vaccinated).
"But nobody should celebrate or relax until the carnival's completely finished."

Mr McGauran said horse owners would have to bear the cost of vaccinating their animals - up to $150 a year to cover as many as three shots - if containment failed and the virus spread.

"We're certainly doing the initial vaccinations as part of the containment strategy, but if we give up on containment and influenza becomes accepted in the horse population I'm afraid that will be borne by each owner," he said.

Victoria wanted more scientific assessment before allowing potentially infected NSW horses to run in its races, he said.

The Federal Government has set up an inquiry, headed by former High Court judge Ian Callinan, to investigate the quarantine failure that led to the outbreak.

Mr McGauran said it could take "months" for the inquiry to be completed.

Earlier today, he said there was evidence that measures to contain the spread of the virus were working, despite reports horse flu had spread to Singapore.

"In fact there's a green zone declared for much of southern NSW where horses can move more freely, so it's a long way from Victoria at this stage," he said on Channel 9.

Mr McGauran said it appeared more likely than not that the spring racing carnival would go ahead.
"I think it will," he said.

"On the balance of probabilities it will proceed because Victoria is still free of influenza.

"There's a lot of territory north of the Victoria-NSW border that is free of influenza. What will sabotage the spring carnival is if somebody violates the ban on the movement of horses and brings it across that border into Victoria, or a person negligently or innocently carries it on their person into Victoria.

"We have to prepare for the worst-case scenario and that's why we're vaccinating the spring carnival horses."
AAP

[jenny]

Magic Millions Cancelled
On the news now,6 QLD horses have Horse Flu.
Eagle Farm shut down for 2 months.

[jenny]

Horse flu fears arise on three new fronts
September 25, 2007


HORSE flu has spread to a riding school in Sydney's south-west, where 230 horses are stabled and three horses at Kembla Grange racetrack near Wollongong are showing possible symptoms of the disease.

Meanwhile, Queensland racing was plunged into crisis yesterday when two cases of suspected horse flu were reported in horses trained at Doomben.

Six horses stabled with Peter Hulbert showed clinical signs of equine influenza and further tests have been sent from Brisbane to Geelong for official confirmation.

Doomben and neighbouring Eagle Farm racecourse were under quarantine with trackwork cancelled at both venues.

However, meetings this week at Ipswich and Mackay are expected to go ahead as scheduled.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries said five horses at the Scenic Hills Riding Ranch, near Ingleburn, had tested positive to equine influenza.

The school has been placed in quarantine, with a restricted area of 10 kilometres around it.

Racing NSW's chief steward, Ray Murrihy, said three sick horses at Kembla Grange from the stable of Diane Poidevin-Laine were being tested. "The fact there is three in one stable is concerning," he said. Kembla was to have hosted a meeting tomorrow until the virus struck Warwick Farm at the weekend.

Officials decided to cancel the Kembla program to reduce the risk of flu spreading to its thoroughbred population before the scheduled arrival of 20,000 doses of vaccine this week. The federal Agriculture Minister, Peter McGauran, said vaccinations against horse flu should ensure Victoria's spring racing carnival, including the Melbourne Cup, would go ahead and urged authorities to consider allowing NSW horses to run in the cup.

He said an expert panel would consider the issue, though he was not sure how it would work with Victoria's border controls.

A decision on racehorse Leica Falcon would focus the issue, he said. Leica Falcon is trained at Corowa, a flu-free area on the NSW side of the border, and is awaiting clearance to be allowed to travel south.

"Leica Falcon is then vaccinated and is coming from a green zone, where there's no outbreak of the disease," he said.

"I think the Victorians will have to put a strong case for barring its entry."

AAP