Every state requires a current Coggins just to haul a horse along public roads. A person hauling a horse can be fined for failing to provide a current Coggins. Using a fraudulent Coggins is a criminal offense.
A Coggins test is really not that expensive; as important as it is to be sure that Equine Infectious Anemia is not spread, the $20 or $30 per year is minimal. There is no vaccine nor treatment for EIA. It can't be prevented and it can't be cured.
More, some horses are "carriers"; they exhibit no symptoms but they are CONTAGIOUS. Not only are they contagious, they don't need to be close enough to touch. EIA is spread by mosquito, so if your horse is stabled within a mosquito flight of an EIA infected horse, your horse is at risk.
The only way to be sure that your horse is safe is to KNOW that each horse has tested negative for EIA in the past 12 months, and to be sure that no horse has been to a show, meeting, trail ride, etc around a horse who is EIA positive--thus we have the Coggins test certificates, which are required every time you take your horse off your own personal property.
A boarding stable must have current Coggins results on hand for each horse, in order to be absolutely sure that none of the horses are carriers, and none of the horses has become infected while out at any event. A boarding stable manager can be fined for failing to keep up to date records, but even more importantly--if your horse is there, your horse is at risk if you don't KNOW that all the other horses there have tested negative for EIA.
Thanks, Gal--I'm going to rationally express my concerns w/owner, and hopefully cause change to come about for the good of the horses!!! If she dosen't comply, she's going to lose me as a lesson-taker....
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