Anytime your horse comes in contact with new equids, he’s at risk of contracting equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). More than just a cause of snotty noses in young horses, EHV-1 is highly contagious and can cause a variety of ailments, including rhinopneumonitis (a respiratory disease usually found in young horses, resulting in the aforementioned “snotty nose”), abortion in broodmares (often coming in “storms” on breeding farms, where several mares contract the disease and lose their pregnancies), and equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM, the often deadly neurologic form).

Here are 12 facts to remember about EHV-1 in horses. Don’t forget to watch Dr. Stephen Reed’s presentation, “EHV-1: A Clinician’s Perspective,” which is part of our Vet on Demand Lecture series organized in partnership with the University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center.