Buying a Horse

Lesson 2: Buying Your Horse

The Coggins Test

A Coggins Test is to check for Equine Infectious Anemia. Currently, there is no vaccine available for EIA (a virus) and therefore if a horse has it, while he might appear well and go through periods of wellness, they still harbor the virus and during times of stress may become ill again. It is infectious (obviously) so it's best not to put horses you already have at risk.

The disease is spread by horseflies. The large horsefly is the main vector. If they bite an infected horse and then bite a healthy horse, the disease gets transmitted. The virus does not live for very long on the horsefly, maybe as little as fifteen or thirty minutes. So for one horse to infect another they must be close to each other. This disease occurs anywhere horseflies live.

Three different sets of symptoms occur: acute, chronic and the asymptomatic carrier. With acute infection the horse has fever, depression, and no appetite. The acute horse may be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are very general and he will not be positive on the EIA test for a month and a half. Approximately one third of infected horses will die of the acute form within a month.

The chronically infected horse will having recurring acute bouts along with weight loss, ventral edema (swollen belly and legs) and anemia. These horses will be positive on a EIA test. These horses may linger for a year or more before they die.

Most asymptomatic EIA infected horses will not show any recognizable signs but will test positive on a Coggins test.

The Coggins test checks for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) antibodies in the horse's blood. Blood samples are sent to a state approved laboratory. This test is often needed to take your horse to a show and whenever you transport your horse across state lines. It is to prove to others your horse is safe to be around their horses. Some states now require a negative Coggins test on a horse before he can be sold. Before you travel check to see how recent a test is required because it differs from place to place.

Here's a link that covers the law on Coggin's tests state-by-state: http://www.law.utexas.edu/dawson/eia/eia...

Brand Inspections Some states also require that you have a horse Brand Inspected. You should check with your state to see what their requirements are. In Montana for example, a horse must have a brand inspection certificate in the new horse owner's name prior to the horse being moved to the new owner's property. This certificate is also required to transport your horse in state and across state lines. Horses will also need valid health papers for transportation across the country and in some cases a negative Coggins test.

  1  2  3  4  5  6