Equine flu and competition checks

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oldie48

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Went to support my Team Quest Team yesterday and was so pleased to see how thoroughly the venue was checking passports. It was a very busy day for them with their unaffiliated dressage champs running alongside the BD Quest. There's not been much on here recently about the EF epidemic but it rumbles on and it's clear that many cases originate from new arrivals, mostly from Ireland but not all. I think 6 monthly vaccs will become pretty standard for anyone wanting to compete and there seems to be lots of evidence that it does give greater protection. Are you finding your venues are consistent about checking passports?
 
Some are checking, some are not. Some are only asking for 12 months not 6. The competitions that are asking for 6 month checks are really suffering from low entries as people go elsewhere. This is all local unaffiliated.
 
I went to that venue (pretty sure it's the same one) for the first time for several months recently and a steward came running across the car park as soon as I had declared to look at my passport before i unloaded.

Went to another for the first time a while back and had to show passport to the secretary.
But other than that it's been business as usual with no additional checks. Mine are done up to date so it doesn't have any effect on me personally but if we are going to have to go to 6 monthly then this instruction has to come from the member bodies not just show centres IMO.
 
I do pleasure rides and endurance. All I have been to have asked for copy of flu record with entry, some are checking passports at the van/trailer on arrival, others require passport at secretary. Only once has the passport been checked to make sure it relates to the right horse.
 
Just to add, even the venues that did check, just looked at the date of the last jab. No one spotted that on my horse's passport, many years ago before I bought him, the initial course was not done correctly. I have restarted now.

Round here it's the venues not the organisation. One venue that is hired by local dressage groups and riding clubs is insisting on 6 months and check before unloading and these are struggling for entries. Another venue where they run shows themselves so there is a direct financial impact if they get low entries are saying 12 months and not checking.
 
Still being checked around here - some require scan of passport before accepting entries, some have passports checked before unloading - all wanting six months. Munstead ODE on Good Friday checked before giving out numbers - they had a vet doing it. One would hope that anybody out competing would have their horses vaccinated.......

A few entries were withdrawn when the rule was initially introduced but people seem to have since complied and venues are pretty full in the South East.
 
All of the venues I have been to in the South West/Midlands since the outbreak have asked to check my horses passports for 6-monthly boosters before unloading - however, not one of those venues has checked that the said passport matches the actual horses that I have entered. I agree that the changes in vaccination regulations ought to come from membership bodies not show centres to ensure consistency and unaffiliated competition should follow if they are competing under BD/BE/BS rules. I think the current system is putting too much pressure on the venues.
 
criso said:
Just to add, even the venues that did check, just looked at the date of the last jab. No one spotted that on my horse's passport, many years ago before I bought him, the initial course was not done correctly. I have restarted now.

Round here it's the venues not the organisation. One venue that is hired by local dressage groups and riding clubs is insisting on 6 months and check before unloading and these are struggling for entries. Another venue where they run shows themselves so there is a direct financial impact if they get low entries are saying 12 months and not checking.
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If you've restarted yours then I don't think it matters that there were previous gaps?
 
OldNag said:
If you've restarted yours then I don't think it matters that there were previous gaps?
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I only restarted in the last month because of the gap.

Basically course of 3 were done in 2012, marked as 1 2 and 3 on my passport. I have been vaccinating annually well inside the 12 months since I bought horse in 2014.

After a livery at the yard was sent home from an event when a vet calculated the historical intervals, I looked at my passport. Too long was left between 2 and 3 in 2012, no one had ever done the maths. Spoke to vet, no clinical issue at this late stage but if an event was sticking exactly to the rules they could reject it.
So my annual booster in March has now become 1 and I did number 2 a couple of weeks ago.
 
BE checking religiously
An unaff at a BE venue also insisted on checking for 6 months the other day.

But haven’t been to any unaff other than that recently, at height of the awareness then we did go to a couple of established venues precisely because they were checking vacc status
 
Friend got turned away from xc schooling on Friday as hers were done out of the 6 month limit, after driving all the way there! Should have checked really, most places around us are saying 12 months, surprised they were 6 months but they are a big venue.
 
My friend was turned away from Somerford for being a couple of days over the 6 months. Everywhere I am going is checking thoroughly. Perhaps this is the new normal - as OP says flu has always been around. And always will be. unless vaccination rates dramatically improve.
 
round here it seems to depend on the venue, I was at a show on sunday and no one checked anything, however a friend got turned away from one venue as there was a mistake in her vaccines several years ago (i think it worked out as 1 day too late because of a leap year or something similar)
12 month or 6 month seems to be completely random
 
Most places up here are yearly if they are insisiting on it. Racing has gone back to yearly, they just wanted a 6 month booster at the height of the uproar if it was beyond 6months.

A few venues are only asking for passports and checking the last vacc date if you enter on the day but pre- entries arent checked
 
Every venue I've been too has checked. Tbh it would put me off going if they were not checking. About half and half round me at 6 months.

But noone so far has checked microchips which would be the only reliable way of showing it is the correct horse. However I figure the horsey world is small enough for people to snitch on those perhaps trying to bend the rules.
 
I've been to venues where 'officials' have looked at passports, but I can honestly say that they haven't got a clue what they are doing. My horse has a changed name & you have to go into the passport to actually see that you have the correct horse. The officials don't look at that. They look quickly at the passports & see that there are immunisation records shown in the passport. The fact that the passport possibly doesn't refer to the horse that is being entered never enters their head. Venues are just paying lip service to checks.

I've been competing for 20 years & until the flu outbreak I'd only been asked for a passport on one occasion. The various organisations care more about money than they do about health or that the correct horse is competing under the correct passport....... but that's another story.
 
Local centres are still asking for passport before unloading.
Unaff stressage at Merrist last week was exactly the same, careful checking of dates too. (I got comment of, ooh, your 2nd booster was v close. Yes, it was done 25 days after primary, but still within regs as min is 21 days!). Last vacc had to be within last 6 months.
But, passport was not matched to equine, as checking was done near secretary, which is nowhere near car park.

I'm now wondering if I'll need to jab an extra towards end of June, or not, as B isn't actually due till end Dec on usual regs.
 
The local shows round here don't seem to be checking, alot have said spot checks but I've yet to see anyone check. Some of the welsh association shows have said its not mandatory but they recommend that you do.
 
Allens Hill had a steward on the gate last Friday, each passport checked. I was very impressed. Just as we left a massive Scania came in sporting a very famous name on the sides. Lorry swept past the steward even though she had approached it. Fair play to her, she ran down the lorry park after it. What is good and fair for minions is good and fair for VIP's !
 
It was AH that I was at on Monday and they have taken it very seriously and do the job properly. It was very busy so it's clearly not affected their entries, in fact, I go there with confidence knowing I am keeping my horse as safe as I can whilst competing.
 
West Wilts have just posted their BD times for Thursday and have the following notice.....

ALL HORSES MUST HAVE UP TO DATE VACCINATIONS NB. WE ARE ONLY ACCEPTING HORSES WITH A BOOSTER IN THE LAST 6 MTHS (with a clear 7 days after vaccine before competing) RIDERS MUST SHOW PASSPORTS AT THE OFFICE BEFORE UNLOADING
 
I don't think I'm going to go with 6-monthly boosters. I can compete/go places April-October and then do stuff at home after. Not that we are ever going to trouble any high-level (or medium level!) competitors!
 
Local unaff have all checked mine and asked for 6 monthly boosters. Horse heath even checked the horse matched the passport. Only one that hasn’t checked was at tweseldown xc for a clinic interestingly, which is a BE venue.
 
I think its a waste of time and do not wish to vaccinate my horses every 6 months. I don't like injecting my animals with unecessary amounts of anything unless absolutely necessary, which in this instance I dont believe it is. Flu is always on the go, it only made the news this time as it hit the racing industry. If a horse is vaccinated, from what I understand they can still get flu but its not usually at all serious. For me, that shouldnt now mean I have to give them even more vaccine. Even my vet thinks it isnt necessary.

Im really hoping venues will go back to yearly requirements as soon as this all blows over. Some are checking round me, some aren't.
 
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