Kentucky legislators received assurances July 13 the state is well equipped to handle future equine disease outbreaks, but they got no answers to questions about the origin of the strangles cases earlier this spring at the Churchill Downs Trackside Training Center.

Strangles and other diseases were the focus of a meeting of the Interim Joint Subcommittee on Horse Farming, which gathered for the first time this year. The committee was formed two years ago to address timely issues related to the state’s equine industry.

Robert Stout, DVM, state veterinarian with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, said the recent experience with strangles, and later equine herpesvirus, will help officials deal with future disease outbreaks. He said communication and biosecurity measures are of the utmost importance, as is the reporting of symptoms at the outset.

“Early detection is absolutely imperative,” Stout said