A competitive event horse that began showing neurologic signs of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) last Thursday (Feb. 2) was euthanatized on Sunday (Feb. 5) after a rapid decline in health. The mare is the second horse to be euthanatized on the private Kent County farm that received a horse from Pimlico Race Course on Jan. 10 before track officials stopped movement to and from the Baltimore, Md., facility. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) placed the first of a series of hold orders on affected barns at Pimlico and Laurel on Jan. 5.

The first horse at the Kent County farm was euthanatized on Jan. 26 after severe neurologic signs; test results confirmed on Feb. 3 the horse had EHV-1.

The Kent County farm is primarily a boarding and training operation for sport horses and is not affiliated with any racetrack. The Maryland state veterinarian placed a hold order on the farm on Jan. 26. The order will remain in effect for 21 days after the resolution of the most recently confirmed case at the farm. There has been no movement of horses on or off the farm since the hold order was put in place, and there are no other reported cases in Kent County or any other off-track location in Maryland.

According to the farm’s attending veterinarian, a total of eight horses on the farm have been clinically affected with EHV-1: Two horses have been euthanatized, four have had fevers that have resolved, and the remaining two horses are currently showing neurologic signs (one has nearly made a full recovery and the other is improving). Initial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on all clinically affected horses were positive for EHV-1