Distemper in Arizona

[GrgGmiller@aol.com]

     My horse had an open wound the size of a quarter on her belly where the 
hairline swirls.....wouldn't heal after repeated ointments. This morning I 
see that she is acting quiet, dull eyed and tight in the hindquarters, so I 
check her wound and see that it is now abscessing. She is also running a 
slight fever.
     Long story short:  She was diagnosed with "dryland distemper"......1 in 
3 horses now has it in northern Arizona.  It is transmitted through flies and 
is very contageous.
In the case of my mare, we caught it at the very begining.  Most horses 
coming in to the vet's have the abscess'  spread all along the belly up 
through the chest and sometimes up the shoulders.  It also affects cattle, 
sheep, lamas.  
    Be careful if you are traveling into Arizona....until it snows here in 
Flagstaff, the problem will continue.

Bonnie Miller
grggmiller@aol.com