>>>- the pasture's closeness to wetlands or even being normally moist itself (areas where culicoides breed), >>>- the general humidity (which culicoides love), >>>- the presence of high, damp grass (which encourages the culicoides to travel there), and
Ironically, some of the best conditions (in many ways) for keeping horses are also bad for SE. I know several of us have been to Anneliese's farm. It's paradise - I can't imagine a better home for horses. Too bad she has to keep the imported SE-sufferers inside for so much time during the summer. >>>- the length of the SE season in the country being surveyed, and And that is the reason that I say I personally would never import an Icelandic to NC. As high as Anneliese's percentages have been, our NC summers are a few days longer, and we get slightly hotter and more humid, although overall, our climates are very similar. I can't imagine us having better luck than she did. >>>>Probably the most useful data, for what fraction of horses develop SE if put into a SE-conducive location, are those that specifically focus on horses in such locations, like Anneliese Virro's important observations. Over the years she almost assuredly has received a representative cross-section of Iceys, and a very large fraction contract SE. So a very large percentage is prone to developing SE. Yet, since Anneliese finds that their US-born children virtually never get SE, it is not that they are genetically pre-determined to get this allergy. Barbara, I have a good friend, a vet, who coincidentally grew up just a mile or two from Anneliese's farm. Her family always had horses - as a child she trail rode over what is now called Unicorn Valley. She has told me that SE is virtually unheard of in that area in other breeds of horses. (I won't say that it NEVER happens, but it's certainly not common.) She still has contact with people in that area, as well as some vets in the area. So, not only does Anneliese have a "clean record" with the babies born on her farm, the area is pretty much clear of SE - except in imported Icelandic horses. I say this only to give more support to what Anneliese has said. >>> Please also note that a horse born and raised in a dry area of the US southwest, and then brought to central Florida as an adult, has a good chance of developing SE, too. Just like the Iceland-born Iceys, they did not get exposed to the culicoides' allergens when their immune systems were being programmed with what is "self", what they will not develop antibodies against, which includes the bugs they are regularly exposed to in the first few months of life But that hasn't seemed to happen, not noticeably. I know of a good many of the Saga California born horses who moved east from California with no problems. Anneliese brought a few horses from California to KY, and I think she got a few from Robyn. I've bought several horses from California and from BC, and they are doing fine...so far for me anyway. My experience is minimal though, compared to Anneliese's 25 +/- years. Considering how few imported Icelandics are here in the mid-to-deep south, it may be a while before we really know how serious SE is in this part of the country. My personal statistics, here in south-central NC: 23 Icelandics, 1 import. 23 domestics (USA and Canadian born) clear, the one import showing his first suspicious signs late last summer. Karen Thomas, NC
