The Columbia Horse Center has been closed due to
the sudden death of two horses, plus one that had to be put down. Dept of
Ag is running tests. It sounds like neurological rhino is
suspected.
As a precaution, the League of Maryland Horsemen's
campground, located within Patapsco State Park, has now been closed to
horses by the Board's executive committee until this thing gets sorted
out.
If it is neurological rhino, there's no vaccine,
but the info we've been digging up indicates that healthy horses with
strong immune systems seem able to fight it off. It seems like horses that
spend a lot of time indoors, and/or those with compromised immune systems, are
the ones who tend to be at risk.
