ECTRA 2022 Awards Listing

Congratulations to all our 2022 Award Winners and we look forward to seeing everyone on the trail in 2023!  Complete Awards Listing is HERE!

ECTRA 2023 Awards Banquet and Annual Meeting registration is now OPEN!  

You can register by downloading the PDF form HERE or you can register online at https://forms.gle/phFwJ9YGei4Ph4di8

Please share the flyer and link with your friends! 

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Starting March 10, 2023 – Friday evening through March 12 2023 Sunday noon. The location hasn’t been chosen yet; but it will be centered in the area of our membership. We need people to work on some committees i.e. election box and others to be announced. If you would like to volunteer for any activities please let Louise Lester know. If you have any ideas for a guest speaker we’d love to hear your suggestions. It seems like a long time until then but the planning has to begin now

Hard to believe but Lynn will be officially retiring at the end of the month so her email will be changing as well! It has been updated on the entry form for Brookfield as well as the ride list. Best of luck to Lynn in the next phase of her life.

2022 Board Meetings will be held June 14th, Sept. 13 and Nov.15 from 7pm to 9pm. If you’d like to attend the board meeting via Zoom please contact Carolyn Blocker

The Board adopted a new rule involving Body Condition Score which began with the 2021 ride year. The intention is that this will be both an educational opportunity and will give the judges a basis of evaluation if presented with an equine that they are concerned is either very thin or very fat. It is not meant to be judgmental or punitive and is not involved in any way with the judging or point deductions.

The rule is : Body Condition Score (BCS) will be judged using the 9 point Henneke Scoring Guide on every horse, pony or mule that is presented for the initial exam at a ride or drive sanctioned by ECTRA. Any equine judged to have a BCS less than 4 or greater than 7 will be independently scored by the Veterinary Judge and the Lay Judge.  The two scores will be averaged to determine the Equine’s BCS.  Any Equine with a BCS less than 3 or greater than 8 will be eliminated.

Those of you who also do AERC rides will note that this follows their rule and the new box on the score sheet will look familiar to you.

As there continue to be Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) outbreaks in the US, most recently in California, the Veterinary Committee and ECTRA Board feel there is still a need for enhanced preventative and bio-security measures at our rides.

EHV is a highly infectious virus that can cause a mild respiratory illness but also in its severest forms, abortion and an often fatal neurologic disease.

The virus is shed in nasal secretions and can be transmitted between horses by nose-to-nose contact, aerosol droplets or contact with fomites (F/E buckets, troughs, stalls, trailers, contaminated human hands and clothing, etc.).

ECTRA guidelines for riders, ride managers and judges to minimize the risk of horses contracting or spreading the disease:

1. Vaccination against EHV-1 and EHV-4 is strongly recommended for all entered and buddy horses in consultation with your Veterinarian for a proper vaccine schedule. Vaccination can help reduce nasal shedding of the virus and thus reduce the risk of transmission to other horses. Vaccination requirements at rides are at the discretion of ride management.

• Monitoring of Rectal Temperature of entered and buddy horses.
• Rider – take horse’s temperature prior to leaving for ride. If above 101.5F, horse should be examined by a veterinarian before traveling. (If multi-day ride, continue to take temp at least once a day)
• Ride Managers and Judges – at initial exam consider taking temp, log on scoresheet. If outside normal range (99-101.5 F) recheck (in one hour?)
  • Consider doing a CRI as further health exam. Vet judge to decide if horse can compete.
• Riders are encouraged to monitor temperatures upon returning home
• Reminder to all that stress is a major factor in EHV manifestation and shedding.

3.    Bio- Security Suggestions

• Vet and Lay Judges to use gloves, to be changed or gloved hands sanitized between horses (Alcohol, with water rinse.
• Thermometers sanitized with alcohol between horses.
• Communal water is discouraged. Horses should only drink from their own tubs and the water brought from communal water trough with a clean bucket.

• On Trail Water – add more than the usual number of troughs so that horses can space out.
• Design flow of horses at P&R and judging area to allow for adequate distancing between horses.
• Everyone needs to be mindful of ways to keep things safe.
  • Do not allow horses to touch noses/mingle with horses outside their group, rub heads on communal water troughs.
  • Don’t share equipment, buckets, feed tubs.
  • Socially distance your horse (and you!) from others.
  • Avoid touching horses not from your group, especially their nose/ face.
  • Remember to wash your hands.

For further information we refer you to https://www.equinediseasecc.org/ (EDCC and AAEP info). http://octra.on.ca/ (Ontario Trail Ride Org.) and AERC – www.aerc.org.

If we can be of any further help, please contact a member of the ECTRA Vet Committee or the Board.