The past two days I've worked from home because of an ice storm that hit Kentucky. We're prone to having periods of ice and snow, but occasionally we get these really bad storms that put thick coats of ice (an inch or more) on everything that stands still--trees, trucks, tables, barns, gates, fields ... you get the idea.

My farm was fortunate this time in that we didn't lose electricity for long. The last ice storm that struck Kentucky in 2003 resulted in us being out of power for five days. We ran kerosene heaters in the house to keep the dogs and cats warm, but ended up having to move out with the kids to their grandmother's house in another county. We came back twice a day, and a neighbor up the road with propane heat came other times to check on the house and animals.

One of the best things this time? The electricity stayed on so the heaters in the stock tank and the Nelson automatic waterer worked. That meant we didn't have to haul water to the horses and goats. That was a blessing.

I will never understand why horses, when they have the choice of multiple run-in sheds that are well-bedded and stocked with good hay, will choose to be out in bad weather. I don't "stall" or lock up my horses in bad weather.

As the ice storm worsened the stock put themselves in a couple of the sheds and waited for me to bring hay. They still had to walk across the field for water...that is until the rain started on top of the ice and there were "creeks" running through the ice.

Then it snowed a couple of inches. That gave everyone some traction across the fields, so the horses and goats were much happier.

A lot of people were affected by the latest round of bad weather that moved across the country. Some of my friends that live in Western and Northern states and deal with "real" winter every year have a much better idea of how to deal with snow. Even lots of snow. But ice? That's a different story.

So as I'm out sawing and dragging branches and downed trees over the next week, let me know how you are faring this winter and if you have any tips or stories to share.

My tip: A toboggan makes a great hay sled in the winter. A whole bale of hay can be easily dragged across snow (or ice, or mud, or even frozen ground) much easier than wrestling with a wheelbarrow.

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker released the names of the nine stallions that have tested positive for CEM late Thursday afternoon (Jan. 22). He said these stallions are "suspect for possibly exposing mares to CEM." This is the first time an official has released the names of all stallions that have tested positive thus far in the CEM investigation. In this statement he said no mares have yet tested positive for CEM in this outbreak.

• Gentlemen Send Roses, a Paint Horse from Indiana
• Hot Lopin Sensation, a Quarter Horse from Kentucky
• Indian Artifacts, a Quarter Horse from Kentucky
• Invited Back, a Paint Horse from Indiana
• Nanning 374, a Friesian from Wisconsin 
• Potential Asset, a Quarter Horse from Texas
• Potential Investment, a Quarter Horse from Kentucky
• Repeated in Red, a Quarter Horse from Kentucky
• Zips Heaven Sent, a Paint Horse from Indiana

We have had a number of Friesian lovers and breeders write to us following publication of the article Contagious Equine Metritis Investigation Progresses in Wisconsin. Nanning was identified by Wisconsin officials as being a stallion that was found positive for CEM in that state. There was a quote in the article from an official that said Nanning might be the source of the current CEM outbreak, but there were no conclusions drawn. We talked to Nanning's owner and vet, and all the information was reviewed by officials prior to publication.

Any stallion that enters the United States as a breeding animal must go through testing for CEM. They are not allowed into the country without being negative. However, stallions have gone through quarantine before and later been found to be positive because of the difficulty of testing for the causative organism. While there have been a few individual cases of CEM in the United States in the past decades, there hasn't been an outbreak since the late 70s in Kentucky in Thoroughbreds.

This is an easily managed disease if testing and treatment are done appropriately. When stallions are used for artificial insemination and not live cover (as is the case with Nanning), the treatment of semen with extender that contains appropriate antibiotics can eliminate that risk of spreading the disease via breeding.

Please read all our articles on CEM, view the video interview with CEM expert Peter Timoney, FRCVS, PhD, of the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Center, and watch the videos on testing and treating mares and stallions.

 Feel free to comment below.

February is skunk mating month. If you wonder why that bit of trivia would make the lead in a horse health magazine, then this column is for you!

Skunks are one of the leading carriers of rabies in the United States. At the time this column is being written it’s not even the new year, and near my home we have what has been termed a "mini-epidemic" of rabies. There have been seven cases of skunk rabies diagnosed in my county, along with a bat (another leading wildlife carrier of rabies), and a dog. These are cases where the animals were killed and taken to the University of Kentucky’s Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center for testing and found positive for rabies. In adjacent and nearby counties there have been laboratory diagnoses of five other cases of skunk rabies as well as rabies in five bats, two dogs, and two horses. And those are just the cases that were recognized, the animal euthanized, and the body taken for testing. Friends have told me tales of skunks chasing them in broad daylight, and since skunks are nocturnal animals, that is a sure sign something is wrong.

When was the last time you had a horse slobber on you? Probably the last time you were around your horses. When was the last time you handled a bit covered in horse slobber? When was the last time you had a cut or scrape on your hand and didn’t wear gloves in the barn? Have you ever been nipped or bitten by a horse so hard that it broke the skin?

Most human rabies cases are due to bites from rabid animals, but you can get rabies through exposure to infectious material from a rabid animal—such as saliva—contacting your eyes, nose, mouth, or an open wound.

Rabies virus is typically present in the saliva of clinically ill mammals and transmitted by bites. After entering the central nervous system of the next host, the virus causes an acute, progressive encephalomyelitis that is almost always fatal. The incubation period in humans ranges from days to years.

Exposed humans, if treated in time, can survive if they receive prompt medical attention. According to the Centers for Disease Control, two of the eight human rabies cases in 2004 resulted from bat exposures. One of those rabies patients recovered. Rabies was not immediately recognized as the cause of death in the other patient, and organs and a vascular graft from that patient were transplanted into four people, resulting in clinical rabies and death in all of the recipients.

From 16,000-39,000 persons come in contact with potentially rabid animals and receive rabies postexposure prophylaxis each year, according to the CDC.

Rabies is deadly in horses; there is no treatment or cure. Horses with rabies can exhibit various clinical signs—from aggressiveness to neurologic deficits (see #12790 at TheHorse.com for more on rabies).

There are effective rabies vaccines for horses and companion animals. Please vaccinate your horses, dogs, and barn cats. The life you save might be your horse’s—or your own!

You can read more articles about rabies on TheHorse.com. You also can watch a Webinar on equine rabies.

Kudos to Intervet and Fort Dodge

In these tough economic times we’re all feeling the crunch. We want to recognize two companies who are stepping out to be front-and-center in caring for less-fortunate horses here and abroad, despite the economy.

Intervet/Schering-Plough will donate a portion of vaccine sales to vaccinate unwanted horses in U.S. rescues. Fort Dodge Animal Health donated tetanus vaccines for third-world horses.