Closer & closer.....

The maps on the DPI site show us right on the edge of infection. Well at least they've got that right.

No foals; no EI. Foals still bumping around inside mum, so at least I feel comforted they're still alive and kicking. Well Pazzy is around about Day 315 (counted up number of days in the hope it would be more, BUT came out less - yikes!) Keema Day 346. Pazzy intermittantly dripping from udder, Keema still not convincing. Both mares temp 37.3 this morning.

Spoke to Nathan (Anstead Vets) this morning and he is worried that everyone is getting way too paniced about EI. They are fielding phone calls from dozens of frantic people in the district worried their horses will die or won't be able to access veterinary attention.

His words to me were "that horses die everyday of colic and other problems, we shouldn't forget that...." Not disputing that the EI overlay doesn't cause a problem. Not one death he knows of has been attributed to multi-systemic failure as a result of EI infection.

They have also procedures in place should anyone need to utilise the Hospital's expertise in the field for EI infected properties. Yesterday they hired a van specifically to accomodate the equipment necessary to facilitate the caesarian on Wayne Beasley's mare. The mare was a maiden mare that suffered a dystocia as a result of malformed head (soccer ball size) which would have occurred long before EI was present. The mare is also recovering from EI. The surgery went well and yesterday she was doing brilliantly.

It also did not take an inordinately long time to respond to this emergency. (See post on Colonial Heritage for Wayne's version). Initially a vet was called, mare observed longer. A vet from Fernvale attended, called for back-up vet. Established that a malformed foal was the problem and the problem referred to Anstead Vets. This all took time. There was not an inordinate delay suggested. Note too that the vets knew by this time that the foal was not viable & the mare was in no immediate danger.

Note here also that Anstead has EI about 500m away so shortly it will be "dirty" and horses will be able to be treated there if they have had/exposed to EI etc. Although I guess then its a problem for "clean" horses......dum de dum...... but guess what soon we will all be "dirty".

I will post Nathan's comments when he forwards them to me on this blog and on other forums. It is important to keep the flu in perspective.

Phew! Now I feel better.

This is not to say that we do not need to push the cause of the non-racing horses to the forefront where the gov't and the DPI is concerned - because the situation is indeed serious. The high morbidity means that their health is SUFFERING needlessly and we are going broke (or ready to be admitted to the local looney bin) dealing with the consequences of it all.