DD
Well-Known Member
I read that some countries are banning riding altogether incase of accidents tying up medics.
Implications on horse care. Coronavirus.
- Thread starter angrybird1
- Start date
zaminda
Well-Known Member
Mine all live out, and I rent land from a farmer who would be classed as a high risk person if she contracted it. She has gone into isolation away from her family, but is I think still about to do various things, although family are stepping up. We have been told to follow all advice, and if unwell, to stay away and they will do the horses. all the stabled ones can go out as of the clocks changing. Luckily the ground is dry.
If the country is in complete lockdown, as long as we are allowed to travel then we will have staggered times to do horses, otherwise they will deal. I will be honest, its an amazing place to keep horses, and they have been wonderful in the past when I have been unable to get there during the snow for instance for several days.
I am very much hoping none of this does need to be implemented, and think that they could do with showing deaths by other illnesses like TB alongside for clarity of the seriousness.
If the country is in complete lockdown, as long as we are allowed to travel then we will have staggered times to do horses, otherwise they will deal. I will be honest, its an amazing place to keep horses, and they have been wonderful in the past when I have been unable to get there during the snow for instance for several days.
I am very much hoping none of this does need to be implemented, and think that they could do with showing deaths by other illnesses like TB alongside for clarity of the seriousness.
JFTDWS
Well-Known Member
Yes - and no. The trouble with stats is that out of context they're often misleading. TB, for example, currently infects 1/3 of the world's population, hence 2 million deaths / year. It's an extremely successful pathogen which has a very long period of latent and infection, with no truly effective vaccine available. It's not easy to compare a disease like TB which is endemic, long term, and relatively unchanging with a highly mutable emerging virus.
Perspective is good, but it's not really easy to make blunt comparisons about death rates from different diseases.
zaminda
Well-Known Member
Oh I get it, but saying this could be around long term and the panic which has been caused has been dreadful, and could change the face of the world due to the economic turmoil it will cause.
JFTDWS
Well-Known Member
Absolutely - I just think there's a better comparison than TB which is about as different on a pathogen / disease spectrum as it gets. Comparisons with 'flu, SARS, MERS, even non-resp viral diseases like ebola make more sense, but are still imperfect. Fundamentally, most the people panicking excessively about covid19 are doing so because it's threatening them and their families - those people will often struggle to relate that to TB which is very strongly slanted towards the developing world, closely correlated with HIV/AIDS, and people generally believe they're personally protected by the BCG and the availability of antibiotics even though this isn't necessarily true.
sherry90
Well-Known Member
My livery yard has published some advice regarding Corona virus.
Each horse has their own file anyway with emergency contacts etc and vet/farrier details.
We have been asked to inform our next of kin of the contact number in case we are hospitalised. We have also been asked in the event of us passing away (unlikely but not impossible) to express our wishes/next steps in terms of care for our horse.
We are to wash hands on arriving and leaving the yard with our own soap/sanitizer and towel which is to be regularly washed at home. We are to only touch our own horses and equipment (we have some shared items that have been removed and we are to use our own) the YO is disinfecting door handles regularly.
We have been advised to do our horses and leave so less chatting time. We may, if things worsen, move to staggered visits.
Each horse has their own file anyway with emergency contacts etc and vet/farrier details.
We have been asked to inform our next of kin of the contact number in case we are hospitalised. We have also been asked in the event of us passing away (unlikely but not impossible) to express our wishes/next steps in terms of care for our horse.
We are to wash hands on arriving and leaving the yard with our own soap/sanitizer and towel which is to be regularly washed at home. We are to only touch our own horses and equipment (we have some shared items that have been removed and we are to use our own) the YO is disinfecting door handles regularly.
We have been advised to do our horses and leave so less chatting time. We may, if things worsen, move to staggered visits.
Callieann
Well-Known Member
Winters100
Well-Known Member
I know it must be very worrying to be in this situation, because of course if you are ill then your husband would also be in quarantine. Try not to panic though, I really believe that in this situation we will all help each other. An acquaintance of mine is in a similar situation to you, but as I told her I will gladly visit her horse and do whatever she needs if she is not able to. I think that any one of us would respond positively if we saw a request for help, even from a stranger. Could you maybe get in touch with any horsey friends locally and agree with them that you will cover for each other if necessary?
I am quite sure that any lock down will have provisions for the care of livestock, so the best thing that you could do now is to limit your contact with others to the absolute bare minimum to avoid getting sick, this way you will still be able to care for your horses. If I thought that I perhaps lived close to you I would offer to help, but as I am outside of the UK it is not likely!
Muddywellies
Well-Known Member
Oh my goodness. We won't be on house arrest. Just unnessary travel will be restricted. Animal welfare is necessary travel, so don't worry. Be sensible, don't come within 2 metres of people, and carry on. You can still talk to people, just don't hug and kiss them. Im finding this over thinking and mass hysteria far worse than the threat of the virus itself. Do people think the police and army will be locking us all in our homes? Both my husband and I have jobs that means we have to carry on, albeit, in a modified way. So be sensible, consider your actions carefully, but don't lock yourselves away. More time now to enjoy quality time with our ponies.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
YO is starting mumblings about putting everyone on full livery. In which case mine will come home. that would be problem solved ,kind of... but then no facilities at all. And rapidly rethinking plans to send mare away for foaling down. This could be a big learning event!
MagicMelon
Well-Known Member
I guess if you're on isolation / actually ill with it then if you're on livery you need to try and find back up? Leave notes etc. at the yard just in case? Then at least you can call the other owners if necessary and they can do your horse (and you'll do same for them when needed)?
I keep my horses at home so no issues for me. Even if Im in isolation, I can still do my horses since their field is literally at the end of my garden and my nearest neighbour is 1/4 mile away.
I keep my horses at home so no issues for me. Even if Im in isolation, I can still do my horses since their field is literally at the end of my garden and my nearest neighbour is 1/4 mile away.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
For bigger yards to me the most sensible thing is to make plans to turn away any horse that isn’t going be put at significant risk (laminitic etc). Not necessarily right now, but if things get bad then it is the most logical course of action. Let’s at least just pray for an extended period of dry so we have some hope in hell of suitable fields to put the horses in!!
WelshD
Well-Known Member
Without wanting to scaremonger, be very aware of this at the moment. the fact that this situation has happened at the same time as a major demand on the feed system (lambing) is causing considerable pressure on companies.
We sell feed where I work and although we are all working currently (albeit taking extra cleaning precautions) we are starting to struggle to get some items of feed - our delivery yesterday was short, we would currently be ordering now for delivery in a few days but at the moment are ordering for 10 days time with still no guarantee of getting everything.
the trouble with selling feed at this time is that there are many links in the chain of feed production - haulage is currently a big issue as the supermarket issues mean drivers are in great demand.
We are sensibly not encouraging our customers to panic buy to avoid more pressure on the system but we are asking them to plan ahead and not wait till they are scraping the bottom of their feed bins before thinking of getting more feed in and I think that's prudent advice.
chaps89
Well-Known Member
This worries me - I've moved to a solely DIY yard with only 3 other liveries.
I've been trying to find a freelance groom, so I can have 1 day off a week and there is someone who knows the ponies and the routine who can step in if I get ill or go away. I had 1 lady who sounded great but has decided not to work with the coronavirus outbreak and another who sounded ok but has gone completely quiet on me. I know if something catastrophic happened then my mum would come and fetch them and take them up to hers short term but that doesn't help if I'm just poorly for a few days unfortunately.
maya2008
Well-Known Member
We were all ready for this, so we thought, but one thing has tripped us up - what if you have fencing issues? We rent land. No one else there. Two posts down today - then OH went down with the lurgy. Luckily we can PayPal the money to a friend and she will get her husband to do it. If they hadn’t been able to help, there would quite literally have been no one to fix the fence for a week. They would have got out in that time...
Also... OH put haylage up there yesterday, came down with Coronavirus today. Those bales of haylage are probably infectious... As would be the feed bins he touched, potentially the lock on the gate etc. Just thoughts...!
Also... OH put haylage up there yesterday, came down with Coronavirus today. Those bales of haylage are probably infectious... As would be the feed bins he touched, potentially the lock on the gate etc. Just thoughts...!
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
Whoever goes to feed them should wear gloves for a start. Take some means of disinfecting any surfaces he would be likely to have touched. As to the haylage only the outside might be potentially infected, use gloves to handle that then inside should be ok.
Winters100
Well-Known Member
I thought that in the UK they were restricting tests to those in hospitals - great if it is now more widely available. It must be very difficult with both of you quarantined - do you have enough help? Really good luck for recovering the health of your family.
maya2008
Well-Known Member
It couldn’t be anything else. Horrible continuous cough, fever, shortness of breath, coughing up frothy stuff from lungs. First time he has been ill since he caught swine flu all those years ago. He just doesn’t get ill. Ever. He is now, with symptoms all in the right order that match the description.
Plenty of people have had it and not been to hospital. I always thought I wouldn’t be sure it was this Coronavirus if one of us got it - it was unmistakable in him. Our county has very low number of cases officially - unofficially, they just aren’t counting. Makes you feel safer than you actually are...
Winters100
Well-Known Member
Oh I am really sorry - I hope he is over it as quickly as possible. I think in every country the number of cases are much higher than confirmed, but certainly the slow speed that measures were taken didn't help in the UK. I hope now that people will start to take seriously the necessity to minimize contact with others. Good luck.
Callieann
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately, I don't know any one else with horses. I will just try to stay positive and hope for the best. Thank you
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
Posted on 7 March
Back then you were poo pooing those of us who were already well into making CV-19 contingency plans. Now you are panicking and trying to panic others.
Winters100
Well-Known Member
Yes and on 7 March it was not time to panic. I remember this thread - people rushing to the yard to make lists of feeds etc. Totally unnecessary panic at that time.
milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
Or just being prepared, in case things changed.
Now there's not only a correct way to panic (which seems to be mainly about insulting people) but also an allotted time slot for it? This is crazy
Now there's not only a correct way to panic (which seems to be mainly about insulting people) but also an allotted time slot for it? This is crazy
Tiddlypom
Carries on creakily
Actually it was informed preparation by those who were tuned in to this from the start.
ihatework
Well-Known Member
On 7th March it was blatantly clear the trajectory Italy was on and that there was a reasonable expectation that the UK was going the same way.
Panic not needed but planning most definitely was. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that individuals would need to make appropriate plans for horse care. It bemuses me that people are shocked and outraged that access to yards has been curtailed.
Panic not needed but planning most definitely was. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that individuals would need to make appropriate plans for horse care. It bemuses me that people are shocked and outraged that access to yards has been curtailed.
be positive
Well-Known Member
Or just being prepared, in case things changed.
Now there's not only a correct way to panic (which seems to be mainly about insulting people) but also an allotted time slot for it? This is crazy
Being prepared and not panicking makes sense, I started roughing mine off fairly early, not in panic but in expectation that we may have to tighten everything, it was fairly clear we were going to have changes to our lives, no panic buying of feed or hay as it was a normal order which will last for several months now they are out, my only slight panic was to get the farrier just in case he had to stop or reduce his workload, that is done and the only thing missed is one livery will go over the 12 months for flu jab.
I think anyone who has a horse, in livery or at home should always have something in place just in case, it is times like this we all think about it but in reality everyone should have a plan, it will not stop a bit of panicking but by having a plan in place should make life easier and allow some normality.