ALVA — Horse trainers and owners in Southwest Florida are taking precautions because of a deadly equine virus outbreak in Texas.
The Florida Department of Agriculture says as of Monday, there have been no reported cases in Florida linked to the outbreak. However, local equine professionals are not taking any chances with the highly contagious equine herpes virus, known as EHV-1.
Watch Fox 4's Allie Kaiser see how people in the SWFL equine community are protecting their animals from the virus:
Ashley Kilmer, who operates the To Fly Equestrian training business from Equestrian Acres in Alva, made the difficult decision to skip a horse show last weekend to protect her animals.
"We, as a barn and my clients, decided that it would be best to stay home and not take that risk," Kilmer said.
Because to the virus's high contagiousness, the Florida Department of Agriculture recommends that horse owners and equine event organizers increase bio-security measures and monitor horses closely for symptoms.
"Weakness in the hind end, an elevated fever, there could be nasal discharge," Kilmer said, describing the warning signs.
Several local equine organizations are also implementing protective measures. The Lee County Posse Arena announced on Facebook that its arena grounds are closed until further notice.
The LaBelle Family Livestock Club says it has "canceled all events and practices that would have been held at LaBelle Rodeo Grounds and will assess the situation at the end of December."
Kilmer plans to continue isolating her animals for at least the next few weeks until she knows it is safe.
"They're our partners. They're our athletes. They have to come first," Kilmer said.
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