Last week I mentioned that I was taking Tori to the vet for a check up. As many of you know, I haven’t ridden since the end of July, and Tori has been turned out since early August.

What had happened was that she appeared off at the end of July, but nothing any of us could pinpoint. As I was sick with the flu, and then headed off for Smithers Fall Fair, we hoped the turnout would do her good and that she would be sound when I came back.

We were a little concerned about her hocks, but after another lameness exam Dr. Tanya Marshall, at the Murdoch Veterinary Clinic in Prince George, feels that the imbalance we are seeing in Tori’s stride may be due to her left hind foot. Back in July when I was still riding her, Tori lost a slider and tore up a fair bit of her hoof wall.

What that did was left her breaking over slightly to the outside of her hoof instead of the toe, so over time, the vet feels she started to become sore - not enough to really be lame, but enough that we noticed the imbalance in her movement.
The plan is to shoe her, leave her for two weeks to adjust to the new balance, then slowly start reconditioning her again at walk and trot.

Photo credit: Chris Hassell

After two weeks of steadily increasing workload, we’ll reevaluate and see if the imbalance has corrected or not.

We’re hoping that by that time, she will be travelling correctly again. If she doesn’t show an improvement by the time that month is up, then we will have to again address the possibility of hock troubles again. There are many joints that make up the hock (I believe there are seven in all) and we only injected the lowest of these to encourage fusion. There are two or three other joints in performance horses that can require extra lubrication, which also may be a problem we’ll face in the future.

So, now I am waiting for the farrier to come out and shoe her, but that’s just not as easy as it sounds! One farrier is not yet home from England and the other is in camp for another couple of weeks, so I have to wait still longer! I want to ride!!! Sigh....

I hope you are finding some time to share with your equine companions! So far we are having a pretty nice autumn, so be sure to get out there and enjoy it!
Till next week,
~ Kristi :)

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The Showmanship classes were also well attended, although courses proved to be tricky for several competitors. Jamie MacKinnon, Tania Bergmann and Faye Mapletoft were the three winners.

In the afternoon, we started up with the Specialty Halter classes, the ones that everyone waits for. The Best Locally Foaled or Sired classes were both reasonably well attended with 6 entries. Both were $250 Added classes, and we thank our sponsors Solargold Stables and Dr. Cameron Tansey for making these class payouts happen. Northern Nite Sky, handled by Holly Pottinger, won the Yearling class, while Khreating A Sensation owned by Dawn Park ran in second place. In the Two Year Old Class, Solar Attraction took top honours with Tina Hackle leading. There was a three way tie for second place, which was shared by Decorated With Honours (Heather Marko), Sinnora’s Desert Prince (Lisa Conway), and Go For A Master Bug (Mel Stokes). The judges really had a touch time in this class!!

Three more halter classes nearly finished up the afternoon, with Genises (Solargold Stables) winning the Produce of Dam class, Young’s Neet N’ Natural (Northern Twilight Farm) winning the Get of Sire class, and Tuff Lil Quincy winning the Broodmare class.

And the onto the BIG class of the day - Best Of Show. In this class, all the Champion and Reserve horses previously listed all enter the ring to be judged by all three judges to see who is the best of the best, of all the breeds.

After much deliberation (and this class does take a long time to judge!), Northern Nite Sky was awarded the top prize (sponsored by Timberline Arabians and Griffin Arabians) and Weltana took home Reserve money (sponsored by Northcountry Insurance).

The final high points were also awarded this afternoon, with the following results:
English Performance - Tulpenprinz & Erin Rowsell
Hunter High Point - Norseman & Jane Lloyd-Smith
Paint Horse - She Can Spin Too & Kelly Park
BV Superhorse - Wranglers Gold Dust & Stephannie Wall
Reserve Superhorse - Joey & Tania Bergmann

The Sportsmanship award was also given out at this time, and our show steward, Ellen Smailles, chose young Whitney Pottinger as the recipient. Whitney’s horse was a bit of a brat during the show, but she kept smiling and kept trying, and that type of bright attitude is what we look for in our competitors!

This is the final section of our B.V. Exhibition report. I hope you have enjoyed it!!

Very few mosquitoes are actually infected with the West Nile Virus, which they get by feeding on infected birds. Less than 1% of the people infected by the virus during a mosquito bite will actually develop serious illness.

Serious illness can occur though, with symptoms as listed in Part 1 . Death can occur, especially in the elderly or those with weak immune systems. Of the 1% who develop serious illness, between 3% and 15% will succumb to the disease or complications of it - with the elderly being more at risk. Since 1999, there have been 149 cases of severe disease reported humans in the United States, of which 18 resulted in death. Most of those were the elderly.

Of the 738 equine cases reported in the United States in 2001, approximately 20% were euthanized due to the severity of their symptoms. Since then, I have heard a figure of closer to 40% death rate in those horses who contract the disease, but that is not a figure I can back up with facts. However, it should make you aware that this is fast becoming a serious problem!

There is no cure per say - the disease runs its course and leaves behind antibodies that should prevent a second attack from the West Nile virus. It is not known at this stage if the antibodies fade as time passes or not.

Treatment seems to be largely supportive - caring for the symptoms and keeping the ill person or horse warm, hydrated and fed will help the disease to run its course in most cases.

Sheep, goats, swine, cattle, poultry, dogs, cats, domestic rabbits, bats, chipmunks, skunks and squirrels all can contract the virus but seem to be exempt from developing any symptoms. So far no cases have been documented in which the mosquito received the virus from any infected animal other than birds (over 70 species have been identified as carrying WNV; many of them are in the crow family).

There has been a vaccine developed for horses against the West Nile virus. However, the effectiveness is disputed, with many people feeling it is nowhere near 100% effective against WNV. There are the added complications of unsubstantiated claims of reactions to the vaccine - including abortion in pregnant mares, stiffness and allergic reactions.

If you decide to give the vaccine to your horse, please call your local veterinarian for more information. The shot will be administered by the vet, and will need to be boosted after 3-6 weeks. Full effectiveness does not take place for another 4 to 6 weeks after the second shot.

A human vaccine is being worked on by several companies. Luckily, human infection is infrequent at best. Symptoms of human WNV infection include swollen lymph glands, body aches, headache and fever. A more serious infection may include a higher fever and neck stiffness. If you think you have contracted the WNV and are in an area where it has been found, see your doctor.

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Baerental Ranch
• Burns Lake Building Supplies
• Griffin Crick Ranch
• Hoskins Ford
• Northern Horse Supply
• Ridennoure Paint Horses
• The Tack Store

Do you have a horse or equipment to sell? Want to buy a horse or equipment? Check the Free Classified Ads.