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It's up to strength from the horses and their ability to fight off the bugs. And my ability to keep them far enough from any coughing horses. We are doing everything in our power to help. Vitamin C injections, lots of green forage, the herbal mix to help them...it's pretty much in God's hands.

Thank you,
Maryanne

On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 10:47 PM, Sharon Levasseur <sharon1359@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Maryanne, I'm sure there's nothing I can do to help except tell you that my love, thoughts, and prayers are with you.  If you should, however, think of some way that any of your Ridecamp family could help, please do let us know.
-Sharon L. in Maine, USA



Quoting Maryanne Gabbani <msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx>:

We have an epidemic of equine influenza here in Egypt and horses are
dropping like flies. I was called by one of my vets to warn me that it's a
viral infection that seems to have come in from Europe with an imported
jumper. Lord knows we have enough viruses in Egypt to deal with without
anything else coming along. I have about 25 horses, donkeys, and mules on
the farm and most of them have not been vaccinated for whatever the hell
this is. The only vaccines here are imported from the US but not necessarily
for the bugs that we grow here.

I've put the farm on strict lock down. No one coming in other than our staff
and no horses in or out. Grooms have to have a change of clothes for going
home and coming to work that have to be changed first thing before they put
on their work clothes that stay here. Shoes and feet get washed in
antibacterial tubs. And we've put together a herbal mix to enhance the
immune systems. Clients have been told that there will be no riding for the
time being....like I need the financial hit at a time when I have to pay the
extra costs for the horses as well.

I guess I'm getting a month's vacation whether I like it or not, but it is
so scary to sit and worry about bloody viruses flying through the air. I
checked on a friend's horses at a stable just down the road and found that
two of the horses there were running fevers above 40 C (don't know what it
is in F but it's way too hot) and one of the friend's horses had a cough and
a runny nose. The two horses died this afternoon and I don't know how the
friend's horse is. I can't go back there because I would be tracking
microbes home. Today I came home, shed my clothes to be washed, scrubbed my
boots in Dettol, and showered completely to clean up.

I am so tired this evening from the strain of explaining how to maintain a
quarantine to the staff and from the stress of maintaining an umbrella of
calm, serenity, and love to help keep the horses safe and happy so that they
can fight off any infections that may make it through. In all the years I've
had since my husband died, I've never been so frightened.

Maryanne

--
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx

Egypt Face to Face
www.alsorat.com
Weblogs:
Living In Egypt
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
Cairo/Giza Daily Photo
cairogizadailyphoto.blogspot.com
Turn Right At The Sarcophagus
haramlik.blogspot.com
Da Moose Is Loose (a blog for kids)
mstroud.blogspot.com
Photos of Egypt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginegypt/

-- 
Maryanne Stroud Gabbani
msgabbani@xxxxxxxxx

Egypt Face to Face
www.alsorat.com
Weblogs:
Living In Egypt
miloflamingo.blogspot.com
Cairo/Giza Daily Photo
cairogizadailyphoto.blogspot.com
Turn Right At The Sarcophagus
haramlik.blogspot.com
Da Moose Is Loose (a blog for kids)
mstroud.blogspot.com
Photos of Egypt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/livinginegypt/