Rick Mitchell, DVM, isn’t anticipating any major challenges regarding the health or welfare of the horses that will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

“The health concerns are pretty routine,” said Mitchell, who regularly travels from his home base of Fairfield Equine Associates, Newtown, Conn., to serve as a U.S. equestrian-team veterinarian at international competitions. He was the team vet at the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, and he’s well-equipped to discuss the setup in Rio, having also served at the 2007 Pan American Games there.

“There is not a great concern regarding infectious disease and the American horses,” Mitchell said.

Equine piroplasmosis, a potentially tick-borne disease caused by two forms of protozoan, is present in South America, as is equine infectious anemia. Fortunately, Mitchell reported, “The stabling is very tightly controlled regarding vegetation” that could harbor ticks. “There is some risk for the three-day horses,” he said, referring to the event horses going cross-country, but even so he’s not too worried