Featured Patients
Portal de La Luisa
Photo courtesy of Bob Osborne
When Portal de La Luisa, a champion Paso
Fino stallion, was diagnosed with equine
piroplasmosis in 2006, his future looked bleak. Most
horses diagnosed with the disease face either
life-long quarantine or euthanasia. Caused by the
blood parasite
Theileria equi, equine piroplasmosis symptoms
include fever, lethargy, and anemia. Severe
infections can result in death. In the past, horses
that survive were infected for life and could infect
other horses. But thanks to the leading efforts of
WSU’s Equine Infectious Diseases Research Program,
along with the cooperation of private and regulatory
veterinarians, Portal’s infection was successfully
treated and he is back on the national show circuit.
He was the 2011 Fiesta of the Spanish Horse Fino
Stallion Grand Champion and the 2011 Santa Barbara
National Horse Show Fino Stallion Grand Champion.
