The current horse virus outbreak isn’t hypothetical—it’s a live, evolving situation that started with a single high-profile event and spread across much of the country in just a few weeks.
How the 2025 EHV-1 Outbreak Started
In early November 2025, horses gathered in Waco, Texas, for the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Finals and Elite Barrel Race, held November 5–9. In the days that followed, veterinarians began seeing horses with fever and neurologic signs that tested positive for Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1), specifically the neurologic form known as equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM).
What looked like a local issue at first quickly revealed a much wider footprint as exposed horses returned home across state lines and additional cases surfaced.
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