Horse from Altoona stable died from equine herpes virus; Iowa Horse Fair officials taking precautions

Pine Hollow Stables in Altoona is under quarantine for at least two weeks after a horse was euthanized March 21 while suffering from what was later determined to be equine herpes virus.

Pine Hollow owner Deana Gast said the stables, which house more than 70 horses, learned Monday that the horse, which died overnight on March 20, had EHV, a contagious neurological disease in horses that can damage blood vessels in the brain and spinal cord. 

Gast said the stable immediately began following quarantine procedures. It is closed to visitors for lessons, and horse owners are only being allowed to work with their own animals. 

Iowa state veterinarian Dr. Jeff Kaisand said the state is monitoring the situation. 

Kaisand said EHV doesn't pose a threat to humans or other species of animals. It's common in large horse populations and is spread through respiratory tract and nasal secretions. It also can be spread indirectly from horse to horse through inanimate objects like grooming equipment and wipe rags, as well as by human hands and clothing. 

Most horses have been exposed to the virus at some point in their life, but most show no serious side effects, Kaisand said. The virus can be latent in the horse's body for many years.

"It's impossible to tell where the horse was exposed to the virus," Kaisand said in an email. 

Several strains of EHV exist. Vaccines are available to protect against strains EHV-1 and EHV-4. 

Quarantine procedures will require barn staff to check horses' temperatures twice a day. If another horse spikes a fever, that horse will be removed from the herd and tested, and the two-week quarantine will begin again.

Gast said the stable has taken the situation seriously and the horses all appear to be healthy. 

"Everyone's looking good," she said. "(Staff and boarders are) really doing a great job volunteering and working to take extra precautions and changing the way we do things just to be safe." 

The EHV incident is also keeping a handful of horses from attending this weekend's Iowa Horse Fair at the state fairgrounds.

Iowa Horse Council president David Beary said as a precaution, the Iowa Horse Fair has decided to not allow horses that attended a March 21 show that was also attended by horses from the now-quarantined stables.

Some horses from Pine Hollow attended a fun show March 21 at Prairie Rose Arena in Elkhart, which Gast said was before anyone was notified that EHV was present in one of the stable's horses. 

Sondra Feldstein, the arena's owner, said the infected horse was never on the premises and none of the horses from the facility that attended have shown any symptoms. 

"The horses that were there (from Pine Hollow) lived in a completely different barn," she said. "The horses were never sick." 

That will exclude four horses that were planning to attend the fair, he said. This weekend's Iowa Horse Fair event will welcome nearly 230 horses.