A videotape of the Thursday, January 4 briefing to the Wellington horse community and local veterinarians by equine medical expert T. Douglas Byars DVM is available for viewing on the Phelps Sports web site. Other content on the site may require payment, but the video is posted in the spirit of public service. The video is approximately one hour long.
Link to Phelps Sports web site
The video can be run on your PC while you do something else, since it is the audio that is important. Just do listen.
It is obvious that there are some gray areas about the length of quarantine and the safety of “return to normal” for the people and horses affected by this outbreak. Dr. Byars downplays the severity of the disease and provides some good information.
However, I’m not sure that the meeting assuaged the fears of owners and trainers who have not yet shipped their horses to Wellington for the show and polo seasons.
One person in the audience posed the question of show horses being “stuck” in Wellington if a horse tests positive after the shows start. Many horses also change hands during the show season, not to mention barns, and trainers will need to be diligent about knowing where horses have been, and when they were there, in the event of a positive test result.
Dr. Byars was adamant that the likelihood of a second outbreak was small.
Here are links to articles from today’s South Florida newspapers about the meeting:
Palm Beach Post January 5, 2007 report
South Florida Sun-Sentinel report for January 5, 2007
Meanwhile, out in California, the recent outbreak that quarantined Bay Area racetracks appears to be much less severe than anticipated. Here’s a link to the Daily Racing Form update on that situation:
Daily Racing Form report for January 5, 2007
Please see yesterday’s posts for specific details about the Wellington meeting.
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