Infection Control And Boarding Contracts
Infectious disease outbreaks in barns get a lot of attention, and none of it's good. Unfortunately, the same degree of attention is rarely given to measures used to reduce the risk of infectious diseases. Infectious diseases are an inherent risk of horse ownership, but there are a lot of things that we can do better to help reduce the risks. Developing a good infection control plan is one thing. Enforcing it is another. The best laid infection control plans are often rendered useless because people don't comply with them. This is a particular problem in some boarding stables that have multiple different horse owners with different ideas, perceptions, veterinarians and willingness to cooperate. One way to help improve infection control in these situations is a good boarding contract. Why? Because a boarding contact can lay out exactly what is expected from everyone up front, and the repercussions that can occur if someone (barn owner or horse owner) doesn't do what is expected. Infection control responsibilities should be built into every boarding contract. This helps improve infection control by laying the foundation for application of good infection control practices. There are several infection control topics that should be addressed in boarding contracts. Some things to consider include:
- When does a veterinarian have to be called? You don't want to mandate unnecessary veterinary visits, but prompt examination of horses that might have infectious diseases is very important. For example, horses that have strangles are not able to infect other horses for the first couple of days after their initial fever spike. Identifying these horses early lets you get them isolated and reduce the risk of infection. Waiting a couple of days can put the whole barn at risk.
- What information has to be shared? Veterinarians are bound by confidentiality rules and can't share information about their patients with other people unless they have permission. That means a veterinarian may tell an owner they have an infectious horse, but if that person doesn't do anything or tell anyone, the veterinarian can't inform the barn owner that a risky situation is present. Mandating reporting of certain things to the barn could help with this.
- What happens when a horse with an infectious disease is identified? It's best to spell this out in advance so that everyone knows that there may be restrictions on horse movement or other activities to reduce the risk of transmission.
- Will testing be required in certain situations? In some cases, testing of horses is very important to determine if there is a problem and what it is. It needs to be determined up front if the barn can mandate such testing in specific situations, and who pays for it. If one person refuses to test as part of a program to determine if a farm is free of strangles after an exposure or outbreak, all of the other efforts might be jeopardized.
Will all these ideas be popular? No. Infection control practices are often somewhat cumbersome, but they are important. Yes, some people will fight them. Yes, some people may threaten to leave. But:
If you are a barn owner, wouldn't you rather have a barn full of people that are reasonable, have respect for the health of all horses in the barn, and are willing to commit to doing things right?
If you are a horse owner, wouldn't you want your horse is a barn where you know that people are committed to reducing the risk of infections?
For me, the answers are clear.
