The State Veterinarian’s Office will continue to contact equine event managers as we have in previous years to ensure that all participating horses have a valid negative Coggins.
Any organized equine show, sale, exhibition, contest, fair, trail ride, parade, wagon train, charity or social event, or any other occurrence at which any number of horses of more than one (1) owner are gathered, is considered to be an equine event and proof of a valid negative Coggin’s is required. A valid test is one which has a negative result from blood drawn less than one (1) year from the event date and matches the horse presented. One person should be designated by the organization to serve as the equine event manager. Additionally, the event manager is subject to notification prior to the event from the State Veterinarians Office to provide documentation in the form of a report, that each horse at the event has a valid negative Coggin’s test.
2VAC-5-70-20 of the regulation entitled “Health requirements governing the control of equine infectious anemia in Virginia” states that:
The person in charge will ensure that a copy of the official negative test results accompanies each horse in the event or activity, and shall make such reports available for inspection by a representative of the State Veterinarian upon request. The person in charge shall exclude any horse which is not accompanied by a negative test report.
Not all equine events will receive notice on every occasion.The reports will be either in the form of legible copies of each Coggins, or a legibly completed Equine Event Report Form, or similar legible report containing the same information, and mailed in hard copy or electronically to the address provided on initial notification. While this is not a burdensome requirement and is required by state law, we appreciate the cooperation and assistance in providing the proof of EIA testing that is necessary to protect Virginia’s horses from this disease.
Contact
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