A "tainted" yard

[Dressagediva86]

I am looking to move liveries and found a lovely little yard I like.
However 3 years ago they had an outbreak of Equine HPV1 and a few horses died. It was a horrible time and rocked the whole area.
The YO was very honest and admitted that at the time, mistakes were made and lessons have been learned. They have much stricter quarantine controls now and haven't had any problems in 3 years.
However I am aware that the yard is "tainted" with the reputation and am worried I am being foolish moving there.
Basically I am asking would you move your horse to a yard that had a serious outbreak in the past?

 

[Frumpoon]

No definitely not

 

[Dressagediva86]

No definitely not

What would be your reasoning

 

[Gazen]

It is now probably one of the safest yards around. They have been through it all and will not want it to happen again. If anything you may find it stricter than other yards in the area.

 

[southerncomfort]

It is now probably one of the safest yards around. They have been through it all and will not want it to happen again. If anything you may find it stricter than other yards in the area.

Yep agree with this. You can ask about their quarantine policies etc when you view the yard. I bet they will be the most stringent of any yard in the area now.

 

[Velcrobum]

Yep agree with this. You can ask about their quarantine policies etc when you view the yard. I bet they will be the most stringent of any yard in the area now.

Totally agree that the yard will probably be very stringent about quarantine now.

 

[Dressagediva86]

Yeah they have a much better policy than my current yard

 

[miss_c]

They've been clear for 3 years and have quarantine, etc. in place? I wouldn't be put off by it whatsoever.

 

[Dressagediva86]

They've been clear for 3 years and have quarantine, etc. in place? I wouldn't be put off by it whatsoever.

Thank you this is my thinking

 

[Littlebear]

If I ruled out every yard in my area because of previous outbreaks there would be none to choose from!
Unfortunately it goes on all the time and you won’t always hear about it.
As long as there are reasonable procedures in place I would go for it.
Any yard that allows horses to go out to shows etc is at risk of infection being bought onto the yard.

 

[SusieT]

I'd check with my vets first to make sure the yards version of strict actually covered for the relevant diseases - ehv is a particularly nasty one.

 

[Tiddlypom]

When I saw ‘tainted’ in the title I presumed that there was a residual risk of further episodes, eg a yard which has had grass sickness cases in the past. Grass sickness can recur at any time and land may well be ‘tainted’.

In this case, the proposed new yard with its current strict infection protocols might be the safest in the area.

 

[Dressagediva86]

When I saw ‘tainted’ in the title I presumed that there was a residual risk of further episodes, eg a yard which has had grass sickness cases in the past. Grass sickness can recur at any time and land may well be ‘tainted’.

In this case, the proposed new yard with its current strict infection protocols might be the safest in the area.

No I used the quote marks as I personally don't feel this way but I know that some people refer to it in that way. Just wanted to check my own wishes aren't putting my horse at risk

 

[Frumpoon]

What would be your reasoning

My personal experience of where outbreaks have got out of hand have been largely due to the yard owner disregarding prescribed advice or instructions either because they think they know better or don't know or care about the seriousness of infection. That attitude follows through then to other things which creates an unsafe or unpleasant environment.

But this is just my personal view

 

[DD]

It is now probably one of the safest yards around. They have been through it all and will not want it to happen again. If anything you may find it stricter than other yards in the area.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
this

 

[Dressagediva86]

My personal experience of where outbreaks have got out of hand have been largely due to the yard owner disregarding prescribed advice or instructions either because they think they know better or don't know or care about the seriousness of infection. That attitude follows through then to other things which creates an unsafe or unpleasant environment.

But this is just my personal view

Thank you for clarifying

 

[Frumpoon]

Thank you for clarifying

I suppose my concern would be....ok they are probably the best in the county at identifying and managing EHPV...but what about all the other things that require careful mangement, the EHPV got out of hand because somebody dropped the ball or didn't do what they were told

The fact they say lessons have been learned wouldn't fill me with confidence, that just tells me that the person responsible realised they didn't actually know more or better than the vet/attending professional and other people's horses died as a result

 

[Inda]

Would you be able to move to another yard off of it again? If it's viewed as 'tainted' you may struggle to find another to take you.

I always like to have an exit strategy in place, I have anxieties about things not being within my control. Yes, I know it's a problem

 

[exracehorse]

I went to a yard where a horse had grass sickness.

 

[kc921]

I've just moved to a yard that has strict isolations and you have to take a blood test of the horse for strangles etc.
They had an outbreak of strangles fairly recently but the way they dealt with it was great. They let every surrounding yard know and put the whole yard on lock down, even though it was only one field that was effected.
I don't think you can rule out every yard that's had a case of an outbreak, unfortunately it happens no matter how strict the yard is! Good luck! 😊