Could you identify a rabid horse if you saw one? Chances are you couldn’t. That’s because the clinical signs of rabies can be similar to many other diseases–even colic. Tune in for a free Webinar on Equine Rabies presented by TheHorse.com on Sept. 25 at 8 p.m., EST. In this Webinar Dr. Steve Reed will explain how to recognize rabies in horses, what you should do if you suspect a horse is infected with the disease, and ways to reduce the risk of your horse being infected. Register now to watch this presentation and to submit questions for the experts to answer during the live event.

Rabies is a core vaccination in the AAEP’s recommend annual vaccination schedule, but, according to a National Animal Health Monitoring System survey, only 44% of horse owners annually vaccinate their horses for rabies. Reed says that’s a dangerous gamble for the other 66% of the population–especially for an untreatable, fatal disease that can be transmitted from a horse to any mammal, including humans.

Think your horse isn’t at risk? According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there have been reports of animal rabies this year in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The CDC compiled the most recent rabies case summary in 2006, when 49 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,940 cases of rabies in animals (including 53 horses) and three cases in humans, representing an 8.2% increase from the 6,417 animal cases and one human case reported in 2005. Cases in horses increased 12.8% from 2005 to 2006