should county fairs colllect health papers for minis?

[Summer storm101]

at my local fair last year we took our minis and they have a tent where if you are a big farm u can stay with your minis but u have to asked first.....so last year with my mare i won almost every class there were so many people there last year they said they would open up then tent to other people not just big farms...the problem is now that the big farms say that people are going to bring in sick minis cause they dont check health papers and such so the big farms are not going to be bording their horses there the whole week and just come for the day to show.... is it right that they dont stay and the fairs fault that they dont check papers???????????

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[Danielle_E.]

The fairs in our area always ask for a copy of current coggins test with our entry and I believe that is something that is reasonable to request. If you are going to take your horses off your property and bring them where other horses are it should be mandatory.

 

[Ashley]

The thing with health papers is they dont mean squat. THey could get a clean bill of health one day and come down with something the next. Also health papers are good for 30 days so they could get and pass all sort of things in that time frame.

Also if you are with in your own state you dont need health papers, most of the time its only if you are out of state.

 

[Summer storm101]

yeah but it is a county fair last year a draft horse got strangles and passed it on to a mini they paid thousands of dollars to have him well again. if people give their horses shots this may not have happened :no:

 

[chandab]

yeah but it is a county fair last year a draft horse got strangles and passed it on to a mini they paid thousands of dollars to have him well again. if people give their horses shots this may not have happened :no:

Unfortunately, with strangles, even if vaccinated they can still get it; usually a milder case, but they can still get it.

Health papers don't really guarantee anything, but perhaps proof of vaccinations or something would be a good idea.

 

[RENMACMINIS]

The only thing required by our fair if you bring an a horse is that they have a current negative coggins.. but nobody asks for them and frankly it is the same ppl every year bringing the same horses and nobody bothers getting them done. The fair president and the person over the barn all have told us if the state shows up (and they havent in the past 14 years) that if they as us for a coggins and we cant give it to them then we have to leave the fair. thats all.

 

[Leeana]

I show County Fairs every year.

I've never had to get any health papers to show and all horses have to be stalled the day before the fair starts and they cannot be removed untill the morning after the last day of the fair. They dont ask for Health Papers for the large horses either. We have one of the biggest fairs in NW ohio (Sandusky County Fair), which i show and am showing this yr as well in August. We have to be there all week and our horses have to be there all week. Were not asked to have health papers and it not in the fair book either, only Mares with foals by there side need health papers but i dont think anyone really bothers with them.

 

[Miniv]

I also agree that Health Papers don't mean a whole lot. However, if showgrounds DO at least make the effort to require them, it can cause horse owners to pause before bringing a horse that may be showing symptoms.

Some horse owners are so set on just winning a ribbon that they will bring a horse they already know is sick, if they think no one is going to notice! :nono:

MA

 

[Aggravation Acres]

I don't know if this helps any or not. But it makes me feel better. Before the fair. I always spray down the stalls with clorox/water misture and let it dry before taking the horses in. We are usually in the portable tents/stalls that go from fair to fair. So far (thank God) we have not had anything happen yet.

This is going to be the first year our fair is not requiring coggins. It used to be they had a vet come around and check everyones papers on Sunday. But the horses are supose to be on the fair grounds on Friday. So they are there the first 2 days before anyone checks.

: A lot of people are upset over it. But if you get the test done 6 months ago and then go to different places. Who is to say that your horse has not already picked it up.

Deb

 

[Miniv]

I don't know if this helps any or not. But it makes me feel better. Before the fair. I always spray down the stalls with clorox/water misture and let it dry before taking the horses in. We are usually in the portable tents/stalls that go from fair to fair. So far (thank God) we have not had anything happen yet.

Ditto with that. I think everyone should disinfect their stalls at every show!

MA

 

[MInx]

Our county fair even way up North here requires a current Negative coggins report presented at the Extension office before the fair when you register! (That's before , as you sign up for a stall, camping spot, pick your classes etc.) at the county building.

We also disinfect with bleach water, the stalls (although it's hard to be sure if it works.) 12X12 wooden stalls with sandy bottom. We put in a good bedding of pine shavings or the like also. I always ask for an end stall right at the door, more air there and we use box fans for circulation.

Never had one sick yet Knock on wood. That said we've never been asked for health papers.

 

[Minimor]

In this area it's been almost 20 years since any show has asked for a coggins test--in the late 70's we needed them to show at any of the rural fairs, but by the early 80's that was dropped and by 1988 even the breed shows quit making them a requirement.

A health certificate really isn't worth the paper it's written on. I know someone that just went & got health papers on some horses--vet gave them no problem, the horses had nothing noticeably wrong with them, but then the horses get hauled home, unloaded, and one is coughing & blowing out snot. One or two do the same when worked. That health paper is good for 30 days--so by show time the horses may very well be healthy & non-contagious. Likewise one of the others which was 100% healthy at the time the paper was signed could be full blown sick when it arrives at the show in 10 days time...

I don't blame any farm for not staying at the show overnight or however long they're supposed to. The local fairs here always have the rule that horses must arrive on the grounds by 8 a.m. and stay until 5 p.m. or until the last class of the day has been completed. We have never done that. For years we'd haul our yearling & 2 year old horses for halter--we'd show in our classes then pack up & come home, usually by noon. There was just no way we were going to sit there & wait through all the saddle & harness & draft classes, how pointless is that? At one time the monetary prizes were mailed out after the show; in spite of the rule that any horse leaving the grounds early would forfeit their prize, we always got our prize money. Now the prize money is paid in cash when the ribbons are presented, so there's no problem collecting the prize money & leaving early. Obviously they want the animals left there on display for the spectators to view as they walk through the barns, but obviously there is never going to be a show where ALL the exhibitors remove their horses. Here if 10 of us leave early with our horses, there are another 75-100 exhibitors that stay through to the end of the show.

 

[Summer storm101]

The problem is that the portable tent they have for minis they have tiny stalls where horses next to them can touch noses and stuff!!!!

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[Minimor]

Yes, when horses can touch noses through the dividers, if the neighboring horse is sick then yours may very well be infected with the virus. I have never disinfected my stalls at shows--I figure there is little point, because unless you use a pressure washer & really saturate the walls it probably isn't effective. Using a spray bottle of bleach is IMO unlikely to give 100% coverage & kill any live viruses that may be lingering--especially if the walls are old wood. In all our years of showing we have never brought home a "bug" from a show.

There was once when we might have--the horse next to us was sick, snotty nose & all. Our tack stall was between him & our horses but at one point when I was packing up to go home he gave a bit snort & blew snot quite some distance, on to me--something he could have done to anyone/any horse while he was on his way to/from the showring or while the owner had him out in the aisle grooming him--Ick. But, that year we'd had sick horses earlier in the spring--they were all recovered & immune at that point, so other than it being yucky, it wasn't a problem.

Regardless, I'm not sure why anyone would take their horses home for the night and come back each day to show, simply to avoid having horses come down sick with whatever other horses might have at the show. If they're using the stalls during the day they're going to be exposed to the other horses that are there. Having the horses there overnight isn't going to be any higher risk than having them there just during the day. Avoiding sickness has never been one of my reasons for not staying overnight at a show. I do know people that will go to a show & tie to their trailer rather than use the stabling--that is often so that their horses are out in the open, away from other horses & any bugs that may be lurking in the barns.

 

[Aggravation Acres]

The stalls I spray down are canvas portable stalls. The wall are very tall (about 8 ft) and the horses cannot touch. Like I said it just makes me feel better. I did not say it was 100% effective.

: I am more conserned when people that come through that touch every animal in the place.

I have also been known to tell people to quit walking on my hay and quit feeding them. It is funny you can explain things to the kids and they understand but the adults usually throw a fit. When I ask them if I could walk all over the fair through every kind of animal poop and then walk on their food before they eat. They don't think that is right. :lol: (sorry- there I go off subject)

Deb

 

[Ashley]

yeah but it is a county fair last year a draft horse got strangles and passed it on to a mini they paid thousands of dollars to have him well again. if people give their horses shots this may not have happened

You cant mandate what people give there horses for shots thou.

 

[Cimarron]

Do you mix half and half of bleach and water to spray in stalls? Sheila

 

[chandab]

yeah but it is a county fair last year a draft horse got strangles and passed it on to a mini they paid thousands of dollars to have him well again. if people give their horses shots this may not have happened

You cant mandate what people give there horses for shots thou.

Well, actually the fair board could... It could be in the rules for all animals entering the fairgrounds to have proof of certain vaccinations, if you don't have proof your animals don't enter. I don't know how they'd enforce it with so many giving their own shots, but it could be required. Much like boarding facilities require all horses to have certain shots.