MEDORA – A female horse at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park had to be euthanized this week due to contracting West Nile Virus.
According to the Park, last Saturday a two-year-old female horse was reported to park officials by visitors as ‘laying down, unable to get up.’ Staff responded and located the horse. They then helped the horse up twice that day and continued to monitor its behavior into the evening hours.
After that point, the hose began to exhibit an abnormal gait and grazing motion, but was walking and foraging when staff left the park.
On Sunday morning, the horse was again found down, but this time was observed to be unresponsive to stimuli. The horse was euthanized, recovered from the field and buried – after testing samples were collected.
Test results confirmed the mosquito-borne infection.
Park officials say no other horses appear to be affected by West Nile Virus.
