That dreaded disease-African Horse Sickness.

This article is dedicated to a very talented young 2 year old horse who did not make it. His name was Rodrigo D. After a 3 year break, AHS struck again and claimed the life of this beautiful youngster. Below is a video taken of him just 6 days before he died. We were devastated.

Davenport Rodrigo

The nightmare.

3 years ago at the age of 50 I had never seen AHS, and it was a nightmare that I will never forget. The agony of a long night, never knowing who would be dead or alive. On finding our first casualties dead in the veldt and having to get our birth notification book out to see who they were as they had swollen to such an extent they were unrecognizable. The horror of being unable to do anything to save them and literally having to “hold their hands” while they were dying. Of dedicated mothers with their last strength, laboriously standing up to suckle their foals for the last time. Watching the young foals gently nudging their moms, encouraging them to stand, almost saying “Please don’t you die too Mom.” To anyone who has not seen this disease it is something too terrible to comprehend.

The Zebras.

This dreaded disease was almost non existent in the 80′ S as many a vet will tell you. So why the sudden return of it? We all like to blame the zebra’s. Interestingly when Zebras were taken to Spain from Namibia there was an outbreak there too. What happens now is that the midges are overwintering in the Zebra’s. How come Nieu Bethesda has till now never experienced AHS? This year they had a serious outbreak and many, many horses died. Yes you have guessed it- there are zebras there now. The late frosts we are experiencing do not help either. With all the interest in game farming now apparently the parks have only half the animals in SA, the other half being privately owned. The Veterinary Department needs to seriously look at the diseases that the game farms are spreading like AHS, Snotsiekte in cattle, there is even an outbreak of Anthrax, a disease most of us have forgotten about. I am amazed that the Race Horse Industry has not made a fuss about this fact, considering the immense clout they have, they bring in the second most revenue in SA, second to the mines and they have the second highest number of employees in SA also second to the mines. We as horse breeders do not get compensation for any losses due to AHS. It looks like AHS is here to stay, unless the zebras are confined to National Game Parks. We need to as horse lovers make a national outcry in this regard till this happens.

Misconceptions.

The Agri news goes out to almost all farmers in the Eastern Cape. I was horrified to read an article published in the magazine. It read ” it is no use inoculating horses against AHS as horses that have been vaccinated for 17 years have died” What message is this sending out? There is a saying that goes ” a lie is half way round the world before the truth is out.”  All of us could get more involved by phoning neighbours, especially in the rural areas and help them by ensuring they inoculate. We had a horrible incident just last night in Graaff-Reinet. Our neighbours came to us and asked for help. Their beautiful little pony was desperately ill for the last 3 days. By the time we got there it was clear they had contacted anyone too late. It was so sad to see the little girl crying inconsolably as they carted her beloved pony away. They had never realized that their horses must be vaccinated every year and it cost them dearly. It is amazing how uninformed most people are in areas that have previously not known AHS.

Hope.

It is that terrible time of the year again which all horse owners and horse lovers have come to dread, the AHS time. There is however a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. As we all have become so aware of the symptoms lots of horses are being saved. Taking temperatures every day and picking it up almost before symptoms occur and treating with various medicines that have helped in the past seems to help. Kerrie Currie in Grahamstown has had 11 cases and managed to save 9. We have had 6 cases and pulled 5 through. But we are far from the end of the AHS season, and until we have had the first frost we are all still very nervous. I hope for the sake of all horse owners out there that African Horse Sickness will pass you by.