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Re: [RC] Lack of fresh drinking water on trail - heidiI get the humour :) but seriously, I was wondering about this too ever since I was told that a possible source of Leptospirosis bacteria could be a beaver-made lake near the trails where I ride. I have always let my horses drink there. Now I feel like I shouldn't. Maybe it isn't quite the same as mud puddles.... Given the choice between no water and that water, I would let the horse drink. But if there is alternative water, I would definitely go for the alternative. Lepto is pretty scary given its link to moon blindness. My horse was tested and came back with a positive for lepto. The exposure could have been from something other than the "lake" water (we also haev lots of raccoons, and other animals that can have lepto). She may never get sick but it does make me worry. I've had a horse go blind due to moon blindness secondary to a lepto infection. However, we rarely have standing water--the disease is frequently transmitted by deer and elk, which in winter come by the droves into our pastures in this part of the world. I suspect this is a much more likely source of transmission than standing water--the spirochete that causes lepto is not particularly tenacious about surviving for long in the environment once it is shed from the host animal. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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