LMFAO! HORSE HERPES FORCES GIRLS TO RIDE TOY STICK HORSES DURING HORSE SHOW!

An outbreak of equine herpes has one Utah horse show looking more like a playpen.
Thanks to the quickly spreading disease, contestants at the Davis County Sheriff's Mounted Posse Junior Queen Contest in Utah had to compete with stick horses - instead of real horses - as their show ponies.


The girls were judged on their dance routines, which were supposed to be performed on horseback. But without any four-legged friends, they were judged on their knowledge of the drill, instead of their horse skills, ABC News reported.

"Instead of using horses, we are testing the girls' knowledge and ability to adapt," Posse member Kim Jensen told KSL-TV.

"This will test if they know the pattern, but they are disappointed they don't have their real horses."

Jensen told the television station the contest had already been postponed once because of the disease, which isn't dangerous for humans. It's highly contagious and can be fatal for horses.

"It can be bridle to bridle, it can be aerosolized, and it can be nose to nose," Utah state veterinarian Bruce L. King told ABC affiliate KNXV in Phoenix. "You could bridle your horse and go to another horse, touch him and get it that way."

So while veterinarians look to contain the disease, the show must go on.

And that means with stick ponies and all.

"It's kind of weird, but you can't really help that the disease is going around," former champion Savanna Steed told KSL.

Outbreaks of equine herpes have been reported in at least six Western states, according to Reuters, resulting in the cancellation of many horse-related events.



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