Crofton Manor has been given the all-clear from equine herpes virus (EHV-1) following the devastating outbreak that claimed the lives of four horses last month.
The Hampshire equestrian centre went on lockdown after it confirmed positive cases of the neurological strain of the virus, equine herpes myeloencephalopathy, the first diagnosed on 7 January.
All horses at Crofton were re-swabbed and blood-tested on 22 January and a spokesman for the centre said the yard is clear of the disease.
“We have just finished a meeting with the vets and they have confirmed that Crofton Manor is now clear as of Friday 31 January,” said the statement.
“Thank you once again to all our liveries and vets for their hard work and dedication over this very stressful time.”
The spokesman said the centre could open to outside events as of 2 March but that further updates will be provided over the next few days.
On 13 January British Showjumping (BS) introduced a requirement for horses and ponies who had competed at Crofton since 20 December to provide a negative swab and blood test before competing at any BS show. A spokesman for BS told H&H this restriction has been lifted as of today (4 February).
Article continued below…
Competition centre praised for its actions following equine herpes virus outbreak
The competition centre and livery yard is on complete lockdown and all shows are cancelled until further notice
EHV outbreak: two more horses put down as centres close their doors
Venues in Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey and West Sussex are among those to announce closures
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Many venues in the Hampshire and surrounding areas, as well as Liphook Equine Hospital, which imposed temporary restrictions on horse movements have since re-opened after the disease was contained to horses liveried at Crofton.
“We are very pleased to announce the final set of test results from the horses at Liphook Equine Hospital have all come back perfectly clear,” a spokesman for Liphook said on 22 January.
“Although we took the cautious step of temporarily closing our hospital to ensure no risk to the wider equine community, we are now fully confident there is no infectious threat from either the hospital or horses who have been staying here. Consequently the hospital is now open again for business as usual.”
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