Preventing West Nile in horses

EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed two new cases of West Nile Virus Wednesday: one, a human in Middlesex County, the other, a horse in Ludlow.

Humans and horses have been dying from West Nile Virus across the nation. Here in Western Mass, horse owners are hoping the Ludlow case remains an isolated incident.

At Heritage Farm in Easthampton all the horses are- you guessed it- as healthy as a horse. They have their own natural bug repellants: their tails, manes and the hair in their ears, but they get a little human help, too.

Diane Raucher Miller’s family has owned and operated the farm for 40 years. Precautions are taken on a daily basis to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses.

“You dump out the standing water, you try not to have mosquitoes breeding nearby,” explained Miller. “You can use any different level of fly spray, some are really pretty strong with chemicals, some are more natural, it depends on what you're more comfortable using.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, most horses that contract West Nile Virus do recover, but it can be fatal, and some do need to be euthanized if they develop symptoms like paralysis or coma.

That’s why Lauren Magoon made sure her horses received equine West Nile vaccinations.

“That’s what my vet recommends, so we do it every year and no problems so far,” said Magoon.

There's no problems so far at Heritage either, and Diane's pretty confident it'll stay that way.

“It hasn't been a huge concern for us,” she said. “I mean, one case out of however many thousands of horses there are in the state or even just in Western Mass. It's newsworthy, but it's certainly not at crisis level yet.”

When it comes to smaller animals like cats and dogs, you should never use a DEET-based bug spray. Ask your vet which insect repellants are safe for your pet.