Cogins

[Classic2010]

Is it mandatory for horses in the Acreage area to have their cogins test done yearly?  I just saw Animal Cops in Houston where 5 horses were tested positive and had to be put down and the rest of the horses at the shelter had to be quarantined, I think, for 60 days.  They mentioned the name of the disease, which I forgot and said it came from flies!  Wow...now does the health of the horse and their immune fight it this disease?  And I have seen one horse right near by me that I know does not have this test done.

[Classic2010]

Couldn't wait...checked it out for myself.....learned how to spell  coggins.  Plus, the incurable disease is called Equine Infectious Anemia.  Apparently it is transmitted through horseflies....whether they are talking about the little flies in the stables or the big horseflies...I don't know.  But in any case, the disease only lives 15 to 30 minutes in the fly and that is why for it to be transmitted, the horses have to be near each other.  So my other question stills stands...is it mandatory for the testing in the Acreage area and I assume it would be but how it is followed through and checked up on? 

[miss m]

just go ask the neighbor if hes had the test done...if no tell him to get one...it is mandatory if he is close to other horses...I think within 100 ft....I havent heard of any cases down here

[deb be]

I think it is optional,  I had it done so if I had to evacuate or something I was ready to go despite the fact that I don't have a trailer.  This is a good question.

[Anglosaxon]

I was under the impression that all horses require an annual EIA (coggins) test.  Strictly speaking the certificate should accompany the horse every time it travels.  This is almost impossible to police on a local basis, but definitely required to cross state lines and also by horse-show organisers and state parks. It is not uncommon for owners to pass up on the test if they think that their animal will never leave the farm. Given the expense of veterinary calls I can sympathize, however, this does not take into account neighbouring animals, or emergencies.  All veterinary clinics will ask for a current coggins test if a horse needs to be admitted, or if you need to move the animal to a shelter or boarding facility in the event of a hurricane or other emergency.  Best bet, get the test. And persuade your neighbour to do the same.  I don't actually know what authority polices this but ACC would be a good place to start. As I said, it is manditory and I believe the state veterinarian would be involved if ever a horse tested positive, which I, thankfully, have never come across. 

[Classic2010]

The problem is these "neighbors" are people that I guess would be called squatters.  They were evicted by the police a while back along with 2 of the saddest looking horses.   And now they are back.....it isn't my business, except for the concern of the coggins test.   

And I am under the impression that it is mandatory for all horses to get this test especially if living together in close proximity. But who checks this out?  Only when traveling and vets, etc.  ACC is a start......thanks for info...

[mysterypickles]

It is mandatory to have a current Coggins on your horse with you any time your horse leaves your property. As soon as you leave your driveway you are supposed to have a current Coggins, or you can be fined. If your horse never leaves your property, then you do not have to have a current Coggins. ACC does not regulate this unfortunately. Police can fine you, but I'd say this would be exceptionally rare while you are riding down the street. If you a trailering and are pulled over and the cop decides to check and you dont have it, you will get a ticket. But mostly no one really checks. I think people have gotten lax on it because it is not very common for horses to be positive anymore. In fact, I am pretty sure that you can contact the state lab (ask your vet for the number) and ask if there have been any positive cases reported in your area.

[polomare]

Classic, the information in the following links might help put your mind at ease a little bit in re to the likelihood of your horses getting sick with EIA from your neighbor's horses:

http://www.donblazer.com/ahorseofcourse/1000ahorse.html

http://www.donblazer.com/ahorseofcourse/0601b_ahorse.html

All the links on Don Blazer's website are informative and enlightening.

Getting a yearly Coggins test on every horse on your property is an excellent idea.  It is accepted as proof of ownership in many circ.umstances, and it is a convenient opportunity to record your horse's distinguishing characteristics and photograph him/her. It also initiates a visit from a vet for horses that may otherwise never see a vet.  A veterinarian's trained eye may catch something amiss from a medical standpoint that the owner may never have thought to catch.  And it's really not that expensive.

But here's the thing nobody ever stops to think about the Coggins test.  Having a "current negative Coggins" on your horse doesn't guarantee your horse is EIA-free for a year.  It only guarantees your horse didn't have EIA last year.  Truth of the matter is, you can have blood pulled for a Coggins test yesterday, and your horse could be infected today.  A "Coggins test" is not a preventative and it is not a vaccine.  Unfortunately, the horse owning public at large thinks of the Coggins test in this erroneous light.

Remember, it takes a year to expire.  That's up to an entire year an infected horse has to spread the disease to others.  But don't worry, EIA is not highly communicable.  If your neighbor's horses are being kept in poor conditions, I would be FAR more concerned about so many other diseases than EIA.

Sketchy neighbors or not, it is a good idea for all horseowners to get in the habit of taking their horses' temperatures on a regular basis.  A spiked temperature is the first, often silent sign of an impending illness.   Different horses have different baselines and it is a good idea to learn what your horse's is.  It's the best hands-on thing you can do for your horse's health.

[Classic2010]

I know that the Coggins test does nothing but show whether the horse is positive or negative with EIA.  And I know that a horse could be infected even the day he gets a test done. I never heard to have your Coggins test while riding down the road.  I know going on the private trail in Acreage, you must have your horse's Coggins. I will check out the links...thanks so much for all of your input...means a lot to me.

[Classic2010]

Just read those interesting links......almost shocking.  So....I'll just resume life at the barn as usual with my care free attitude....thank you one and all!!

[SEC]

Per the USDA website, "Test Required for Movement, Assembly, Change of Ownership, and for Breeding Stallions and Mares."  The coggins (or AGID) test is one of the types of tests for EIA.  The other type of test is an ELISA which is quicker and often results out in a matter of hours.  The USDA is the agency that enforces, and I know of several barns that are visited annually to check that each horse has a current EIA test.  I think they target the larger boarding/lesson barns, but i'm not sure how they choose which barns to visit.  If you have one horse in your backyard and don't ever go anywhere, no one will ever know you don't have a coggins test, but for me i would want the security, especially in a hurricane zone, of knowing that if i needed to get my horse to a safe place, i could just put him/her in the trailer and go--usually not possible if you don't have a current test, and the time when a hurricane is approaching is really not the best time to try to get one done!

[Classic2010]

Oh yes....this concern for the Coggins test is for a neighbor in the area that from the "looks " of things, their horses might not have a Coggins test.  As for me, I always have a current test done......just to make sure you know this isn't about me.  But I am curious, since you are a vet, what do feel about EIA?  Read the links that Polomare sent me and I would be curious as to what you to say.  The links are 3 postings up.  Thanks.

[SEC]

Wow.  Just read those links.  How to even begin to respond?  First of all, yes, we charge money to do coggins tests.  I can assure you , I would make much more money with the amount of time it takes to process a coggins test doing many other things, such as writing up bills for previous appointments, getting done with my day earlier and letting my nanny leave half an hour early, etc.  We do coggins tests because we are required to do them and NOT because it makes us any significant profit.  Maybe that's not true in other areas, but in my practice, that's the case. 

Perhaps more important is this gentleman's complete disconcern for a serious disease.  I relate this a little bit to the childhood vaccine situation where the standards (ie childhood vaccination program) have pretty much eliminated the presence of some deadly diseases, causing the general public to have no recollection of what the diseases can actually do.  How many babies died of whooping cough last year because there have been an increasing number of individuals unvaccinated in their communities, allowing the disease to spread?  Of course i recognize that the coggins is a test and not a vaccine and will not directly protect that individual, but we are still talking about herd immunity in both cases.  If we remove the infrequent infected case from the population, the disease doesn't have the opportunity to spread, and that's how we can prevent an epidemic with an insect-borne disease. The incidence of positive coggins tests went way down after the testing program was initiated and infected horses were isolated or euthanized, confirming the reduction of new cases.  Yes it is a serious disease, and horses that get it can not be cured, and there is no vaccine technology available, hence removal of infected individuals is the only option we have available to prevent spread of disease.  They can survive and lead an intermittently comfortable life, but they generally have recurring bouts of fever and anemia with other various symptoms which are not so comfortable.  Think of it this way--would you want to be standing at the in gate at a horse show next to a horse that was positive for EIA that could potentially infect your horse or would you rather these horses be kept away from yours?  Think about the other hundreds of horses at the same show.  Is it unusual for horses to get bitten by flies?  Not at all!  Those flies then go and bite other horses nearby.  That's how the disease spreads, and all of a sudden instead of a pretty much eradicated disease, we have a population of horses with either acute disease from which they die or chronic incurable disease. 

The use of the word slaughter is completely unnecessary--horses can be quarantined if the owner prefers, and from what i remember it's not that difficult to keep them, say, on your own property with appropriate distance from other horses and maybe screening?  I luckily haven't had a case myself, so i don't know the precise regulations. 

Finally, in Florida, they absolutely check every single horse that crosses the state line both in and out.  These horses are checked for a current accurate coggins test and a health certificate which states that a veterinarian has seen the horse recently and that the horse is healthy.  Would this guy like to have his taxes increased so that they can pay a vet to stand at the border crossings and take the temperature of each horse that passes by to assure that no horse has become sick since the health certificate was written???

It is very easy to write inflammatory rhetoric without any medical understanding of the situation, and when people write stuff like this, it is designed to (i believe successfully) scare the reader into believing it, even though it is untrue.  I hope i have been able to clarify a little bit! 

[Ingrid Taskin]

... have to add a comment.....

...... of course the horses that never go anywhere off the property won't be the ones that will load in a trailer if they would have to evacuate.... unfortunately more often than not, this goes hand in hand... it's so easy to forget your trailer loading practice.. and all horses in Florida should know how to load since we live in an area where we may have to evacuate...

Ingrid

[No scoops]

Yes it is true, if you take your horse off your property you have to have the test done. But remember this is only a TEST....if your horse is on your property you can still catch the disease. The only way to actually fight the disease is to use fly spray.....a lot of fly spray. You have to be religious with it. The other thing is once you test positive you do not have to put the horse down, they can live for a long time but in a special area.....no other horses with in certain distance. I know there used to be a quarantine ranch down in Broward.

The key is to keep all the horses in the area clear of the disease.

[Classic2010]

Very informative SEC.....and I really appreciate your input....I just wonder why they haven't found a cure for this?

[SEC]

Simply put, I'm guessing because someone would have to fund the research, and there is no financial incentive for a drug company to do so, especially since we don't know if they would even be able to come up with a cure.  FYI, i actually spoke with one of my barns that gets checked annually, and it is AC&C and not USDA that checks her farm.  Sorry for that bit of misinfo!

[Classic2010]

Interesting answer and it sure makes sense.  Thank you so much for taking time to answer this post. 

[lisa@loewenberg.net]

If the horse never leaves his own property he does NOT need a yearly test. BUT if the horse EVER steps of the property then YES one is needed. However it has been many many years since a horse in Palm Beach has tested positive. Okeechobee on the other hand it is much more common to see a positive test result.