Three Standardbred racehorses in Nova Scotia have been euthanatized due to the neurologic form of equine herpesvirus type-1, and at least one other horse was suspected to have the illness. Two of the horses that were euthanatized and the suspected case were detected at the Truro Raceway in central Nova Scotia. The third horse that was euthanatized was at a Nova Scotia breeding farm and reportedly had been exposed to a horse that had been stabled at Truro.

Ian Moore, DVM, runs the equine ambulatory service at the University of Prince Edward Island’s Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC). He is also an owner, trainer, and driver of Standardbred racehorses. Moore said, “On Feb. 13 (at Truro), there were two Standardbreds, one 4-year-old and one 3-year-old, a gelding and a filly, respectively, that showed up with what was tentatively a diagnosis of the neurological form of herpes viral infection