New Service Helps Horse Owners, Veterinarians, Breeders

Amarillo, Texas, January 31, 2007 – Owners, breeders and veterinarians, all of whom have strong economic reasons to prevent and control Equine Viral Arteritis, are getting some help from the American Quarter Horse Association. The Association will begin documenting horses that have been tested for and vaccinated against the disease. The voluntary program begins immediately.

“It is extremely critical to document, for future reference, vaccination and testing records with respect to EVA,” said AQHA Director Dr. Glenn Blodgett, who proposed the voluntary program. “Since ownership often changes during the life of the horse, the natural place to permanently store this information is with the horse’s record at AQHA.  I urge all AQHA members to consider this voluntary service and if they have further questions about this disease, to contact their veterinarian.”

The process to document EVA vaccination is simple. When a horse is vaccinated for EVA, the owner will complete the official AQHA EVA Report Form (available from AQHA) and return it to AQHA along with the horse’s certificate of registration. The name of the federally accredited lab that performed the test along with the accession number and test results must be provided as well as the manufacturer, serial number and expiration date of the vaccine and date of vaccination. Once received by AQHA, the form will become part of the horse’s permanent records. Please note that AQHA’s EVA Report Form is not a certification of vaccination. It is only a report that the owner will complete and send to AQHA. It does not serve as import and export documentation.

“This service allows owners and breeders to call one source, AQHA, and find out if a horse has been tested and vaccinated,” said American Quarter Horse breeder and AQHA Stud Book and Registration Committee Vice Chair Vaughn Cook. “As breeders, we need to know if horses are positive or negative and if they’ve been tested. Under this voluntary program, all we need to do is call AQHA and find out instantly. It’s a great service.”

Equine Viral Arteritis is an infectious viral disease of horses that causes a variety of clinical symptoms, most significantly abortions. The disease is transmitted through the respiratory and reproductive systems. It can be transmitted during horse-to-horse contact at sales, shows and racetracks.

While it does not kill mature horses, EVA can eliminate an entire breeding season by causing numerous mares to abort. In addition, U.S. horses that test positive for EVA antibodies and horse semen from EVA-infected horses can be barred from entering foreign countries.

“One of the main reasons we are able to provide this service to our members is because of the new imaging technology the Association began using in 2006,” said AQHA President Walter Fletcher. “As we move forward, I know we will find more ways to enhance customer service for our members, and the EVA documentation is just one example.”

For more information on EVA, contact your equine veterinarian. To find an American Association of Equine Practitioners veterinarian, visit aaep.org . To obtain AQHA’s EVA Report Form, visit aqha.com/forms or call (806) 376-4811.