3 Horses Die Mysteriously at Columbia Facility

State health officials are trying to identify a neurological illness that killed three horses and possibly afflicted two others at the Columbia Horse Center in Laurel last week.

Acting state veterinarian James I. Fearer said yesterday that bacterial infection has been largely ruled out and that it was unlikely that the horses contracted anything through tainted food. However, two viruses -- herpes and West Nile -- remain possibilities, he said.

Necropsy results will probably not be available until early next week, Fearer said. Until then, the center will remain under what state officials call an "investigative hold order," a less restrictive form of quarantine that confines horses to their stalls but allows owners to visit on a limited basis. Fearer said there are no indications that the disease has spread beyond the center.

The center canceled a horse show planned for last weekend, this week's annual spring break camp and all private riding lessons.

Owners and visitors have been dropping off treats of ginger snaps, carrots and peppermints at a collection box outside the center, General Manager Nanci Steveson said. Students have written farewell notes to the three beloved horses: Aviva, a bay mare who was more than 20 years old; Bailar, a 25-year-old chestnut gelding; and Gem, an 8-year-old bay pony.

Steveson said trouble first surfaced last Wednesday, when barn workers found Aviva dead during a routine check of the stalls. The elderly mare had run a fever the week before and seemed unsteady during feeding. Workers initially thought she died of a stroke.

The next day, Steveson said, Bailar's hindquarters became paralyzed and neither she nor another staffer could get the horse up.

"He was alert, he was responsive to us, but he was down," Steveson said.

Then early Friday during a walk through the stalls, Steveson noticed that Gem's head was cocked at a strange angle. The once-fancy show pony looked as if she would collapse at the slightest touch, Steveson said.

At that point, she called a veterinarian and shut down the center, even as the first visitors for the weekend horse show were arriving. Within a few hours, Steveson said, the pony could not breathe and had to be euthanized.

Two other horses that seemed ill are now improving, Steveson said. Camden, an 11-year-old Arabian, had been shivering for no apparent reason, and Maverick, an 8-year-old thoroughbred cross, seemed lethargic and lacked muscle tone.

The center houses about 80 horses. More than half belong to the center, and the rest are privately owned. All of the afflicted horses belonged to the center.

Steveson said she hopes center staff can begin taking some of the horses out for exercise in a fenced-in grassy field today, if the weather is nice.

Once the test results come in, Steveson said, she wants to plan a community tribute to the horses that gently taught scores of children and adults in Howard County how to ride.

"Everybody has to grieve," she said. "These are horses that we love, that are a part of our lives. It's a loss to us."