horses to Saudi Arabia and the European Union

Hello, everybody. We are happy to report that a group of beautiful Arabian mares are in Amsterdam now, waiting for their flight to Damman, Saudi Arabia tomorrow. Thank yous go to our wonderful clients, Othman Alsurab, Mohammed Al Eiban, Aiban Abdurahman Al Aiban and Rami Saleh Balhareth for sharing your lovely horses with us. Many thanks also to Mohammed Ibrahim for his excellent help. And last but not least, thanks to our grooms, Phil Pelch and R. Joe Duncan for accompanying the horses to Amsterdam and to Hans van Dijk for taking them from Amsterdam to Dammam. You are the best and we really appreciate the excellent care that you provide for our clients' horses. Tonight there will be a very precious group of minis flying to Luxembourg. Many thanks to Andre Hunger, Cornelia Schneider, Kim Shawyer and Minka Vheren van Sloan for allowing us the joy of caring for your minis for you. Thank you also to Christina Zeitelhack for your assistance in arranging for the quarantine and to Christiane Toman of EmoTrans for providing the groom to accompany the minis on the flight. Much appreciated! We are gathering horses now for our next quarantine groups for Dammam and Amsterdam. Please let us know what we can do for you. You can reach us by email at ez2spot@hotmail.com. Also be sure to take a look at our website, www.ez2spotranch.com for more information or to fill out a request form.

Equine Distemper (Strangles)

We have heard that many of you are concerned about an outbreak of strangles, also known as equine distemper, at a quarantine facility located here in Texas. We want to reassure you that this disease has not occurred at our facility and we are shipping healthy horses as usual. Here is a little information for you about this highly contagious disease that affects the upper respiratory system of equines. It is caused by the Strepcoccus Equi bacteria and it affects the lymph nodes in the horses' upper respiratory tract. The lymph nodes become swollen and, in advanced cases of the disease, actually become abscessed and eventually rupture and drain. Abscesses can form throughout the body, including the lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and brain. Strangles is spread through contact with infected horses. It can be spread through food, water and equipment that is shared with infected horses and when the bacteria from nasal discharges and abscesses in infected horses becomes airborne, they can be inhaled by other horses, causing them to contract the disease. While strangles can affect horses of all ages, the younger ones (under five years of age) tend to be more susceptible. It also tends to be more prevalent when the weather is cold and damp. Symptoms usually develop between two and six days after exposure. Horses who are infected with strangles need to be isolated from other horses for between four and six weeks. Treatment for the disease includes antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications, intravenous fluids and lancing of abscesses. Hot packs may be applied to swollen and abscessed lymph nodes to reduce the swelling and discomfort. Vaccination against strangles is available, but even vaccinated horses can contract the disease. (source: www.nativeremedies.com)

Horses to Europe and Saudi Arabia

Last week was such a busy time that I'm just now finding a minute to sit down and write about our last shipment. We had the pleasure of send four adorable miniature horses, one handsome Arabian stallion and three amazing Warmbloods to Amsterdam last week. Everyone arrived safely and all is well. Many thanks Cedric de Broecq, Mariska Schreiken, Elena Chistyakova, Mohammed Said and Kerim Talamas for sharing your horses with us. Thanks also to David Notman for flying with them - and to Chris and Megan for taking such good care of them, getting them to the airport and loaded safely for the flight. Tomorrow we will be sending six lovely Arabian mares to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Our Dutch friends, Trisha and Gert will be flying with them to Amsterdam after having a nice little vacation here in Texas. Thank you so much for flying with our horses. It was great seeing you! Thanks also to Hans van Dijk for flying with them from Amsterdam to Dammam. As always, we truly appreciate the great service and professional care that Hans provides. We are enjoying a visit from our friend Melanie from Germany these days. Melanie came to help us out at the ranch last year and we are so happy to welcome her back for another Springtime visit. We are gathering horses now for our next shipments to Kuwait, Bahrain, Amsterdam and Luxembourg and we are looking forward to upcoming flights to South Africa. Let us know what we can do to help you!

Beautiful Mares and One Handsome Stallion Flying Today

What a great time we've had caring for six gorgeous Arabian mares during the last month+. They are at the airport today, getting ready to fly to Amsterdam and then on to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Many, many thanks to Dhafer, Khalid, Majed, Ali, Abdullah and Rashed for allowing us the privilege of caring for these horses. Thanks also to Dhafer, Mohammed and Saeed for your assistance in making things go smoothly. Also flying out today is a very handsome stallion who will go to Germany. Thank you, Karim, for sharing him with us. Thanks also to Toni and Bjoern Kurzrock for flying with the horses from Houston to Amsterdam and for Hans van Dijk for taking the mares to Dammam. We appreciate all that you do. And of course, thanks to our great staff for taking such good care of the horses! Good job, guys!

EVA Vaccination Can Make Your Stallion Unshippable

Every now and then we run into a situation that makes it impossible to ship a horse from the USA to virtually any other country in the world. It is very upsetting when someone outside of the USA learns that the horse that they have purchased is not going to be able to leave the USA. It also comes as a very unpleasant surprise to the horse's previous owner. This situation is 100% preventable. Here is how to prevent this from ever happening to a stallion that you want to buy or sell and ship internationally. Option 1. Don't vaccinate him for EVA. Pure and simple. If he has not been vaccinated and he does not have the disease, the test results for EVA will be negative and he will be able to be shipped. No problem. Option 2. If you believe that you must vaccinate your stallion for EVA, follow the proper protocol and keep documentation so that it can be presented when it is time for him to be shipped. The simplest, easiest way to do this is to have your veterinarian draw blood and send it in for testing for EVA on the same day that the vaccination is given. Ask your veterinarian to provide you with documentation of the vaccination and to send you a copy of the negative test results from the lab. Keep these documents in a safe place. When it is time to send your stallion to the quarantine facility for shipping outside of the USA, tell the staff that the stallion was vaccinated for EVA and provide the documentation mentioned above. The quarantine facility will then be able to prepare the shipping documents without any difficulties. The trouble arises when: 1. the stallion's owner and/or veterinarian did not follow the proper protocol 2. did not keep the proper records and/or 3. did not tell the quarantine facility that the horse was vaccinated. When test results come back positive (and they ALWAYS will when the horse has been vaccinated), it is the quarantine facility's unpleasant task to tell the exporter and importer that their horse can't be shipped. So stallion owners - please prevent this situation from happening to one of your horses. Just follow the proper protocol and share the documents with the quarantine facility at the very beginning.

Sweet Lady Fames, HAHR # 1A368796

We have the prettiest, sweetest half-Arabian mare at our place - and she was abandoned by her owner. She needs a good home where she will be loved and used. She was shown at halter and has excellent manners. She is in perfect health and condition.

How to vote for us in the FedEx Grant contest

We are so excited about all of our friends, colleagues and clients who have taken the time to vote for us in the FedEx Small Business Grant contest. Unfortunately, it seems that some of you have had challenges getting to the page for voting. Here is a direct link that one of our Dutch clients forwarded to me. Hope this helps. http://smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com/Gallery/Detail/c8d4c57b-b91a-486c-8558-6ac7f9f20b4d If that doesn't work or you don't want to go through FB, here is another route: Search for smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com A page will come up where you can enter a business name. All you need to do is type in EZ 2 Spot Ranch in that space. And click the magnifying glass. Don't worry about any other details (State, type of business, etc.) All you need is the name of the business. Our logo and photo will come up. Click on that and it will take you to the page where you can cast your vote. You can vote once a day, every day, through 23 February. We greatly appreciate your support and assistance in helping us do well in this contest.