30 June 2026

Mild case of equine influenza confirmed at Redwings Norfolk HQ

A mild case of equine influenza has been confirmed in a pony at Redwings Hapton HQ. All residents at Redwings are vaccinated against equine influenza, and the level of virus detected in the pony was very low. A number of others in his herd were tested and came back negative.

Equine influenza is a viral infection spread easily by close contact but is also able to travel large distance in tiny droplets carried through the air. Our assessment is that the source of our infection was most likely airborne and from outside the Sanctuary, as recent new arrivals at the charity do not fit the profile for possible sources.

Having closely monitored the alerts of equine influenza outbreaks, we know that some of the horses across the UK who have caught flu in this outbreak are vaccinated, but the vast majority of cases are in unvaccinated horses. There is good evidence that the vaccines are successfully working to protect horses from very serious disease and reducing onward spread, and it is very reassuring that the infected pony at Redwings has only exhibited very mild signs.

Our horse care teams have been extremely vigilant, setting up precautionary quarantines if even the slightest respiratory signs were noticed; and submitting samples for testing. It is thanks to their hard work that they detected this case where the ponies showed only very mild clinical signs (some dry coughing and very slight nasal discharge).

Redwings Hapton HQ is not open to the public, but we remind all visitors and those accessing our site to respect the strict biosecurity and quarantine measures in place. At the moment, our Visitor Centres remain unaffected and open as usual, and we are carefully monitoring any equine movements between sites.

We are sharing this diagnosis as part of Redwings’ commitment to communicating openly and honestly about infectious disease and to highlight the importance of vaccination. Our vets are monitoring the infected pony, and his herd, closely and remain vigilant for further cases.