Traveling to shows, clinics, and equine-event facilities with your horse could expose him to dangerous infectious diseases. At best, these diseases are expensive and time-consuming to treat and, at worst, are fatal. Learn how to evaluate risk and protect your horse.

Biosecurity Risk: Bacteria, viruses, and parasites can remain viable in manure, bedding, and stall material after a horse departs. The biosecurity risk for the next horse to occupy the stall can range from minor to major, or be somewhere in between:

• High Biosecurity Risk—Exact number of stalls available with half walls made of bars, which permit horse to horse contact, or untreated porous wood stalls, which are difficult to clean and disinfect.

• Medium Biosecurity Risk—A few extra stalls available that are made of half walls and half bars, which limit direct contact, or treated wood stalls, which are non porous and easier to clean and disinfect.

• Minimal Biosecurity Risk—The stalls have solid metal or canvas walls, which are easily cleaned and disinfected.

Biosecurity Fix: If you're an organizer, try to use stalls that are easy for your competitors to clean and disinfect, and ensure proper cleaning and disinfecting of stalls before and after each horse to reduce the potential exposure to disease agents. If you're an owner, take the extra time to properly clean and disinfect a dirty stall before putting your horse inside.

And as always, remember to provide a safe and healthy environment for your horse by practicing good biosecurity at your farm and while traveling