Equine Health & Biosafety
Equine Health
& Biosecurity Requirements
Refer to this page for the latest information
Updated August 22, 2022
Blenheim EquiSports is dedicated to the health, welfare, and safety of all equine and human exhibitors.
In response to the positive cases of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM) and Equine Herpes Virus-1 (EHV-1) in California, Blenheim EquiSports (BES) is working closely with federal, state, and local experts to implement the best protocols to keep horses and humans safe.
To assist you in making informed decisions, we will continue to update everyone as we get closer to the start of our next show, beginning June 8th.
Before Arrival At The Showgrounds, the following REQUIREMENTS MUST be met:
- Horses must meet USEF return-to-competition protocols.
- Complete the Blenheim EquiSports Declaration Of Health FOR EACH HORSE – all horses may be included on a single form.
- Record your horse’s temperature twice daily for at least three days leading up to arrival.
Non-competing horses are not permitted on the showgrounds:
Horses that are not entered into the competition via ShowGroundsLive are not allowed to enter the facility.
Move-in will begin on Monday, September 12th at noon.
Horses must arrive before 8pm daily. For exceptions, please email [email protected]
All subsequent Monday move-ins will not begin before noon.
Upon Arrival & During The Show
Upon entering the showgrounds, you must present:
- Your Blenheim EquiSports Declaration Of Health email confirmation for each horse;
- Temperature logs for the past 3 days for each horse, and;
- Each horse’s vaccination records, including the horse’s name, date of vaccine, and batch numbers, attested by your veterinarian.
Please be sure that these documents accompany your horse and trailer.
- Temperature checks must be performed twice daily for all horses on the property.
- Temperatures must be recorded on the temperature log posted on each stall.
- All horses must display their entry number when outside their stall.
- Immediately upon indication of an elevated temperature (above 101.5 degrees), management and the show veterinarian must be notified, and the horse will be moved to an isolation stall for monitoring. Isolation stalls are available either on the grounds or at a local veterinary practice.
Penalties:
Due to the severity of the EHV-1 cases that are currently in California, the documents that will be required to bring a horse to the Blenheim EquiSports showgrounds will be considered truthful and binding. In the event of any of these protocols being disregarded, we will refuse further entries from all related horses and we will inform USEF for further disciplinary action. Noncompliance with these protocols will result in penalties imposed by USEF on trainers and owners who knowingly permit non-compliant horses on the showgrounds.
USEF and Blenheim EquiSports would like to remind all participants of the importance of following biosecurity requirements and best practices:
- Avoid animal-to-animal contact.
- Do not share equipment between horses.
- IF YOU MUST SHARE, scrub and clean equipment with detergent and dry completely between shared use.
- When filling water buckets, DO NOT dip the end of the hose in each bucket. Hold the hose above the water when filling.
- Wash/sanitize hands thoroughly before and after direct horse contact.
- Limit human-horse contact.
- Check and record temperatures twice daily.
- Any suspicion of illness in horses, including a temperature over 101.5°F, should be immediately reported to the show office and veterinarian.
- Immediately isolate and/or quarantine any horse exhibiting symptoms of illness.
- DO NOT travel to another competition for 14 days.
- Because humans can be a means of disease transmission, avoid moving between barns unless absolutely necessary.
MANDATORY, Per USEF GR 845, Competition Management may request Proof of Vaccination for each entered horse using the methods noted in GR 845. All horses entering the showgrounds must be accompanied by documentation of Equine Influenza Virus and Equine Herpes Virus (Rhinopneumonitis) vaccinations within six months prior.
Experience has taught us that early identification is key when dealing with disease outbreaks, and this requires cooperation from everyone within the community
Please feel free to send any questions to [email protected]
Links to additional resources: