All About Horses

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They call Lexington, Kentucky the “Horse Capitol of the World.” Certainly, living in Lexington is all about horses. We have Keeneland, the Kentucky Horse Park, the 2010 World Equestrian Games, and the Rolex Three-Day Event. Nearly 20 horse organizations are headquartered at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. It is hard to pick up a newspaper, go through the airport, or eat at a restaurant without being reminded of the influence of the horse in central Kentucky.

However, recently we had some publicity that was unwanted—the outbreak of contagious equine metritis (CEM) on one Quarter Horse farm in Lexington. The difference between the outbreak of CEM in 2008 versus that in 1978 is the Quarter Horse industry being involved in 2008 and the use of artificial insemination versus the use of natural mating in the Thoroughbred industry.

In this recent outbreak, CEM was transmitted from stallion to stallion through equipment or a breakdown in hygiene. Ultimately, 11 stallions were confirmed positive for CEM: four in Kentucky, three in Indiana, three in Wisconsin, and one in Texas. The Indiana and Texas stallions spent time on a central Kentucky farm during the 2008 breeding season. The Wisconsin stallions were co-located for at least one breeding season in Wisconsin with one of the CEM-positive stallions that ended up in Kentucky in 2008.

Additionally, only three mares have been confirmed positive for CEM. The low number of CEM-positive mares may be attributed to the use of artificial insemination, in which the mares were inseminated with extended semen containing antibiotics, or perhaps the bacterial challenge is less when using artificial insemination rather than natural mating.

It certainly raises some questions as to the effectiveness of extenders with antibiotics in controlling CEM. It also emphasizes the need for strict hygiene on farms during artificial insemination. More information regarding CEM can be found on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture website (http://www.kyagr.com/), www.thehorse.com, and the recent release from the American Horse Council.

Ed Squires

Editor, JEVS