ridecamp@endurance.net: RE: Rabies

RE: Rabies

lahayward (haywardl@shentel.net)
Tue, 14 Oct 1997 08:35:00 -0400

This is in comment to the person who said that they would stop competing if
a rabies shot was required for endurance:

I live in an area where rabies case has not been reported over the last 10
years....1 year ago on the farm adjoining ours a skunk was seen in the
horse pasture during the day heading towards the barn yard(skunks are
usually out at night). Anyway this skunk got over by the hunting dogs and
bit 5 of them. A few days later 3 of the 5 had to be
destroyed....slobbering, unsteady, and aggressive. Those 3 dogs had NOT
been vaccinated for rabies -- the other 2 had and never showed any signs of
the disease. The skunk had been shot as it ran away from the dogs. It was
buried, the dogs were buried........in other words the incident was never
reported. You never know what animals are running around in your field.
Another common carrier known is cats. If you have barn cats we all know
that you can't be sure what animals they have come in contact with either.

We have several dogs, cats and 11 horses that are pastured fairly close to
a National Forest -- I, for one, strongly belive in vaccinating for rabies
and vaccinate all the animals on the place for them. I would hope that any
horse owner that brings their animals to a place where it may come in
contact with others(horse show, endurance ride, trail ride, etc) would have
their animals vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Lori
LIV2RYD in VA

Home Events Groups Rider Directory Market RideCamp Stuff