GRAND JUNCTION — Another Colorado county is lifting a temporary horse ban at county facilities after an outbreak of equine herpes virus.
The Mesa County Fairgrounds said Friday it will lift its horse ban Wednesday. That will allow next weekend’s horse events, including team roping and barrel racing competitions, to go on.
Mesa County imposed the ban May 18 in the wake of an outbreak throughout the West that apparently originated at a horse show in Ogden, Utah, in early May. Nine cases of the disease have been confirmed in Colorado, including some on private property in Mesa County.
In southern Colorado, Fremont County last week lifted a quarantine that shut down a rodeo and horse shows after the county was assessed at low risk.
The disease is highly contagious among horses.
