Utah State Veterinarian Bruce King told the Utah Veterinary Association at its annual meeting at Western Park on Friday that the equine herpes virus that spread from Ogden last month has run its course.

“The risk now is the same it was before the Ogden event,” he said, citing the ever-present nature of the virus among equines.

Horse owners should now feel free to participate in rodeos, horse shows, parades and other horse events, explained King.

The Utah outbreak of the neurologic form of equine herpes has been traced to The National Cutting Horse Association’s Western National Championship held in Ogden this spring.

The competition drew some 400 horses from 10 Western states and several Canadian provinces.

All it took was one horse shedding the live virus to infect others and by June 1, there were 88 confirmed cases, 58 of those in horses present at the Ogden competition.

“Twelve horses associated with the Ogden event died or were humanly euthanized due to the outbreak,” cites U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service statistics.

Since the third week of May, Utah horse owners have voluntarily canceled or postponed horse-related events to minimize exposure.

Why a common virus turned deadly is uncertain, although Utah State University Extension veterinarian Kerry Rood, says some clues come from the event itself.

“The neurologic form seen in these competitive-type horses arose in animals under stress from long distance travel and the high-level of athletic competition,” Rood said.

Rood has some recommendations to minimize risk while traveling to competitions.

He said by “practicing good biosecurity like not sharing equipment or allowing horse-to-horse direct contact.”

Event horses are in contact all day long from the stalls to the warm-up pens to the arena floor.

Minimizing horse-to-horse contact as well as transfer from clothing, human hands or equipment can reduce the spread of infection.

Keeping competition horses their healthiest can also minimize the risk of infection. There is no vaccine against equine herpes but early detection and treatment has been successful.

Clinical signs of the disease are include fever, decreased coordination, nasal discharge, urine dribbling, loss of tail tone, hind limb weakness, leaning against a wall or fence to maintain balance, lethargy, and the inability to rise.