How many isolation boxes does your yard have?

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MillionDollar

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And what's your yard's isolation policy, e.g. when a new horse comes on to the yard?

I was just interested as it amazes me how some yard's have no isloation and just check new horses straight in with the other horses.
 
*coughs*

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well....we do put them in a field on their own for a while....
 
All new horses here are wormed, checked over for anything untoward and then either later that day or the following day turned out with whichever herd appears to be most suitable. If I had isolation boxes then I would need a whole lot of them as I have horses arriving all the time.

Back in September I had 12 new horses arrive in 2 weeks. No way would any of my owners (or myself) keep that many new horses in isolation stables for 6 weeks. Great idea but impractical here as none of my liveries would pay for full board if they are just looking for grass livery.
 
None but a new horse doesnt go out with the herd until it has done a 5 day wormer, they are turned out in the school until that is done, gives them chance to get to know other horses over the fence too.
 
I have a small indoor school which I use when I take on a rescue, however, I agree with Tia, having so many horses makes it impractical. When I take in a newbie they are wormed straight away and get turn out on an isolation paddock for a couple of days, then I introduce a babysitter, then another before gg is turned out with a suitable family.
 
I have a bull pen that I use for Isolation puposes. I also have one other stable in my block that horses can't actually touch noses over. Basically, because the two ponies either side of it can't see over the wall to whatever would be in there.

I also have a couple of paddocks, and could make any number more, completely separate from where my horses go. Can't touch over fences as not that close and a separate water supply.
 
I'll only have 1 isolation box for the yard, but new horses won't be in contact with other horses for 2 weeks even if they have to go on the main yard.

I suppose thinking about it big yards with 40+ horses don't isolate at all and even stopping horses not coming into contact with each other, they can still come into contact with bacteria quite easily.
 
Claire, for proper isolation you really need to be looking at keeping them in there for at a very minimum 4 weeks and preferably 6 weeks, otherwise there really isn't much point in doing it.

What are your reasons for isolating? Because if it is for strangles/ringworm or some other such nuisance condition, then 2 weeks often isn't enough time for it to show.
 
The college uni had 5 but never used them and had horses arriving from different places all the time (and quite a lot didn't look too good when they turned up so it was quite suprised that nothing ever turned up with anything contagious).
Uni yard doesn't appear to have any at all.
 
Very true. I suppose I thought it was the 'proper' thing to do, but thinking about it I don't know any yards that do isolate properly, other than a competition yard.

If you were isolating properly you need a lot of seperate isolation boxes and paddocks.

I was just putting policies together and isolation was the only one I was struggling with. See this forum does have have fab uses
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Claire, you are no different from any new livery yard owner. When I first started out the exact same things occurred to me, some of them I even did, however over time you realise just how pointless they are.

The biggest trouble with isolation boxes is that owners will not come if they know that their horses are going to be permanently stabled and they aren't allowed to ride their horses for anything between 2-6 weeks.

Lots of people will say it is a great idea and in theory it really does sound good but it just doesn't work in reality.
 
It's great hearing from experience! Can see your point totally.... well thats one less thing to worry about
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It just all turns over in your head and I sometimes think, OMG what the hell am I going to do about that? And you worry over the stupidest of things. But I know once I'm up and running I'll learn a LOT! lol.
 
What you would be better doing is to have a number of small paddocks instead - would this be doable? I do have a field which is totally separate from the other fields and any dodgy horses (like my little foals) were put in there for a month and they weren't taken anywhere near the other horses and I told all my boarders to use the other lane if they were going up to the forest so as not to go past the foals incase they had anything.

The only down side to this is if you have a few new boarders arrive at one time, then you need to have a few paddocks and you then have to implement rules that new horses aren't allowed to ride where all your established horses are....which in turn means that they can't keep their tack, grooming items etc anywhere near the others either....

You see how complicated it all becomes.
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Any new horses of mine I can contain and control how they are kept but I can't do that with other peoples horses.
 
our yard has 2 in one of the furthest fields, but I think they would only be used if a horse had something like strangles. When a new horse arrives it is checked over, wormed and kept in for 24hrs. All horses are on indiv turnout but they can touch horses over the fence, but for the 1st week they are in a field with no contact.
 
[ QUOTE ]
All new horses here are wormed, checked over for anything untoward and then either later that day or the following day turned out with whichever herd appears to be most suitable. If I had isolation boxes then I would need a whole lot of them as I have horses arriving all the time.

Back in September I had 12 new horses arrive in 2 weeks. No way would any of my owners (or myself) keep that many new horses in isolation stables for 6 weeks. Great idea but impractical here as none of my liveries would pay for full board if they are just looking for grass livery.

[/ QUOTE ]

y would u want to do it for 6 weeks l work on a big tb stud and we dont do it for the long lve also worked in qarunttines and there only 3 weeks long so that seems a bit long to me. the longest lve now is 2 - 3 weeks for ring worm or swabs for germany mares
 
Err....because strangles can take up to 2 months to show itself.....
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And if you read my post properly, you would see I said I DON'T isolate.
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l now u said u dont but l just thought it was a long time anyway doesnt matter if u have a islation unit its weather u have 1 or any 1 doing them plus strangles can also be air born dont forget and can even travel on boots or clothes so ur horse doesnt even have to be any where near it only takes some1 to walk near ur boxes.
 
PMSL!! I'm sure we'll have many interesting conversations about experiences within the equine veterinary industry.
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No I can't see your point; Streptococcus Equi is NOT an airborne bacteria, it is a contact bacteria....hence it can only be transferred via contact with other objects.
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We do have 2 isolation boxes but we rarely use them for new horses. Maybe if one had come from somewhere dodgy or we knew nothing of its past then yes. As it is, in over 15 years we've never had a problem!!
 
I have only known proper isolation boxes at racing yards, usually whatever may be called an isolation box at any other premisies is not actually far enough away from the others to qualify.

This lack of isolation facilities is worrying on bigger yards when horses are coming and going. We don't have one where I am now, but there is very little movement in and out, there are three distinct blocks of boxes and individual paddocks - it is as good as it can be with the land and buildings available. Only the YO buys in and her horses are in a separate block and separate fields

I wouldn't be happy about a total unknown being put anywhere near mine, fortunately most of the livery horses seem to come to the yard by word of mouth, so their background is known.
 
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