Moving yards and isolation periods????

My yard has a 48 hour period where the horse is stabled (although can be ridden) but no turnout. The horse is wormed in this period and monitored for any signs of illness. Then the horse is turned out alone in a field next to his soon to be field mates.

I would not go to a yard that did not do done form if isolation period. I am surprised by the number of yards that turn out new horses as soon as they arrive!
 
galaxy said:
My yard has a 48 hour period where the horse is stabled (although can be ridden) but no turnout. The horse is wormed in this period and monitored for any signs of illness. Then the horse is turned out alone in a field next to his soon to be field mates.

I would not go to a yard that did not do done form if isolation period. I am surprised by the number of yards that turn out new horses as soon as they arrive!
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Mine is one of them. A new horse is put out with the heard the day after it arrives.
 
My yard has a 48-hour isolation period. Well, usually. I brought my horse there in the afternoon When the horses were turned-out the following morning, she went ballistic and got the YOs to reduce her isolation period to half a day. Good move on their part. When she loses it like that, she doesn't settle for love nor money until you change something about the situation.

When yard hunting, I looked at one that had a two week isolation period in a stable out of sight of any horses and no turn-out. While I understand and appreciate why the YO did this, I also decided that the chance of my horse hurting herself or worrying herself sick in those conditions were significantly higher in every possible way than the chance of her getting strangles or something like that from a slightly more laid back yard.
 
previous yard had a 3 week isolation period... they were turned out as the opposite end of the yard in sight of other horses but no less than 500 metres away from them and they were in the back isolation block of 3 stables... Taz did not like this one bit! but at the new yard its just me and 1 other person and when Rio came he has a 25 yard gap between the fencing and hes stabled away from them anyway... hes never within touching distance of another horse :/
 
Caol Ila said:
When yard hunting, I looked at one that had a two week isolation period in a stable out of sight of any horses and no turn-out. While I understand and appreciate why the YO did this, I also decided that the chance of my horse hurting herself or worrying herself sick in those conditions were significantly higher in every possible way than the chance of her getting strangles or something like that from a slightly more laid back yard.
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Well this is my issue. I am going back to an old yard I was on a couple of years ago and in that time they have upped their 'security' if you like. Their isolation period is 2 weeks and there is no turnout allowed. Another horse has just gone into isolation and my boy is moving on Sat so he will have some company but I am not really happy about it really but it's done now, moving all arranged, stable booked/reserved etc.

I am just thinking 2 weeks is a long time with no turnout and I am going to have to ensure I ride every day, I am starting a new job on the 5th too as well as moving house, so its going to be a stressful/busy time. ARGH.
 
SummerxStarsx said:
Well this is my issue. I am going back to an old yard I was on a couple of years ago and in that time they have upped their 'security' if you like. Their isolation period is 2 weeks and there is no turnout allowed. Another horse has just gone into isolation and my boy is moving on Sat so he will have some company but I am not really happy about it really but it's done now, moving all arranged, stable booked/reserved etc.

I am just thinking 2 weeks is a long time with no turnout and I am going to have to ensure I ride every day, I am starting a new job on the 5th too as well as moving house, so its going to be a stressful/busy time. ARGH.
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2 weeks seems like an incredibly long time to me! My lad would stress a lot of weight off in that time too. Is there anyone who could help you out exercising him or letting him graze in hand?
 
I can't see the point in isolation periods. I check that all horses are vaccinated and insured and I also worm them the day they arrive. They are stabled next to the others and turned out next to the herd they will be joining. I never put a new horse straight into the group. I leave them in the adjoining paddock for at least a week first.

I think isolation is pointless because diseases such as strangles are easily spread by people as well as horses. Also, if the horse is being worked then it is using the same facilities as the others. :confused:
 
I know :confused:

I might have to pay the yard to lunge him or something. It hopefully won't be too bad as Wed, Thurs, Fri Sat and Sun of NEXT week I wont be at work or anything so can go down and do a bit more with him. It'll mainly be Mon 5th through to Thursday 8th that I can only get down early in morning and then not again til after work about 5.30 so will probably have to either pay yard or bribe someone to hay him and perhaps lunge him. Argh. Just hassle, hassle, hassle. :mad:
 
Wagtail said:
I can't see the point in isolation periods. I check that all horses are vaccinated and insured and I also worm them the day they arrive. They are stabled next to the others and turned out next to the herd they will be joining. I never put a new horse straight into the group. I leave them in the adjoining paddock for at least a week first.

I think isolation is pointless because diseases such as strangles are easily spread by people as well as horses. Also, if the horse is being worked then it is using the same facilities as the others. :confused:
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I agree. Also, doesn't strangles live in the wood of the stable for a ridiculously long time too? I'm sure I read that somewhere....
 
No hard and set rules at my yard. YO likes newbies to stay in for 24hrs as they are wormed on arrival. However, if your horse is very stressy he/she can go straight out into the isolation paddock to settle and graze. In this paddock the horse cannot touch others but can see other horses. After 24 hours the newbie goes into a field next to the group he will be with. How soon he goes into the field is up to the YO/owner to discuss. Works well.

2 weeks is a long isolation period with no turnout, but I guess once it's done, it's out of the way. Hope things go ok for you.
 
Wagtail said:
I can't see the point in isolation periods.

I think isolation is pointless because diseases such as strangles are easily spread by people as well as horses. Also, if the horse is being worked then it is using the same facilities as the others. :confused:
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Wagtail, you have valid points there.:)

I do isolate horses for a few days, not stabled though (why infect a stable?) but in a paddock surrounded by walkways. This isn't because of disease though, more to give a new horse a chance to settle and to see what is going on and for me to get to know it. If I moved to a yard and they wanted my horse shut in for 10 days without turnout then I wouldn't be going there at all, it would be a big negative against choosing a yard.

My Vet says that it is virtually impossible to create a bio secure isolation unit, unless it is totally separate from the yard and you disinfect and clean yourself, change clothes etc.

I have competition horses here that go out every weekend, and then go back in with their herd, to isolate properly they would have to be kept completely alone all the time.
 
Don't think I would go to a yard that had a long isolation period with no turnout though would be happy to do individual turnout at first.
As said horses go out and about all the time and some diseases have really long incubation periods. Had a horse turn up at my last yard with ringworm but it was weeks before any symptoms showed so even 2 weeks wouldn't have prevented that.

I also worm count a couple of days before as there are issues with over worming and resistance and the results will determine whether he can join a herd.
 
Wagtail said:
I can't see the point in isolation periods. I check that all horses are vaccinated and insured and I also worm them the day they arrive. They are stabled next to the others and turned out next to the herd they will be joining. I never put a new horse straight into the group. I leave them in the adjoining paddock for at least a week first.

I think isolation is pointless because diseases such as strangles are easily spread by people as well as horses. Also, if the horse is being worked then it is using the same facilities as the others. :confused:
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This is what I do. And also what I think. If yards are isolating against something like strangles then their isolation period needs to be longer than 2 weeks and they need to treat new horses as quarantine specimens. Some yards may do this but I doubt they will do much business.
 
No, & never been to one that does either. Two cheap diy yards used to do it with anything straight from a sales or that looked suspect till wormed/ de loused. And yards I've been on have been careful where a new horse is turned out incase of fights. The few infections I've encountered have never come from new horses either.
 
yes 3 weeks on a field a mile down the road, all horses are turned out with one other. owner only allowed onto yard before they check the quarentined horse and all.horses must have blood test to show theyr not a strangles carrier. having had 2 horaes with it i think theyr quite right. strangles was brought onto my last yard by a new horse
 
Well my horse also had to have a blood test which cost me £80 to rule out strangles and he was fine, clear. So I am a bit miffed. I wouldn't mind at all if there was an isolation paddock too but I am worried about him being in for 2 weeks. Done now though like I said so not an awful lot I can do.
 
Got to admit, the only yard I've ever known isolate new horses was a large riding school. Every livery yard has been happy to have them turned out straight away providing worming is upto date...
 
I can completely understand segregating grazing, however I can't understand what is achieved by keeping horses in strict isolation, unless already ill. Do these yards isolate every horse that returns from a comp, or camp etc?
 
I don't have stables, so it is slightly different, we turn new horses, including the pony when he comes back from being on loan, in a pen which is double fenced, so that they can't touch our current herd. They are like this for a week or so, then single fenced so they can get to know each other, before being released. That said, we have known where all the horses coming to us have come from, so it would be a bit different, if I was buying a horse from a sale etc.
 
When I moved my old boy to my current yard along with his two friends, we agreed to worm them and isolate them from their previous herd for 3 days before we moved (known current YO for years so she knew she could trust us). That way when they were in strange surroundings they could be turned out staight away (together in field next to their new herd) as we knew they would settle best this way.

After he died and I got my new boy, he was wormed and stabled for 24 hours then moved to paddock next to others for a couple of days before being introduced to his herd. I'd visited him every day for a week - 10 days before he arrived so knew he was showing no signs of illness. After a day of being in the paddock next door, he'd made sure he'd met all the horses over the fence as was so obviously a big softy that we moved him in a bit sooner. To this day 7 1/2 years later he's never been involved in any field shenanigans. He hides when the others are playing and waits by the gate (or behind watching humans) when a new horse joins the herd until they've all settled down!
 
Yes, the choice we had was either 3 weeks isolation or horse is blood tested to ensure no exposure to strangles - if they come back positive we can either continue to isolate and re-test after a time or scope for strangles.
 
I was on a yard many years ago and any new horses where just put straight out with the others. After 1 new horse (which was the prime suspect) arrived in October we were still not clear of strangles by the following February. It was a yard of perhaps 35 horses, 2 of which where pts following b@@@@@d strangles. The others, including mine, all had to have 3 swabs taken. Through-out this time bio security was put in place but sadly not all adhered to it. Friendships were lost, tears were shed and dis-trust spread within the yard community.

At present I am on a yard which has a minimal isolation time - maybe 24 hours, no bio-security measures and a couldn't care less atitude. Unsuprisingly I am the only one that has been through strangles.

If I were a yard owner 2 weeks would be the minimum. Isolation would mean isolation. It has been argued that you go to compitions etc the same risks etc when I'm off the yard I have no control over the risks except I can just do my best to keep my lass away from others - no nose touching etc. On the yard we do have control of the risks.
 
Yes Its 10 days -2 weeks usually at our yard. This doesnt usually consist of turnout but did in my case as my girl was distressed & threatening to jump out of the stable! :O However, if new horse is local and YO can speak to other YO regarding worming etc then they can come straight away (this is rare though) I do have a problem with other liveries being allowed to go near/pat new horses but some people have no common sense! I put a sign up to stop this when I got my new horse but unfortunatly it fell on deaf ears.......:( I would not keep my horse at a yard which did not have isolation facilities.
 
I really can't see the point in isolating new horses unless the isolation stable is truly biosecure and the YO also has a policy of isolating existing liveries when they come back from competitions and other events. I can't imagine a yard would do much business if it did that. Otherwise, it does not seem as if the risk of strangles is being substantially reduced and you're causing horses already stressed from a move even more stress.

About a year after I left the country, my old boarding stable in the States had a strangles outbreak (I was still on their email list so got to hear all about it). After much finger-pointing and people falling out and so on, it was eventually traced to a horse who had been boarded at that barn for nearly twenty years, but had been away at a 4H competition where he picked it up.

Ironically, that facility had looked into building a proper quarantine stable as per USDA requirements, as we thought we were going to have to put my horse in it for a month before she was moved to the UK. We ended up finding a better way for all parties and didn't have to build the thing or make my horse miserable for four weeks, but what became clear during that bit of research was that your average "quarantine" stable at your average yard isn't remotely within those guidelines.
 
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