After an international dressage horse turns up with a false
positive this contagious disease, the USDA testing protocol comes
under fire.
Chase Hickok wasn't anticipating anything unusual as
she drove to the U.S. Department of Agriculture quarantine center
at the Miami International Airport on Aug. 8 to pick up Grand Prix
horse Sagacious HF after a successful European tour.
But when she got a phone call from the flight broker telling her
the 18-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Welt Hit II—Judith,
Cocktail) had tested positive for the highly contagious disease
glanders, a routine pick-up turned into something much more
stressful.
Sagacious, owned by Hyperion Farm, has traveled the world with
Hickok, 27, as well as his former riders Caroline Roffman and
Lauren Sammis. Hickok had just returned to Wellington, Fla., from a
trip representing the United States on Nations Cup teams at
Hickstead (England) and Falsterbo (Sweden).
