When competing abroad, your horse faces more than just the physical demands of travel and performance; they are also at greater risk of illness due to immunosuppression and exposure to unfamiliar environments. This makes biosecurity more important than ever.
What Is Equine Immunosuppression?
Immunosuppression is a condition where the horse’s immune system is weakened, making it harder for the body to fight off infections. It’s commonly diagnosed through a reduction in white blood cell count and can be triggered by a variety of factors, including:
- Stress from travel, new environments, or competition
- Overtraining or sudden increases in workload
- Dehydration during transport or high temperatures
- Social changes, such as social changes in the yard, and mixing with new horses
- Isolation or abrupt changes in routine
These stressors are often unavoidable when competing abroad, which is why preventative measures are key to protect your horses health.
Why Biosecurity Matters
A weakened immune system increases your horse’s risk of contracting illnesses such as:
- Strangles (Strep. equi)
- Equine Herpes Virus (EHV)
- Ringworm
- Influenza and other respiratory infections
When travelling to competitions, your horse may come into contact with shared water troughs, stables, grooming areas, or transport surfaces, all of which can harbour bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Good biosecurity practices can significantly reduce these risks.
How to Protect Your Horse When Competing Abroad
Here are practical steps you can take to enhance biosecurity while travelling and competing:
1. Disinfect Your Lorry or Trailer
Before and after each journey, thoroughly clean and disinfect all internal surfaces using Equine Bio Genie Disinfectant. Our disinfectant is:
- Proven to kill equine-specific bacteria and viruses
- Non-toxic and safe for use around horses
- Non-corrosive to your lorry or trailer
- No-rinse, with only water and oxygen as by-products
This helps eliminate pathogens and prevents cross-contamination between horses.
2. Treat Drinking Water
Contaminated water is a major source of infection. Add Equine Bio Genie Water Treatment to your horse’s drinking water to:
- Kill harmful pathogens
- Prevent biofilm build-up in troughs and buckets
- Reduce the need for frequent emptying and scrubbing
- Encourage drinking by reducing the taste of chlorine in unfamiliar water
This is especially useful when your horse is drinking from unfamiliar sources at competition venues.
3. Disinfect Shared Equipment and Surfaces
Use our All-Purpose Spray to disinfect grooming tools, feed buckets, head collars, and shared surfaces like stall doors and tie rings. It’s safe to use directly on items your horse touches regularly.
4. Monitor for Signs of Illness
Keep an eye out for early signs of infection or stress, such as:
- Lethargy
- Poor appetite
- Nasal discharge or cough
- Swollen lymph nodes
Act quickly if symptoms appear and avoid contact with other horses.
Prevention Is Always Better Than Cure
Immunosuppressed horses are more vulnerable to illness, especially when exposed to new environments. By taking simple steps to improve biosecurity, you can help protect your horse’s health and your competition schedule.
Equine Bio Genie products make this easy, with scientifically proven, horse-safe disinfectants designed specifically for equine environments.
Find out more about our products or get in touch for more information.
Bespoke Equine Testing
We have gone to the very well respected equine laboratory of the Irish Equine Centre to have additional efficacy testing carried out.
We have commissioned testing done to unusually low contact times across various dilution rates. These tests were carried out using an equine serum as an interfering agent under clean and dirty conditions