To all my fellow horse owner friends: Please vaccinate your horses for West Nile, and all others for that matter. They are inexpensive considering the consequences. I recently had to put my 19 month old filly down due to West Nile outside of Whitney, TX. Close to home for anyone? Fortunately, she was not in any pain according to the vet, but she was very frustrated because she did not understand why her legs weren't working. I was spared seeing her in that condition because she lived with my parents while I was in school, but I do wish I could have been there to comfort her while waiting for the vet to arrive. I learned my lesson the hard way, don't make the same mistake I did and educate yourself on the signs of an affected horse (i.e. loss of coordination), which my horse displayed about 2 weeks prior to her permanently going down. If I would have taken the signs more seriously instead of just thinking she was being clumsy, I probably would have saved her life. If I would have vaccinated her, I would have saved her life.
This is another article you've printed that has some very important information that all horse owners should know. I hope they read it.
With warmer weather just around the corner, along with the insect diseases, this article is worth rereading.