Prescott Forge & Farriery, LLC

11/19/2025

Here is another great source of information about the EHV-1 and EHV-4 outbreak.

Edited to add:
BVEH NAVASOTA HAS NO CASES ONSITE IN NAVASOTA. It is safe to bring your horse for their normal appointments, we will have additional biosecurity protocols before and in between appointments. We are working to set up an offsite location to triage potential sick horses. We will have updates tomorrow for you. Dr. Buchanan will go live here on Facebook at 8:15am tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.

BVEH Advisory:

EHV-1 Cases in Horses Returning From a Recent Event

Brazos Valley Equine Hospitals wants to notify horse owners that we are aware of multiple confirmed cases of EHV-1 in surrounding hospitals, and several suspected cases including several horses with neurologic signs (EHM) currently being diagnosed in the barrel horse community. BVEH has not admitted and is not treating and EHV or EHM cases.

The State of Texas Animal Health Commission is aware of the outbreak.

At this time, 5–10 horses are known to us to be sick, but the true number is likely higher as many cases go unreported.

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What Horse Owners Should Do Right Now:

1. Keep all horses at home!
Please avoid hauling, clinics, lessons, shows, or mingling horses for the next several weeks until more information is available.

Movement is the #1 factor that spreads EHV-1.
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2. Check temperatures twice daily!
Fever is usually the first sign (often before nasal discharge or neurologic symptoms).
• Temp at or above 101.5°F = call your veterinarian.
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3. Notify your veterinarian immediately if your horse exhibits:
• Fever
• Weakness or incoordination
• Standing with hindlimbs wide
• Tail tone changes
• Difficulty urinating
• Lethargy or decreased appetite

Early intervention improves outcomes.
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4. Discuss treatment options with your veterinarian.

For febrile or exposed horses, your vet may recommend:
• Valacyclovir
• Aspirin or other anti-thrombotics
• Anti-inflammatories
• Supportive care

(These should only be used under veterinary direction.)
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5. Biosecurity matters.
• Do not share water buckets, hoses, tack, grooming tools, or stalls.
• Disinfect trailers, thermometers, and crossties.
• Isolate any horse with fever immediately.
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About Vaccination.

Current evidence shows vaccines do not prevent EHM, but they can reduce viral shedding and shorten viremia, which lowers barn-wide spread and is important to the community.

Boosters are helpful when:
• A horse was vaccinated > 90 days ago, or
• You are preparing for high-risk environments (events, hauling, mixing populations).

What the research shows:
• Booster vaccination increases IgG1 and IgG4/7, the antibody classes linked with limiting viremia.
• Reduced viremia = reduced likelihood of severe disease and decreased transmission.
• Boosters are most effective in younger horses, previously vaccinated horses, and non-pregnant horses.

Vaccines do NOT stop a horse already incubating EHV-1 from developing signs, and they do not eliminate the risk of neurologic disease. For horses already exposed or febrile, do not vaccinate until cleared by your veterinarian.
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We Will Continue to Update You!

BVEH is actively monitoring cases and communicating with veterinarians across Texas and neighboring states. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. If your horse is showing fever or any neurologic signs, please contact your veterinarian or call BVEH immediately.

Please ask any questions in this post and we will work to answer them quickly. Stay tuned for additional updates, including a Live Q and A with Dr. Ben Buchanan tomorrow (Wednesday).

We have documents on our website www.bveh.com specific to EHV and biosecurity. Additional resources included below.

Stay safe, monitor closely, and thank you for helping limit the spread.

— Brazos Valley Equine Hospitals

Link to BVEH documents regarding EHV-1:
http://www.bveh.com

Link to ACVIM consensus statement: https://www.acvim.org/research/consensus-statements

Link to AAEP EHV documents:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1-4-guidelines-2021.pdf

Link to Equine Disease Center:https://aaep.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EHV1-4-guidelines-2021.pdf

11/19/2025

Ok! We all know there is a situation right now with the recent outbreak. At the moment Jeremiah and I are going to keep our schedule as is and address any client concerns as they come up. The safety of our clients horses and our own are our top priority. If anyone has any horses that they suspect may have been or are confirmed exposed please notify us privately so we can take the proper precautions. I am sharing this information with links to the most current websites or Facebook groups so each if you can see for yourselves what is going on.

Attention: EHV1 / EHM Outbreak in Texas

Info is still coming in and the rumors are FLYING. Please refrain from spreading info that has not been confirmed.

See here for information about EHV1 / EHM:

EDCC: http://www.equinediseasecc.org/

EDCC: https://www.facebook.com/EquineDiseaseCC?mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr

Q&A:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BUEb9k9YA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Brazos Valley Equine Info: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1VqCMCD9v8/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Outlaw Equine info: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1aDd9yedJA/?mibextid=wwXIfr

AAEP info: https://aaep.org/resource/ehv-faq-for-owners/

03/23/2025

Had a great day yesterday at our first, of hopefully many more, Farrier Get Togethers out in Greenwood! Thanks to Burr Vandewart for letting us hang out in his shop!

12/25/2024

05/25/2024

When we talk about horses there are so many things that go on that we are completely ignorant of.

04/11/2024

2024 Summer Clinics in Midland, Texas!
We are excited about the new opportunities and knowledge we will be sharing this summer!

https://www.doublediamondridingschool.com/summer-programs.html

03/09/2024

This was written (very well I might add) by a farrier to other farriers. This is a great example of this industry answering questions and trying to keep the education moving forward. Thank you for letting me share your piece Douglas Hogue!

Farrier post:

I read something yesterday that i wanted to comment on. It was mentioned that this individual decided that certification wasn’t necessary or he wasn’t interested in it because after the certification horses had to be re-shod. He said they had to be re-shod because someone told him that the AFA standard was bad or that they would fall off or something like that…. Allow me to address this…. And gladly open the topic for discussion.

Let me start by saying I am a Certified Journeyman farrier. I Am a Tester… I am also part of the folks in Texas that will re shoe a horse after certification .

That is in fact a true thing. It’s real, we will go behind you after you’ve taken your certification and re shoe the horse. This is not because you have achieved the standard and that standard is so crappy that they have to be fixed but the opposite. It’s mostly because the candidate has failed to achieve the standard and we the body of the TPFA do not want horses that just got shod in a certification to go back home with a sub par job. People work really hard to get horses for these events and besides it being a “free” shoeing it’s also supposed to be a good one. This is being done so that we don’t all the d***s that need to be drugged… the bad footed ones… the kickers etc … the effort put forth by the body is such that when a person is nice enough to allow their horse to be used for certification it’s a damn good job.

So ….. after certification work often times looks like re clinching (the candidate ran out of time and wasn’t able to properly clinch). Re fitting/nailing… the candidate didn’t fit appropriately so the nails are low and the fit is off. Re shoeing the horse completely happens when the candidate was stopped and the testers have to go back and make sure everything is ok.

What about the horse that showed up in a package of some kind. Stands like a statue so he’s used… doesn’t have much foot so he’s great for a candidate … after the test the shoes are pulled and the package is re applied. That’s a thing….. what about a horse that was used for a CJF run and the owner uses it for say trail riding… maybe the horse needs traction behind… i don’t usually see that but it could hypothetically happen.

So you see my friend the horse wasn’t redone because the standard had been achieved , but rather the standard was missed.

I hope this clarification would shed light on what it is you witnessed. During the next test feel free to scribe for any number of testers and that would really offer insight into the process.

As I’ve said before i stand firmly behind the certification process as well as competing. I firmly believe that those of us who choose to overlook those aspects of this profession are doing a disservice to themselves and the horses they shoe. People say they have too many things going on… don’t have the time… thank goodness Doctors took the time to go to medical school and then TEST OUT TO BE A DOCTOR ! Thank god our nurses , lawyers, barbers, electricians , plumbers, carpenters , engineers , mechanics, HVAC, welders…. All have to test out to work in the upper levels of their professions.

Ive never met a competitor or a certified (properly certified ) person who didn’t say they benefited greatly from the process. So if you’ve not done it then you really have no opinion… contest or certification , either one.

Lastly on this matter i read something that said the competitors were egotistical … that may be somewhat true but phrased misleadingly. When i Roped as a young man i felt really strongly that i was a pretty good hand and i felt that if you didn’t rope you weren’t handy. I kinda felt that way until my number got high enough and i wasn’t insecure or i got old enough i wasn’t insecure. Either way it applies here. As far as competition goes i think in many ways it’s similar. Insecure behavior oftentimes shows itself in many forms. Ego is definitely one of them. But i ask this of the gentleman that said that us competitors are egotistical …. Is it the “top” guys that you feel that way about? Or is it the folks that maybe have some of their own insecurities and it just comes off as ego.

As a guy that’s really good at rubbing folks the wrong way let me tell you that insecurity can affect us in many ways. I often times have behaved badly because i was insecure. If your an older person that enters this career in your late 20s and watch as guys 10 years younger whip your ass it will definitely put your back up. That’s not their problem it’s yours… sort that out… if your an older guy that’s earned your way into the open and these younger guys whip your ass cause they’re good then that’s ok too! It’s all ok… my point about the ego thing is that it’s often times insecurities that are coming out. And that’s ok….

I hope this long winded Saturday morning post gets to the folks it was aimed at… enjoy your day.