A deadly equine virus that has killed seven horses and infected almost three dozen others in nine Western states has spurred the cancellation of several Sonoma County equestrian events and prompted concerned riders to pull more than 40 horses out of Saturday's annual Rose Parade.
Two horses from Sonoma County apparently were among more than 300 that attended the National Cutting Horse Association Western National Championships in Ogden, Utah, which ended May 8.
Neither horse has shown any symptoms of equine herpes-1 infection, said veterinarian Gene Harlan of the Cotati Large Animal Hospital. He declined to reveal the horses' location, saying their owners didn't want to be identified.
The virus is highly contagious - spread through touch, the air or shared tack, food or water - and is fatal about 40 percent of the time, Harlan said. It poses no threat to people, although humans can transmit it between horses.
As of Friday, the number of confirmed infections in California was 10, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture. All but one of the 34 horses with confirmed infections of two variants of the virus participated in the Utah event or one in Bakersfield on May 13.
All confirmed cases have been placed under a state quarantine, although the state isn't otherwise regulating horses' movement.
The outbreak has forced the cancellation of scores of horse events in the West, just as the prime season for riding shows, sales and rodeos begins.
All national cutting-horse competitions scheduled for the remainder of May have been canceled, including two in California. Washington State and Colorado State universities have quarantined their veterinary teaching hospitals, and equestrian shows and clinics in Colorado, California and other states have been called off, according to Reuters news service.
In Sonoma County, several equestrian events have been called off, including trail rides, jumping competitions and some dressage events - although a large jumping event continued this week at the Sonoma Horse Park near Petaluma.
Dozens of riders pulled out of Saturday's Rose Parade through downtown Santa Rosa, parade manager Judy Walker said.
About 70 horses were scheduled to participate in the parade, Walker said. Now, organizers expect a little over 20 to show Saturday morning.
Walker began getting calls on Tuesday from riders who were concerned about the threat of infection and the risk of spreading the virus by bringing their horses to the event and then returning to boarding facilities. The calls mounted on Wednesday.
"It was somewhat chaos," Walker said. "It forced people to back out."
The Petaluma Riding Club still plans to walk the route as the parade's color guard, but the Grand Marshall's wagon was changed to a fleet of convertibles after the horse team scheduled to pull the wagon was withdrawn, she said.
While only a handful of horses have tested positive for the virus, nearly 700 others have been "secondarily exposed," according to the state, which has been tracking the animals since the Utah event. Other horses that have come in contact with the Utah horses are at risk, as are others who they interact with.
The incubation period lasts 10 days. Infected horses can show signs ranging from a high temperature, nasal discharge, lack of coordination and hind end weakness.
"I can't imagine anybody throwing a show right now," said Karl Bastian of the Sonoma County Horse Council, noting that some show animals are worth more than $100,000.
"It's emotional, it's financial. It's all of that. It's devastation all the way around," he said.
"I am very concerned," said Joseph Raphael, a Cloverdale breeder who has 24 quarter horses and paints. He just bought a stallion that came from Oklahoma by way of Mariposa County and this week he was readying his horses to attend Cloverdale's Old West Days on Saturday.
"We don't have that many cutting horses in Sonoma County, but we have people that travel to different shows," he said. "It's not just a cutting horse situation, it's an equine situation. It's got me on the nervous side. I've been monitoring all my horses. It is my livelihood."
Steve Dodge of the Sonoma County Driving and Riding Club, which also oversees the Rincon Riders club, said his group cancelled a "play date" set for Sunday where as many as 30 horses normally would congregate.
Several Sonoma County children's camps focusing on horse care and riding are still scheduled, most of which begin next month.
Natalie Rooney-Pitts, who runs Four Star Farm in Bodega and operates a riding camp for the city of Santa Rosa, said she is being cautious, although her horses don't leave the farm.
"I'm not taking my horses anywhere extra," she said. "I'm trying to limit how many horses come to my farm and know where they've been."
She said a number of her clients are debating whether to go to a big dressage event in Woodside this weekend after having spent thousands of dollars in entry fees.
Several stable owners said they aren't allowing horses in or out in an effort to limit interaction.
Tracy Underwood, owner of the Santa Rosa Equestrian Center, said she and other stables in town have closed until further notice on the advice of their veterinarians. She boards more than 50 horses and has more than 20 of her own at the site.
She said she would have no qualms about taking horses to this weekend's Woodside event, which she said will include some of the best horses and riders in the world.
"These are sophisticated people with very, very expensive horses at that show. They're not being careless in the way they're handling their horses," Underwood said.
Still, she postponed an amateur dressage clinic she had scheduled for this weekend and cancelled a jumper show on Sunday. But a June 3 dressage show will go on as scheduled.
She predicted the scare will blow over by next week as the incubation period ends and the number of infections levels off.
"If cases come up from horses outside that discipline or not from that show, we need to reassess how we're handling things," she said.
Underwood cautioned horse owners not to panic and to keep abreast of accurate information from the state Food and Agriculture Department, which is tracking infections throughout the west.
"It's not that I'm being laissez faire about it. I am shut down, but everything the medical profession is doing is working," she said. "I just really think people need to get information from the state of California and from their barn vet, not from Facebook or a friend."
Staff Writer Brett Wilkison contributed to this story.
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