Quarantine do people stil do it?

[Kaylum]

Friend gets a new horse at a big livery yard, shows me pictures of it meeting the others nose to nose. And then turned out with the herd. Seriously irresponsible i just dont understand.

Also see dealers buying one day selling the next no quarantine could even be possible.

So is quarantine no longer common practice?

 

[Auslander]

I do, but I don't know any other yards who do!

 

[OlderNotWiser]

It seems not! I haven’t had a horse quarantined at my last 3 yards - over a 12 year period - and was quite surprised/dismayed tbh. The only time quarantine was in place was livery at a riding school where bio security was taken very seriously.

 

[Mojo-dtxo]

I think it depends on the yard, when I bought my horse and moved her to the livery yard, there was no isolation required. She was allowed out in the field as soon as she arrived, I have since moved her to a different livery yard where they do isolate on arrival. Horses have to stay on isolation for two weeks before they are allowed out in the field/contact with other horses. They will have a grill on their stable door during this time aswell.

 

[milliepops]

my previous yard started a quarantine policy, but only for some horses that the YO decided were high risk
so my horse from the sales was put in quarantine, and so was a friend's bought from a dealer.
But the ones that stayed over for camps with the resident instructor or came in from other livery yards were allowed to come and go freely, kept in close quarters with the regular liveries.... guess which ones caused a strangles scare....?

I think few places have the set up for decent quarantine, mine was supposed to go a mile up the road in a cattle field on her own completely away from sight or hearing distance of other horses, I'm afraid i refused to do that to her as I think that's a horrendous thing to do to a horse. she was found an isolated field a shorter distance away from the yard where she could see the others instead.

there were no spare stables as the yard was always filled to max capacity

 

[Velcrobum]

The yard where my boys go on holiday livery quarantines all newcomers, mine go in the isolation boxes even though they are not out and about or in contact with other horses. Everything on the yard has to be vaccinated and currently 6 month boosters are required.

 

[The Trooper]

We do at the livery yard I am on. New horses are isolated for a few days and then turned out into the appropriate herd.

 

[Nasicus]

A local livery yard I've been on started a 2 week quarantine and strangles bloodtest rule, but only after a strangles outbreak. Prior to that it was a free for all.

 

[Fluffypiglet]

None of the yards I've been on or looked at have quarantine facilities. The yard I left had some quite rough horses in for breaking full of colds etc and no separate feed buckets or attempts to isolate. New yard has a better class of horse for want of a better term! All vaccinated etc but the are competition horses and could have been exposed. They disinfect the yard, stables and feed buckets regularly but new horses interact with current liveries all the time. Far from ideal but no yard I've seen offers proper quarantine anyway.

 

[Silver Clouds]

As a child (in the 1980s/early 1990s) all of the riding schools I rode at (in various different areas in the South of England) and livery yards that I was aware of had isolation boxes, and would quarantine newcomers for two weeks+. Since then I have known fewer and fewer yards to quarantine, and for the last 15+ yrs (mainly in the SW) I haven't come across a single yard with isolation boxes, most yards don't quarantine newcomers, and the ones who do it seems to be very slap-dash and only for a couple of days. Older friends who keep horses at home all take care when bringing a new horse home, but youngsters I come across in the PC seem less aware of it being an option/good idea. I'm not sure if it's just my experience, but fewer people seem to vaccinate too, which is a bit of a worry with the lack of quarantine!

 

[Auslander]

We do at the livery yard I am on. New horses are isolated for a few days and then turned out into the appropriate herd.

Unfortunately, that's about as much use as a chocolate fireguard as a quarantine protocol! You need to figure out what worries you most (strangles in my case) and isolate the incoming horse for the longest stated incubation period, plus a few days for luck! the shortest I'd quarantine for is 3 weeks, and that's for a horse i consider to be low risk. Anything high risk, it's min 4 weeks.

 

[The Trooper]

Unfortunately, that's about as much use as a chocolate fireguard as a quarantine protocol! You need to figure out what worries you most (strangles in my case) and isolate the incoming horse for the longest stated incubation period, plus a few days for luck! the shortest I'd quarantine for is 3 weeks, and that's for a horse i consider to be low risk. Anything high risk, it's min 4 weeks.

Better than most by the looks of things.

 

[sport horse]

In view of the recent flu outbreak and the horses that seem to be getting the virus, all yards should at least isolate for 3 weeks and not admit anything that is not fully vaccinated. End of. Perhaps that would increase the % of vaccinated horse, currently only 40%, and protect us all a bit more. Hoffific to think that people are taking unvaccinated to shows, putting them in the stables etc etc. As a country we need to be a bit more demanding.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

No quarantine in the yards I’ve been on for past 6 years. Was brought in on current yard very recently.

 

[Auslander]

Better than most by the looks of things.

Well, sort of! There's very little that will show up in a few days though!

 

[ycbm]

So is quarantine no longer common practice?

It never was, ime.


....

 

[ycbm]

I've liveried in many places and never been quarantined. I know of only one in this area which does (there will be others, I just don't know them) .

How many people who are demanding that their livery stables quarantine new arrivals are perfectly happy to take their own horses hunting, showing, training etc and then straight back home to their own stable and turn out with their friends? Most, I suspect.

I actually think it's a really dreadful thing to do to a horse, mentally, though I completely understand the reasons. Moved to a new home. Stuck in a stable away from the others. Not allowed out to graze. Taken away from old friends. . Not allowed to make new friends. It must be horrific for them. My only experience of it was a lovely little horse I helped a friend buy. Quarantined by the yard I mention above and went completely berserk. Unrideable. Returned to the dealer as not fit for purpose and quickly sold to a new home with no problems at all.

 

[Alibear]

I can't see how anyone could implement any sort of useful quarantine on a yard that holds clinics, shows or has horses in for training. How many people would be happy to send their horse away for training where the first month was quarantine? Would you be happy for your horse to go into quarantine every time it came back from being off yard for a show, training, farrier, vet visit? It just doesn't work in a real world situation so I can see why not many places bother.
Once there's an issue and you go on lockdown, then it becomes a workable practise until the yard has the all clear but that's the only time I can see it having a hope of being effective.

 

[ihatework]

I’ve only been on one yard that did it in my life.

It had quite a nice set up for it, a big American barn for liveries, then a decent distance away a small block of stables for YO horses and directly opposite a huge isolation box - the horse in there could see the YO horses and they were all really settled in the box.

It was 2 weeks isolation and a strangles test, you could exercise your horse but weren’t allowed to interact with any other horses until cleared

 

[Ceifer]

I’ve only had one horse put on quarantine at a yard.
I know it’s good protocol but to be honest it was really stressful for the horse I purchased. The stables were away from every other horse which I know is the idea of isolation but he was stressed and miserable for the whole two weeks stuck in the stable.

To the point of I had to call the old owners to ask about his behaviour.

I moved him soon after as he never settled at that yard.
Next yard he went straight out and was a different horse.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Never had to do it at any livery yard I have been to in the last 30 years.

 

[milliepops]

I actually think it's a really dreadful thing to do to a horse, mentally, though I completely understand the reasons. Moved to a new home. Stuck in a stable away from the others. Not allowed out to graze. Taken away from old friends. . Not allowed to make new friends. It must be horrific for them. My only experience of it was a lovely little horse I helped a friend buy. Quarantined by the yard I mention above and went completely berserk. Unrideable. Returned to the dealer as not fit for purpose and quickly sold to a new home with no problems at all.

i have seen similar, the other horse that got quarantined at my old yard was shoved up the road in a field out of sight and earshot. He had been living in a herd previously and it was absolutely heartbreaking hearing him so stressed, running around calling for some friends.
It's why I refused, I said I would put all of mine in that field together and keep them up there for the duration (and take the hit if my newbie was carrying anything), or else we had to find an alternative.
that particular horse is still really unsettled in the field (individual turnout) fence walks etc. he's a lovely hairy cob.

I have one that was kept on her own long term and she's totally brain scrambled from it.

I think the idea is a good one, but the set up needs to support the quarantined horse's mental state.

 

[PapaverFollis]

We were quarantined when we came up here. Not every new horse is but we brought ours up in a shared load on a transporter so it seemed wise. They were together though. I think a lone horse would probably have been offered a pony for companionship. It was summer so we didn't need the stables and we exercised out in the field. It was fine but other people didn't take it seriously. We did and didn't really go onto the yard or touch anyone's horses during that time but people came out to the field to see ours!

 

[palo1]

This is quite interesting for me as I am currently working out the logistics for a new horse to come home here. We have our own herd of currently 4: 2 are turned away all winter in another herd that is a closed herd. 2 remain here at home for the winter and are ridden regularly - out and about. None of these are vaccinated 6 monthly but the 2 that are kept in over winter have annual boosters. At the moment, because of flu, we are not going anywhere with any of them and are considering leaving the 2 turned away horses where they are until flu outbreak is properly contained although that will be hugely disappointing for 2 members of the family. I am looking at buying a youngster and am wondering how 'safe' (relatively - young horse will have been bought out of a very experienced yard that I would imagine is far more on the ball than me) it will be to introduce a new horse at this time. I wouldnt want to quarantine a horse 'properly' as I can only imagine this would cause problems. On the other hand I don't want to risk flu or strangles either of which are possible! How is the best way to go about this?

 

[Gazen]

When I have moved my horses they have had to have a Strangles test before hand and then 7 days of being kept apart from other horses. Still turned out, but with a track between them and the other horses so they could see each other but could not have direct contact.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Friend gets a new horse at a big livery yard, shows me pictures of it meeting the others nose to nose. And then turned out with the herd. Seriously irresponsible i just dont understand.

Also see dealers buying one day selling the next no quarantine could even be possible.

So is quarantine no longer common practice?

I don't do quarantine as such, though liveries do sign a declaimer their horse is free from illness that could jeopardise the yard. New horses are segregated in adjacent field then for a week

 

[tatty_v]

My old yard has a strict three week quarantine requirement with a strangles blood test. We’ve caught and treated strangles carriers via this process and so it is pretty well supported and defended on the yard. It’s a rarity round here though.

 

[Kaylum]

Very different opinions i am glad we have the three week rule at ours. As for being stressful its more stressful ending up with a yard of horses with strangles or flu.

 

[SOS]

No livery yards I have been on enforce quarantine. Bar one which as the horse had come straight from Ireland it had to be stabled for 48 hours which they called quarantine. Could still be ridden in the arenas and hand grazed, and was in the American barn with everything else.. when asked what disease had that short of a incubation period/was only spread through direct contact when turned out, they looked blankly at me. Safe to say as this was meant to be full livery the horse didn’t stay long.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Never in nearly 40 years of using livery yards have I ever been on one that quarantines a new arrival.

In that time I’ve been on one yard my current one that had one single case of strangles. That was when one of the liveries sharer took the horse to work with her at a yard which turned out to be a dealers. When the owner picked him up he was poorly and she took him straight to the vets, the first blood test was negative for strangles despite having a guttural pouch swelling but luckily they were on a completely separate part of the yard so we were able to isolate and and put in strict bio security measures which meant nothing else got it.