As horse owners are getting ready to hit the road this spring, they should keep in mind the risk that traveling to new locations could pose to a horse’s health.

The frequent travel of horses during show season allows horses from many different places to congregate with each other, often providing opportunities to be in contact. Understanding how animals are kept, how they are moved from one place to another, and which disease control strategies are in place at a location are essential to preventing and controlling diseases in the horse community.

Researchers from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada found that the estimated potential contacts associated with a single equestrian event was 779 horses, which was 11 times the amount of horses that attended the show! This means that horses are highly connected within Ontario, and this connectivity is facilitated through being in the same location at the same time.

But horses travel often, so the next phase of the study is to find out how travel patterns over a long period of time can pose a risk to disease transmission. These patterns will be used to develop mathematical models of disease transmission, which provide a way to simulate the spread of disease within a group of horses. Models can also be used to test the potential impact of different disease control strategies.

The understanding of disease dynamics in animals is based on the idea of connectivity within the community - hopefully this work will provide ways to improve disease control and prevention strategies in order to promote horse health and welfare.

To join the study or to learn more: http://www.mathepilab.org/equinestudy2015/