Weeks After Concerning Update on Horses, US Equestrian Strikes Groundbreaking Collaboration for a Noble Cause

Kentucky Derby 2023 made headlines in the world for shocking reasons and dampened equestrian fans’ joy. The deaths of 7 horses before the race made fans sad. While fans were still recovering from this tragedy, the euthanization of the 3-year-old colt Rio Moon after the race due to an injury once again pained fans. After these tragic incidents, the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) recently announced a massive collaboration with two of the biggest American organizations providing valuable services for animal welfare.

While one of the organizations is based in the state of  Florida, the other organization has its office in New Jersey in America. Both companies use cutting-edge technologies to ensure the well-being of animals. In its recent press release on its official website, the United States Equestrian Federation disclosed the names of these two companies and exciting details about this partnership.

USEF announces a game-changing partnership

The USEF

publicly declared its collaboration with Florida-based ByoPlanet and Merck Animal Health, a company headquartered in New Jersey, America. Byoplanet is an R&D venture which develops technologies to prevent the transfer of viruses and lessen infection. On the other hand, Merck Animal Health is a company that provides various beneficial products for horses such as parasiticides, vaccines, and medical solutions like Banamine and Dolorex to relieve horses’ pain.

Talking about this collaboration, the Chief Executive Officer of ByoPlanet spoke,

“Our advanced technology is designed to ensure that all surfaces remain covered.” Continuing, he added, “In collaboration with Merck Animal Health, we are proud to drive forward innovation in technology and chemistry, all in the service of equine welfare.”

USEF’s staff member Katie Flynn also added,

“We look forward to our members utilizing our membership utilizing this new technology to reduce the risk of disease introduction and the spread on our competition grounds and to help protect the health of our equine athletes.”

The increasing number of deaths of horses due to viruses and diseases has made the US Equestrian prioritize this collaboration. Recently, an 8-year-old horse experienced a deadly disease and suffered a painful tragedy.

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8-year-old gelding contracts a deadly disease

A young New Jersey horse was diagnosed with equine herpes myeloencephalopathy. This disease harms the brain and can also potentially spread from aerosol particles. Since the 8-year-old gelding had severe symptoms of this disease, the horse was euthanized on 12th May 2023. To prevent the disease from transmitting to other horses, New Jersey’s Agricultural Department enforced a mandatory quarantine of 14 days for all horses inhabiting the stable with the now euthanized gelding.

These horses are now in close observation and their temperatures are taken daily to ensure that the disease has not spread. The New Jersey’s Agricultural Department also explained the reason for these strict measures:

“The EHV-1 organism spreads quickly from horse to horse and can cause respiratory problems, especially in young horses, spontaneous abortion in pregnant mares, and the neurological form of the virus can result in death.” With this, New Jersey’s Agricultural Department has also started initiating inquiries about the movements of the 8-year-old gelding before being euthanized to prevent any transference of the disease.

The news of the massive announcement by USEF is a positive step to reduce the number of horses dying from diseases and infections. It remains to be seen how US Equestrian adopts measures on the ground in collaboration with ByoPlanet and Merck Animal Health.

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