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Dr. Sarah Jane Owens founded Owens Equine in Issaquah WA in 2009. She brings a lifetime of sport
horse expertise to the area, as well as cutting edge diagnostics. She has hauled her own horses to
California many times, as well as shipped them between North and South America and Europe. She
was involved in pre-Olympic prep of team members for the USA for the Sydney Olympics, and for
Great Britain for the Athens Olympics. Dr. Owens has also cared for teams of up to 40 polo ponies who
played on up to three continents per year at high levels. While working in Wellington FL, the ‘Florida
Crud’ as well as South American diseases like screwworm and Piroplasmosis were a constant fear for
horses coming from all over the country to compete in polo, showjumping, and dressage. At FEI level
competitions, Dr. Owens has been involved in barn biosecurity and quarantine and pre-competition
health screening.
Many of us are about to join the big parade down to Thermal California or other sunny climes to give our riding aspirations solid footing for the winter.
Recently, very public disease outbreaks at large show gatherings have put travel health at the forefront
of our concerns. The combination of immune suppression due to stress and the physiological obstacles
faced by the respiratory system during travel make keeping horses healthy a particular challenge.
Dr. Owens contributed these slides (with valuable links including required biosecurity measures for 2013 HITS Thermal Shows) to help raise membership awareness of challenges and best practices to maintain your horses' health when shipping to, and while at, competition show grounds.
