EL DORADO ? As Denny Hassett sees it, it just makes sense to spend a few dollars to vaccinate horses against the West Nile virus. It sure beats the alternative possible sickness or death of a valuable animal.

“If you own an animal and the veterinarian feels you have a need for it, it’s foolish not to do it,” Hassett said. “You may be doing something to prevent it from dying.”

Denny Hassett looks at 6-year-old G.Q. Eclipse, a world champion quarter-horse stallion, before feeding him. In the picturesque Flint Hills of Butler County, horses are serious business, and those who breed and train the animals see the West Nile virus as a serious threat. For them, the few dollars spent for the vaccine against West Nile virus is a smart investment to protect a horse that can sell for several thousand dollars.

Last week’s news that West Nile virus was detected in at least four horses in Kansas sent shivers through the state’s equine industry. State veterinarian health officials don’t expect West Nile to devastate herds, but ranchers would rather be safe than sorry.

Worth the cost

Hassett has bred and trained quarter horses for show for three decades at his ranch in the Flint Hills of Butler County.

His stable includes a quarter horse world champion stallion registered as G.Q. Eclipse “Bubba” to his friends. Hassett didn’t want to discuss Bubba’s worth but said, generally, good horses aren’t cheap.

“A horse is going to be worth what you can get somebody to pay for it,” he said.

A well-trained ranch horse with good blood lines can go for $15,000 or more but the price can be as low as $1,000 depending on the animal.

Hassett said it cost him $21 for each of the two inoculations of the pink vaccine that is injected in the horse’s neck muscle.

“You reset the shoes on a horse for $65 every five weeks, so why not spend $42 to protect your horse from the chance of dying,” he said.

Time to act

Like many other horse breeders in the area, Hassett wasn’t that concerned about West Nile virus until recently.

“My veterinarian said earlier before it got to the state to wait until it gets closer,” he said. “Well, being in your state is close enough.”

Casey Marlnee is a second-generation horse breeder with about 20 quarter and paint horses. She’s in the process of vaccinating them.

“Everybody stuck their head in the sand because it was east of the Mississippi and they hoped it would stay there,” she said.

Like Hassett, her decision to vaccinate had more than monetary concerns.

“I consider it an obligation of ownership,” she said.

West Nile has been detected in dead birds in eight counties, including Douglas. It was confirmed in four Kansas horses, including one that died in adjoining Cowley County.

That’s a little too close to home for some in Butler County, which many believe leads the state in horse population.

“A fair number of them are nervous. When they found out there was one down by Winfield that was positive, some of them got a little panicky,” said Dr. Davy Harkins, a veterinarian in Butler County for 31 years.

Between January and Aug. 1, Harkins sold 585 doses of the vaccine. Since Aug. 1, he has sold 380 doses.

“If they think much of their horse, yeah, they should do it. It will cost much more to treat a horse than vaccinating it,” Harkins said.

“What’s the chance of your horse coming down with West Nile? It’s a small percentage, but if it’s your horse, percentages don’t mean anything,” he added.

Mosquito-borne

The illness is spread by the bite of a mosquito that fed on an infected bird and in some cases can infect humans. It’s not spread horse-to-horse, horse-to-person or bird-to-person.

Harkins said weather could be a factor.

“If it gets to be cool and wet weather that favors mosquitoes, it could pose a problem,” he said. “Our mosquito population has been fairly thin because of the dry weather.”

The virus, which can cause swelling of the brain, was isolated in Africa in 1937 and first appeared in New York in 1999. It spread down the East Coast and westward.

Symptoms include a loss of balance, paralysis, muscle twitches and a lack of coordination. The vaccine works by mimicking a small exposure to the virus which triggers the horses’ immune system to make antibodies.

Those antibodies remain in the animals, and if they are later exposed, they will have “an antibody surge” that will ward off the virus. The vaccine received conditional approval last August from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“How fully effective it is can’t be known because it is too new,” said Dr. Gail Hansen, state public health veterinarian. “It is safe and there is a reasonable expectation that it would be effective once the horse has been fully vaccinated.”

Dr. Bonnie Rush is a veterinarian and professor of equine internal medicine at Kansas State University. She’s keeping tabs on the virus.

“We don’t expect to have huge numbers of horses affected,” she said. “I can’t guess how much we will get, but we don’t expect to have massive losses.”

She said all evidence indicated the virus was limited to equine animals such as horses, ponies, mules and donkeys. That’s welcome news to cattlemen.

“Most cattlemen realize it doesn’t have an impact. What we have to be concerned about is the consumer on the East Coast,” said Ken Winter, manger of the Winter Feed Yard in Dodge City.