Events cancelled amid New Forest horse flu outbreak

Horse flu has led to the cancellation of events in the New Forest as the virus continues to spread.

The Verderers, who oversee the common land and livestock in the national park, have urged walkers and horse riders to stay away from free-roaming animals after further cases were identified in Brockenhurst and Burley.

The outbreak has already led to the cancellation of the Breamore Show on 28 June, while Burley Villa Riding School said it had paused its forest hacks.

The New Forest and Hampshire County Show is expected go ahead as planned at the end of July but participating horses, ponies and donkeys must be vaccinated.

Organisers of the event, which takes place from 28 to 30 July, said equines must have received a minimum of two vaccinations at least seven days before attending.

It said the animals would have their records checked before unloading and their microchips would be scanned.

A spokesperson said the rules reflected "recent veterinary advice and the continued monitoring of equine influenza cases."

They added:: "The health and welfare of all equines attending the show remains our priority, and these measures are intended to help minimise the risk of disease transmission and protect the wider equine community."

Burley Villa Riding School said it was cancelling all its forest trails and hacks "for the foreseeable future due to the rapid spread of the equine flu virus".

In a Facebook post, instructor Tammy Greaves said: "We were praying it wasn't going to come to this, but our horses' welfare comes first."

Lessons at the riding school will continue but Greaves urged visitors to wear clean clothing and use sanitation stations.

There are about 5,000 free-roaming ponies in the New Forest, all of which are owned by commoners, who are forest residents with ancient grazing rights.

Cases of horse flu had previously been identified in Wood Green and at Stoney Cross.

The Verderers said people could expect to see ponies with "a heavy nasal discharge and a dry cough".

In a statement, they said they were "following veterinary advice, which is to leave the affected ponies where they are to avoid causing them unnecessary distress and potentially spreading the virus further".

The virus is mostly airborne but can also spread by contact with an affected animal.

"The advice to horse riders and walkers is to give the ponies as wide a berth as is possible and not to allow ridden horses to drink from communal water troughs," the Verderers said.

Breamore Show Society said it was with "a heavy heart" that it cancelled its annual horse show.

It said the decision had "not been made lightly but with the welfare of all your lovely animals in mind".

The Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance group, based at Cambridge Vet School, said there had been 126 laboratory-confirmed outbreaks of equine influenza across the UK between 1 April and 2 July.

There were just four cases nationwide in 2025.