At the British Breeding Baileys Horse Feeds Futurity, the safety of all participating horses and ponies is extremely important to us.
In view of the continuing threat of Equine Influenza, and other diseases such as EHV always present in the equine population, we are working with our veterinary advisors to minimise the risk to our participants:
Please read the guidance very carefully before making your entry.
Obligatory Equine Influenza Vaccinations
Please note that up-to-date influenza vaccinations are an obligatory condition of entry for any Futurity event. Passports will be checked on arrival. Please check in at the organiser's trailer.
For older horses:
In the current conditions, vaccinations should be boosted every 6 months to provide increased protection. This means that you need to have you horse or pony vaccinated within 6 months of entry. Please note that you cannot leave it until the week before the event, as you need to give your youngster time to recover from the vaccination, and as the protection from the booster will only reach its full effect after 7 days. If you are starting a new course of vaccinations, your horse or pony needs to have had their first 2 vaccinations (a minimum of 3 weeks apart) and as with the booster, the second must be at least 1 week before the date of the Futurity evaluation you are attending.
For Foals:
We do not recommend vaccination before foals are 6 months old. This is because there is evidence that vaccination prior to 6 months reduces the effectiveness of the Equine Influenza vaccine later on, so this would be counter-productive. However, we do advise that the best management is to have your mares vaccinated around 4-6 weeks prior to giving birth. This will not only protect the mares as they travel to the Futurity with their foals, it will also pass on maternal immunity to the foal at birth. All mares must have been vaccinated within 6 months prior to the event (see conditions above for older horses).
We realise that it is not always possible to vaccinate precisely within the 4-6 weeks window. We are therefore taking additional steps to enhance the safety of all participants by ensuring that no two foals will be in the same arena at the same time. We thank you all for your cooperation in keeping a safe distance from other participants at all times.
For Youngsters from 6 Months:
Your youngster should have received two injections for primary vaccination against equine influenza given no less than 21 days and no more than 92 days apart. Only these two injections need to have been given before your horse or pony can attend.
In addition, if sufficient time has elapsed, a first booster injection must be given no less than 150 days and no more than 215 days after the second injection of the primary vaccination.
Subsequently, booster injections must be given at intervals of no greater than 6 months.
As with the older horses, all Equine Influenza vaccinations must be given at least 7 days prior to the event.
What happens at the Futurity Event?
We will check all entries' vaccination records. For this year, we have suspended the walk ring in order to minimise direct interaction between the different entries. You will be given time slots for your evaluation. In between, please avoid contact with other horses and ponies. Please do not touch anybody else's horses and keep a safe distance.
If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team at any time, we will be happy to advise.
Good Practice at the Futurity
Here are a few simple guidelines that will help you keep your horses and ponies healthy and safe at the Futurity:
1. Please do not handle/touch anybody else's horses or ponies
2. Please do not ask/permit anybody else to handle/touch your horses or ponies
3. Make use of sanitary hand wash available
4. If you require assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to ask our event stewards or any other British Breeding team members
5. If you require advice, please do not hesitate to ask our veterinarian on site
6. Please do not allow your horses or ponies to sniff or touch any other horses or ponies and try and keep a safe distance. Foals must be kept on head collars and leads until and after their loose assessment in the indoor arena.
