Near Sunland Park, New Mexico, eight horses recently tested positive for equine infectious anemia (EIA). Initially, two horses were found to be positive during a routine testing for a sale. The rest of their herd was tested immediately, and the remaining positive horses were found in that herd. Most of the horses were from Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, and some had been on the farm for up to 12 years. The eight have been removed from the farm, and the remaining herd is under quarantine.

Three other groups of horses were fenceline adjacent to those horses, and authorities are testing all of those equines. At press time, no more positives had been found.

Most sales in New Mexico require negative Coggins tests in-hand, as most horses travel to other states following their sale.

“Two acres of the farm is in Texas. People travel interstate a lot, so horses are tested quite a bit,” said Thurman Reitz, DVM, the Assistant State Veterinarian for New Mexico. “The situation is under control. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll find another (positive). In the desert, we’re shocked to find eight—it’s really unusual, as we have only two to three per year for the entire state,” he added