08/29/2026
Lets talk about the recent news of Equine Herpes Virus!
What's the news?
On August 25th, there was a horse who participated in the "4-H Round Up Show" and the "Kings County Agricultural Fair Draft Horse Show" in Sussex, NB who had a stablemate who is positive for EHV-1. To be clear, the horse at the show was just a stable-mate of the horse testing positive, the show-horse has not tested positive to our knowledge.
What should I do about this news?
- If you were at the show, the NB government is recommending quarantine for 14-21 days and monitoring for signs of EVH-1.
- If you were not at the show, take this at a warning. EHV-1 is everywhere, and is common. It is much more common than we think - often it isn't tested for or reported
What should I do with my horse moving forward?
We though this was a great opportunity to remind everyone of our biosecurity recommendations! Please do the following;
- Use good biosecurity at shows - do not share tools, water, etc and do not touch or allow your horse to come into contact with other horses
- VACCINATION! The EHV/EIV vaccine (two of the diseases in the common "5-way" vaccine) only has good protection for about 6 months. If you are showing 6 months away from your vaccination, YOU SHOULD BOOSTER EHV/EIV IN YOUR HORSE!
- Monitoring: Practice good biosecurity on your farm - keep show horses separate from at-risk horses (young, old, pregnant, unvaccinated) and monitor horses carefully for any signs of disease; give us a call if you notice any signs.
We have a fact-sheet about EHV available on our website, if you would like to find more information about EHV. Below is the link
https://www.valleyequine.ca/helpful-links
I will attach the notice from the NB veterinary service in the comments for anyone wanting the news straight from the source.
