E Q U I N E AT H L E T E
Risk management Preventing the spread of COVID-19 at farms Courtesy of American Association of Equine Practitioners
HORSE OWNERS know that you can’t take a break from feeding horses or mucking out stalls despite holidays, bad weather or even a pandemic outbreak. With that in mind, it is not unusual for equestrian facilities to have multiple essential workers coming and going, including caretakers, veterinarians, shoers, feed delivery people and manure removal personnel. Polo facilties also may have several people coming to keep horses exercised. Still, in today’s world of coronavirus, there are precautions you can take to minimize the risk of spreading the disease. The American Association of Equine Practitioners Infectious Disease Committee recently published ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in equestrian facilities. Keep space between horses used by different people so social distancing can be maintained.
Facility Personnel • Restrict access to boarding facility to essential personnel (veterinarians, farriers, equine caretakers, trainers and essential owners. • Prohibit non-essential persons (students, friends, family members) from entering the facility. • Stay 6 feet apart from other people and do not congregate • Do not allow access to the facility to anyone who has been exposed to a person with symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath or fever) or if the person wanting access is showing symptoms of COVID-19. You can view the CDC’s guidance on COVID-19 symptoms at cdc.gov. • Limit crosstie use to every other crosstie. • Use an online sign-up form to encourage horse owners to commit to an hour that they will be riding or visiting the barn, and limit each time slot to ensure that no more than 10 people are on the grounds at a time.
18 POLO P L A Y E R S E D I T I O N
Facility Environment • Please do not touch anything unless you need to use it. • Avoid sharing equipment and supplies between persons. • The virus can persist on non-porous materials (leather bridles/saddles/halters, nylon halters/lead ropes, gate latches, door handles, spray nozzles) longer than porous materials (cotton lead ropes, saddle pads). • Clean communal leather tack daily with tack cleaner. • Disinfect gate latches, spray nozzles, cross tie snaps, pitchforks, wheelbarrows and other frequently used non-porous surfaces regularly or after contact with personnel. • Stall door handles, hose ends, light switches and feed scoops are handled by many people and should also be cleaned and disinfected frequently. • Only designated individuals (trainers/staff) are to move and set jumps or other arena equipment. • Prohibit the shared use of grooming supplies, helmets and tack as these may be sources of environmental transmission of COVID-19 to other humans.
• Although there is no evidence that horses can contract or become ill from COVID-19, practice good hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds or using a >60% alcohol hand sanitizer after touching a horse, communal areas or communal equipment to prevent environmental spread of the virus. Hand sanitizers is not as effective as soap and water, so only use when there is no soap and water available and hands are not visibly soiled. A barn safety flyer in both Spanish (next page) and English (page 20) is provided by the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the Equine Disease Communication Center. They can be copied, printed out and posted in your barn.
