by Artist/Reporter Laura Leigh
BLM goes “DARK” on latest misery to befall abused Wild Horses
Signs of Pigeon Fever at BLM "Broken Arrow" holding facility - Photo by Craig Downer
The horses gathered by the Bureau of Land Management from the Calico Complex in Nevada are currently held at the privately contracted facility named the Broken Arrow in Fallon Nevada. Observers have been allowed to monitor the horses through a two-hour window each Sunday. No observers will be allowed in this weekend due to the holiday.
The presence of Pigeon Fever among the population was observed nearly two weeks ago.
Processing and sorting of horses has continued “business as usual,” with no change in protocol despite the highly contagious disease.
John Neill, currently the manager at the Broken Arrow for the BLM said, “Yes, there is pigeon fever but only a handful of cases.”
When asked if the cases were confined to the horses gathered from a specific area and isolated in the pens sorted by area gathered he replied, “No, we’ve been moving horses around.”
Many of you have sent me questions that seem to confuse Pigeon Fever with strangles. This is not a strangles outbreak.
What is pigeon Fever?
From a COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY VETERINARIANS REPORT
Clinical signs: Early signs can include lameness, fever, lethargy, depression and weight loss.
Infections can range from mild, small, localized abscesses to a severe disease with multiple massive abscesses containing liters of liquid, tan-colored pus.
External, deep abscesses, swelling and multiple sores develop along the chest, midline and groin area, and, occasionally, on the back.
Incubation period: Horses may become infected but not develop abscesses for weeks.Animals affected:The disease usually manifests in younger horses, but can occur in any age, sex, and breed.
A different biotype of the organism is responsible for a chronic contagious disease of sheep and goats, Caseous lymphadenitis, or CL. Either biotype can occur in cattle.
Disease forms: Generally 3 types: external abscesses, internal abscesses or limb infection (ulcerative lymphangitis).
The ulcerative lymphangitis is the most common form worldwide and rarely involves more than one leg at a time. Usually, multiple small, draining sores develop above the fetlock.
The most common form of the disease in the United States is external abscessation, which often form deep in the muscles and can be very large. Usually they appear in the pectoral region, the ventral abdomen and the groin area. After spontaneous rupture, or lancing, the wound will exude liquid, light tan-colored, malodorous pus.
Internal abscesses can occur and are very difficult to treat
Note: There is a low incidence in foals.It has also been diagnosed in cattle, and a similar disease affects sheep and goats. The disease is not transmissible to humans, although humans can carry the infectious agent on shoes, clothing, hands or barn tools and transfer it to another animal. Although the disease is considered seasonal, with most cases occurring in early fall, a number of cases have been confirmed during winter months and other times of the year as well..
Treatment: Hot packs or poultices should be applied to abscesses to encourage opening. Open abscesses should be drained and regularly flushed with saline.
Surgical or deep lancing may be required, depending on the depth of the abscess or the thickness of the capsule, and should be done by your veterinarian.
Ultrasound can aid in locating deep abscesses so that drainage can be accomplished.
External abscesses can be cleaned with a 0.1 percent povidone-iodine solution
Antiseptic soaked gauze may be packed into the open wound
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as phenylbutazone can be used to control swelling and pain
Antibiotics are controversial. Their use in these cases has sometimes been associated with chronic abscessation and, if inadequately used, may contribute to abscesses, according to one study.
The most commonly used antibiotic for the treatment of this condition is procaine penicillin G, administered intramuscularly, or trimethoprim-sulfa.
In the case of internal abscesses, prolonged penicillin therapy is necessary
Care required: Buckets or other containers should be used to collect pus from draining abscesses and this infectious material should be disposed of properly.
Consistent and careful disposal of infected bedding, hay, straw or other material used in the stall is vitally important.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect stalls, paddocks, all utensils and tack.
Pest control for insects is also very important.
Recovery time: Usually anywhere from two weeks to 77 days.
The BLM is moving forward with preparation toward an adoption event of Calico horses currently scheduled for May 15th and 16th at the Palomino Valley Center in Nevada.
(This article was posted by Laura Leigh on her blog “Art and Horses” and also on “Horseback Magazine“)
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Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
You want to bet the CAlico equids are contracting this from the “scum” cattle-hacks and their filthy equipment…..any decent, competent horseman knows the importance of quarrantine, hygiene with any animal, especially equines.
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Forgot to add….this reminds me of the horror stories of equines rescued at auctions like New Holland, Shippsewanna, Sugar Creek and Enumclaw.
What a mess! And you think these morons are going to isolate, treat and clean-up properly at this hell hole for horses????? I don’t think so.
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I consider this aspect of the ongoing situation, just another nail in these equines coffins and a superb point of attack for the litigation coming up. If I had the cash, I’d file a separate suit for daily access.
Did Craig D. and Terry F. file another lawsuit? I saw something on Paulick Report and couldn’t figure out if it’s the current or a new lawsuit.
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What a tremendous waste of life. This reminds me of the way our government condoned and even facilitated the destruction of Native American people by spreading cholera on blankets. Is there no human decency left in our elected officials? No compassion?
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Not only is this cruel, stupid and a waste of taxpayer money – and an insult to the American people and our horses – this stupidity puts our food supply at risk.
This could easily jump to cattle, if it hasn’t already, on the clothing of morons (paid by the US taxpayers) who clearly didn’t pay attention the week they taught modern day germ theory. Or maybe that’s the point – infect the horses with disease, then say, see, I told you, they were in poor condition.
Is anybody in charge of the asylum?
Another good reason to boycott beef.
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As a citizen I would be reported for abusing my animals for even a fraction of what these people are doing to these horses, my horses confiscated and I would be prosecuted, is there no way that we can each submit a complaint and abuse report to the local animal welfare department? I am so lost over who has done what and who knows what, but would this be doable? I mean if we all had to lodge an individual report of abuse and demand an investigation surely they cannot ignore that, or are these morons protected by the government?
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And what kind of superior veterinary care can they expect? John Neill’s methods have shown to be pretty cut and dried – but what the hell – they’re just stock, right?
At the ranch where I kept my horses we had an outbreak that involved 5 animals. 2 received constant veterinary care; the other three were treated by their owners. And the results were about the same – time, patience, cleanliness and otherwise healthy horses – the disease ran it’s course and everybody survived. But at the Broken Arrow facility, any perceived ‘weakness’ is dealt with permanently. Because, really, who gives a damn about these animals?
We do. That in itself should be enough. Everything we’ve said and done over the past 4 months indicates these horses are not ‘excess’ or ‘unwanted’. Why the hell are we paying taxes if we have no voice in how that money is spent?
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Is BLM going to disclose this chronic bacterial infection at adoption/sale? Or, will they knowingly adopt out or sell infectious horses without disclosure? Is there any recourse by an adopter who unknowingly spreads this infection to their other horses, cattle or sheep by bringing one of these horses home? Is there a law against knowingly adopting out or selling horses with this infection? Is this infection a concern to EU for horse meat?
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I have a call in to the person supposedly in charge-Dr Albert Kane out of Fort Collins-970-494-7234, left a lengthy message..so far i have talked to the CDC, they have no authority, talked to the USDA/APHIS vet in Sac. Calif..he has no jurisdiction over BLM horses(americas horses)..as a member of several breed organizations and a breeder, I am asking for this to be investigated, the facilities locked down-quarrentined-no adoptions-no movement of those horses and all roundups in the state of Nevada to be halted until this has run its course, and a suitiable amount of time has passed with no new horses showing syptoms..my experience has been that the abcess can prematurely close up before all the infection has drained and rebuild and abcess..I had to have a drain inserted that I flushed every day..they will not be able to use the means and methods we use on domesticated horses..1900 horses in close confinment creates a scenerio for many epidemics, their immune systems are already compramised by a series of events up to this point..NO ONE can predict the outcome under these circumstances
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CDC has no authority over possible meat supply contamination. What about this meat ending up in dog and cat food? Anyone care about that?
I understood from the report that this does not run a course, that only the physical signs show up intermittently. If I read the report correctly this is chronic, life long herpes like bacteria. Its one thing to get the deseasse from open oozing, what about ingesting infected meat when external symptons are not present? And does anyone think the slaughter or rendering plants care whether physical symptoms are there or not or that they really check for this stuff all the time? Look at all the beef recalls in recent years.
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Good job Sandra! I will call too. If we all called maybe someone would pay attention.
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Should we all be warning our freinds to stop feeding thier dogs and cats any meat product foods until we know for sure how this will turn out? This needs a You Tube.
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I called John Neill this a.m. he was in a meeting(surprise!) left a message, no return call(again, no surprise) I will continue to call, emailed George Knapp about this as well as Jane Velez-Mitchell, this is a nasty, avoidable mess, after the minimal care that has been done for these horses, the BLM does not have the capability to administer adequate care to them, please call everyone and anyone to demand that Humane societies, ANYONE other than BLM be allowed access to these horses, they deserve so much better than this
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As far as eating beef, watch Food, Inc, they are putting AMMONIA in hamburger to kill e-coli, and the filler they put in fast food hamburgers is unrecognizable, so I am now on the “boycott Beef” bandwagon;
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Wait a sec. It says they are proceeding business as usual.
Okay, here’s a scenario for you. I go up to Fallon on adoption day and adopt a wild mustang. Two weeks later, that judge in Washington finally speaks up. He says that all the wild mustangs MUST be returned to the range post haste.
My question is who really owns all those horses right now? They are in the “care” of the BLM (and I use that word lightly) but they don’t own them. How can they adopt them out if they don’t have legal title to them?
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Adoptions are not slated to start until may–after the court decision
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How about getting a copy of of the BLM’s contract with the “private facility.” Needs to come from Washington, D.C. office. I say contact BLM Washington D.C. with all this.??
In past I’ve talked to USDA they give BLM wide berth when they want to. . . say “not our jurisdiction.” — it’s BLM land. Well, this is private land, as such perhaps it comes under some state quarantine laws or something. . .????
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here’s the web site of The Governor of Nevada.
Anybody in the area make an appointment with his office and go talk to him.
Bring documentation. I am in MO and can’t do it myself.
Just a thought.
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…oops
http://gov.state.nv.us/Contact_Us.htm
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Sandra you go girl!
10 years ago my area was quarentined by pigeon fever. Two of my horses were affected, my pregnant mare and 2 y/o gelding, as well as many of my neighbors horses.
It’s a dirty, filthy, nasty disease that is EXTREMELY contagious. One can unknowlingly pick it up just by walking in an area that had been affected years earlier. My Vet told me that this disease lives in the ground until conditions are just right, then it will ‘blossom’ and do it’s dirty work.
It affects the lympth nodes of the horse, most commonly on the chest and can abcess in size of a football, mostly spread by bitting flies. You can also pick it up by direct contact with an affected animal or like I said contaminated ground. Once the abcess starts to drain, it should be flushed 2-3 daily with provodone iodine, and any wash areas cleansed down with bleach water. In fact it’s like hospital sanitation. Extensive fly control needs to be practiced with sheets, masks, feed thru fly inhibitators,and strict manuer clean up. I even had to sanitize the hose that I used to water the horses buckets, myself, boots and clothes, stalls, equipment tack and stable!
The best thing I can say about pigeon fever, is a horse does not generally feel sick run a fever, feel achey (except at abcess site), or have breathing issues. They generally do not contract it again but a small percentage can have lingering effects. My poor mare developed a severe allergic reaction to future fly bites. She would abcess at the site, some would drain others wouldn’t and those I had to have surgically removed because they would painfully encyst, and many times over the year they would reoccur in the same spot during fly season even though she had not been bitten there. Her immune system ‘remembered” to protect that area and sent the necessary proteins and antibotics to fight off the fly saliva.
My neighbors horse had to be euthanized due to the same sort of reaction. While my horse developed reaction to fly bites her’s developed it internally to worms in her intestines. After several colic episodes, her mare colic’d one time so badly they couldn’t even save her with surgery. When the opened her up she had massive abcessing along her intestines. And yes, this mare had been on a regular deworming program.
To look at this realistically, I doubt seriously if any vet or BLM wrangles are doing ANY cleansing necessary for abcesses or even practicing any of the precautionary measures, i.e. manuer clean up, quarentining, fly control etc. How can a vet get near a wild one to flush out an abcess 2-3 times daily and on so many affected horses? Antibotics are USELESS and has no effect on this disease it just has to run it’s course. My guess is the next trash talk your going to hear from BLM when the word gets out to the public, is that they are using antibotics in the water.Too that I say what a waste, typical of BLM and their spin to appease the public that they are actually doing something about it.
This facility needs to be quarentined for at least 6 months until the disease has run it’s course and a good heavy freeze will kill all the flies. NO horses should be brought there in the future as this facility will be eternally contaminated.
If there are any adoptions of the horses there afterward it should be noted on the horses health record that it either had contracted or was exposed to pigeon fever. This way if an adoptee has complications with a horses health later on they will know something about how to deal with it.
I hope Judge Friedman is ashamed of himself. He had the authority to stop this round up before it started. I read where he said he was concerned about what was to happen to the horses after round up? Well, Judge are you keeping track, paying attention, a tally sheet? I am…To date we have had horses killed during round up, several painfully afterwards, many shot and killed the BLM so called euthanasia, many aborted foals, some killed during ‘processing’ and now a pigeon fever outbreak. I wish you would have had the courage to listen to your gut in the first place.
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I was wondering, what is the difference between shipping fever, strangles (I know respiratory distress is a big component) and pigeon fever?
Also, I understood that PF is highly transmittable between animal species: cattle, ovines, equines, but not animal to human (yet highly human to animal).
So, BLM contracted with a private facility that had PF lying dormant and then utilized it anyway for free-roaming equines????? Holy Cow! Pun intended.
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Kate, yes, you and Sandra are spot on! Only one vet for all 1900 horses – no treatment is being provided. They could have at least simply moved the infected horses into isolation, it is reported that there are abundent empty hospital pens, but NOOOO. BLM logic prevails!
This is all very bad news. And I fear the conclusion. I cannot immage BLM will want the bad press or possible financial recourse of adopting out or selling any Calico horses, knowingly transmitting a highly contageous bacteria to possibly run rampant throughout the cattle, pig and domestic horse industries. So what will that mean for these wild ones?
So far everything I have read about Pigion Fever has to do with contact transmission. I am still waiting to hear if any studies have been done on ingestion transmission to dogs, cats or humans.
There have historically been bacteria that had never jumped to humans that mutated and then caused widespread epidemics and deaths. Does BLM or the USA want to knowingly sell horses, knowing full well that they will end up in slaughter houses for human and pet consumption? I think we need to make a really big deal of this.
Though this particaul bacteria does not appear to be usually fatal, this is an example of the need for viable numbers. What if this were fatal even some of the time and BLM transmitts it to a herd of 100 or so horses. This is exaclty the scenario that Craig Downer and Gus Cothran have warned against – one event, desease, weather, fire could wipe out a small herd.
Last, if you have not, everyone, please listen to the latest Howling Ridge episode on-line. They discussed the one place that BLM or Forest Service needs to remove horses near a road due to auto hits. It would cost $200,000 to fix and/or extend the fence. It will cost $400,000 to remove the horses, and then new horses will eventually find their way to the same area anyway. BLM logic!!!!!
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upset about this disease hurting the mustangs. The BLM Vet report said “lesions were noted at round-up time on a few horses”
Why was this NOT mentioned on the round-up date? I did NOT see ANY of the few pictures on JUST gathered mustangs with PF sores? did anyone?
read up about it, it says 2 weeks to show-up, lives in contaminated soil and manure.
Is the NEW Fallon place the START of this disease?
OR are the contractor Cartoor TRAILERS used to transport horses OTHER than mustangs (do they use the same trailers,watering buckets ect.) to transport other horses to slaughter?)Then the trailers are a source of disease.?
Did anyone notice the freshly rounded up mustangs with anything wrong with them? The BLMs lack of proper reporting may be their DOWNFALL if we don’t give them the time to backtrack and make cover-up reports and fake pictures.
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do we see the Vet washing hands between EVERY horse when they Vet them? do they use a new needle for each horse? I did not notice any hand washing, did anyone?
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They transport those mustangs in trailers open to the air.
If it was as the BLM said they saw some PF on a few fresh rounded up horses. why did they move them on public roads to fallon, thus spreading PF along the roads to Fallon?
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Laura; this is a BLM spin. This is a lie that the horses came in with sores. If they did, they were caused by Cattoors stampede and were bumps and bruises during helicopter chase, corralling and shipping.
The facility in Fallon has been a known feed lot in the past for cattle before BLM spent money to refurbish it and now call it a BLM extention lot for horses.
The flies that carry PF are the bitting type flies, those most associated with cattle. If you’ve been around cattle you will see some in pastures that will have swarms of flies all over them. You don’t see those types of flies normally around horses unless they are pastured or kept with or near cattle. Those types of flies are fast,smaller and more narrow than your typical house fly, or those usually in horse barns. I’ve been bitten by those types of flies before and it hurts and you will have a bite mark left over that acts much like a mosquito bite. The ground was contaminated with PF and also strangles viruses. They had outbreaks of both diseases 7 years ago and shut down the facility then.
BLM was initally concerned that strangles would be their problem and that is why they said did not take them to Palomino Valley in the first place. But low and behold, they sent them to a facility that was known to have strangles and PF?
Done purposely, maybe so. Horses free roaming have little resistance to these types of diseases since they are RARELY if ever in contact with it.
My educated horsewomans guess is the PF started in Fallon due to contaminated ground. It’s been warm the last couple of weeks and their elevation is around 3,500 ft above sea level, those nasty bitting flies started hatching and infecting horses.
This proves that BLM did not take precautionary measures to decontaminate the facility before they brought horses in and therefore they are negligent. Horses on the Calico Mnt ranges are between 4,000 and 6,500 ft above sea level. Flies and other insects would not come out in freezing temperatures as they were during the round up or before. We had heavy snows and hard freezes before that. These horses were free roaming and I doubt in contact with cattle except near watering holes. Keep in mind the temps during round up weren’t even anywhere near what is needed for the virus itself to ‘blossom’ or insects to be present even in or around watering holes. Trying to push this disease off as the horses came in with it is another attempt of BLM to place the blame elsewhere for their negligence in not making sure the grounds were sanitize. I will bet you dollars for donuts that the pens weren’t even cleaned from excess manuer before the Calico horses came in.
Like Suzanne mentioned above, these viral diseases can lie in the ground dormant for a number of years until the situation arises where conditions are right for it to come alive. Uncleaniness is a huge concern when dealing with this disease and hospital like sanitation is recommended for horses affected.
Denise, the difference between Strangles and PF, is strangles is a bacteria that acts like a virus, PF is a virus. Strangles affects a horse much the same way that a severe strep throat affects humans and will sometimes isolate in the lympth node between the horses jaw bones and abscess then drain. While antibotics work well with strangles, they have little or no effect on PF.
PF is a virus that mastitizes in the body lympth nodes, the horses way of isolating the virus. Because the virus cannot be eliminated by the horses own antibodies and flushed through it’s system is the reason for the abscesses. They isolate then drain. Both diseases are extremely contagious.
Shipping fever is a flu like virus. Brought on by stress and bombardation of the horses immune system. I used to show horses extensively. Those that show horses will innoculate their horses for flu, strangles and shipping fever when taking trips or going places like Nationals, Congress world shows, rodeo circuit etc, where stress, performance,horses housed tightly together and from all different areas pose health risks.
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PS. the photo at the top that Craig took is a full blown severe case of pigeon fever. One of the worst I have ever seen in my 40+ years as a horse person. Note the size of the abscess on the horses chest, and also the streaming ooze from the one that has burst behind the horses elbow. If that horses isn’t in a hospital pen he certainly should be. All the ground that his sores have oozed into are now ground zero for another to become infected!
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Kate – since the Wild Ones generally aren’t exposed to the same conditions domestics are, is it possible a bacterial infection might actually be worse for them?
Wild Ones left to their own devices are rugged and tough. And because they roam, the incidence of contracting something like this would be pretty remote, wouldn’t it? And their immune systems are practically ‘virgin’, if these Captives had never had contact with human activity.
I’m asking for my own edification.
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Lisa you are correct with ALL your assumptions!
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Merck Manuel says: Pigeon fever caused by damp wet living condtions and IM vaccinations; the IM vaccinations leave a way for the bacteria to enter the Mustang
then the wet straw and wet hooves standing in wet sandy straw; feeds the bacteria;
by lowering the Mustangs immunity due to poor living condtions; BLM knows jackrabbit about Wild Mustangs;
even I a total novice; knows “wet terrain causes hoof fungus and skin diseases…a.
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By now there may be several good before and after pictures of the mustangs under BLM control. Perhaps even pictures of some mustangs out on the range before round-up.
These horses look pityfull now. what are there 200 plus horses missing now from the round-up day? Its the same old blm lines they have been using for many years. The same old way they wait for people to die or go away.
Perhaps the KISS needs to be used. 100s of pictures.. Before round-up picture..after round-up picture. 100s of them
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I am an RN, my specialty is Surgery, I am also a breeder/promoter of Spanish Mustangs. I visited the Broken Arrow, BLM holding facility, which appears to be a “Livestock Feedlot” type setting. I observed two deadly, and higly contagious diseases rampant; Pigeon Fever and Upper Respiratory Infections, at various stages. The URI, already claimed the live of “one” foal.(……that was admitted by BLM, because a Humane observer pointed out the foal and demanded treatment…..unfortunately it was too late and the foal was found dead, the following day!) Both of these diseases are advised to be taken seriously and isolation of facilities are recomended, where Pigeon Fever outbreak is present. This means, that the animals are NOT TO BE TRANSFERRED to any other locations because this could spread the disease to other locations. Yet the BLM is dispersing large number of horses to different locations all over the country! I am contacting the proper authorities to investigate, and requesting a team of Veterinarians from UC Davis to visit and asses the situation! One veterinarian, is not adequate to care for 2100 animals, even in a healthy herd situation. Currently there is an epidemic sweeping through this facility, claiming the lives of large number of horses, yet there is no attempt made by the agency to get help to handle this situation correctly and humanly.
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I’d like to ad to the above, that I visited the Broken Arrow Facility on two occasions, June/3rd and June10th! I do have photos of a horse I am planning to adopt. He had Pigeon Fever, yet they castrated him on June/9th, and he was in very poor shape, appeared to heve lost at least 100lbs! I am contacting Dean Bolstad Director tomorrow and requesting that this colt be separated out to the sick pens, in isolation, as to give him a chance to survive this incident!
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