Water!

Here's D.J. Standing out in part of the huge pasture she helped us seed with drought tolerant pasture seed! Thanks D.J.!
Just one of the many sprinklers that will water the fields this year. Thanks everyone!!

The rescued horses of Redwings Horse Sanctuary will have greener pastures to graze from this year. Thanks to a lovely grant from D.J. and other generous donors. The irrigation project was extended to a large pasture. We now have a strip of green that will last through the year, it will be amazing for them to have green fresh grass all year instead of the dry old stuff they have had to put up with. Our plan is to have many herds have a place to go for grazing. At this point, the a large number of our horses are able to graze this large pasture. As things develop, we'll be able to allow even more of them to come graze. This is great for their abused minds and bodies. There are other smaller areas for grazing that allow a number of other horses to have all year long grazing. It's so important. Thank you!!!

Open House - Saturday, May 21, 2011

A lovely day at Redwings Lockwood Ranch with a picnic in the Memorial Grove and a presentation by local Salinian, Robert Duckworth.

Join us at our next Open House, June 18, 2011 - 11am-3pm.

Important EHV-1 information, resource pages

From CDFA webpage and emailed to California Equine Practitioners and California Exhibitors at the Odgen Utah event.
ALERT:
A recent disease outbreak of Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHV-1) has been traced to horses who attended the National Cutting Horse Associations’ Western National Championships in Odgen, Utah on April 30 – May 8, 2011. California horses who participated in this event may have been exposed to this EHV-1 virus.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture encourages owners of horses who participated in the Odgen, Utah event to isolate and monitor their horses for clinical signs of disease. A rectal temperature in excess of 102F commonly precedes other clinical signs. Therefore, we are urging owners to take temperatures on each individual horse(s) twice a day. If a temperature above 102F is detected contact your private practitioner immediately. Laboratory submission of nasal swabs and blood samples collected from the exposed horse can be utilized for virus detection and isolation.
The EHV-1 organism spreads quickly from horse to horse and the neurologic form of the virus can reach high morbidity and mortality rates. The incubation period of EHV-1 is typically 2-10 days. In horses infected with the neurologic strain of EHV-1, clinical signs may include: nasal discharge, incoordination, hind end weakness, recumbency, lethargy, urine dribbling and diminished tail tone. Prognosis depends on severity of signs and the period of recumbency. There is no specific treatment for EHV-1. Treatment may include intravenous fluids, anti-inflammatory drugs and other appropriate supportive treatment. Currently, there is no equine vaccine that has a label claim for protection against the neurological strain of the virus.
Horse-to-horse contact, aerosol transmission, and contaminated hands, equipment, tack, and feed all play a role in disease spread. However, horses with severe clinical signs of neurological EHV-1 illness are thought to have large viral loads in their blood and nasal secretions and therefore, present the greatest danger for spreading the disease. Immediate separation and isolation of identified suspect cases and implementation of appropriate biosecurity measures are key elements for disease control.

For additional Information
California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory: http://www.cahfs.ucdavis.edu/
UC Davis Center for Equine Health: http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ceh/ehv1_general.cfm
Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy Brochure
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine/ehv/equine_herpesvirus_brochure_2009.pdf
CDFA Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy Fact Sheet
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/pdfs/EHV-1FactSheetSept2010.pdf
USDA Resources
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine/ehv/
American Association of Equine Practitioners Fact Sheet
http://www.aaep.org/pdfs/control_guidelines/Equine%20Herpes%20Virus.pdf

"Lily" our Horse of the Month

“Lily”

Lily was born at Redwings on April 3, 2002. She is one of our “foster horses” and lives in northern California. Her mother,Keebler came to Redwings after suffering from severe neglect. Her hooves were so long she had to be “put out” each time a cut was made. And it took the vet three separate sessions… they were too long to trim. Not only was she almost crippled when she arrived at Redwings, she was pregnant! Keebler’s baby was born on Easter Sunday. We named her “Lily” for the flower shape on her forehead.

Rabies vaccines at Redwings!

Carrington Career College and Dr. Heather Baker teamed up with the Redwings Horse Sanctuary staff to administer Rabies vaccines to our horses.

You may wonder why? Horses can get Rabies from wandering wildlife. Redwings is in a remote area that has wild animals that pass through. We have Coyote, Skunks, Racoons, Badgers, Bats, Mountain Lions among the many animals that can carry this disease. Since humans can get Rabies from animals, we want to protect our staff and volunteers from this deadly disease.

This collaboration with Carrington Career College will continue, as it is great for the horses and great for the students.

Thanks for the wonderful teamwork and a great day!