A sick horse from Weld County is the reason hundreds of horses in 19 states need to be tracked down, tested and potentially euthanized or live the rest of their lives in quarantine.

And what frustrates horse owners the most is Colorado law prohibits the Department of Agriculture from releasing the name of the lot that sold the sick horse.

“We all know already,” Old Glory Ranch owner Brittnee Woodward-Whithead said. “I don’t know why it’s a big secret.”

What Colorado State Veterinarian Keith Roehr could say is that a gelding (a neutered male) tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia on Aug. 24. The viral disease, which is spread by bloodsucking insects like horse flies, has no cure. Federal law requires an infected animal spend the rest of its days at least 200 yards from any other horse if the owner doesn’t want to euthanize it.

The rules also require any horse that came into contact with the infected animal be held in quarantine for 60 days because that’s how long it can take from exposure to show a positive test.

And that’s where the problem started.

The horse in question belonged to an owner who buys and sells livestock across the country, according to multiple people interviewed by The Denver Post. Colorado officials think 240 horses were on the premises with the EIA-positive horse and were sold to people in 20 states. The EIA-positive gelding was actually shipped to a buyer in Wyoming before the results of its test were returned — in direct violation of regulations in both Colorado and Wyoming.

“It’s a hell of a mess to put it bluntly,” Wyoming State Veterinarian Jim Logan said.

Both Colorado and Wyoming require horses to test negative for EIA before they cross state lines. The sick horse had its blood drawn before leaving Colorado, but the results didn’t come back until it was in Wyoming. It’s unclear whether the animal passed a Coggins Test for EIA when it came to Colorado.

“That’s exactly the reason states do not allow horses to come in with a Coggins pending,” Logan said. “What frustrates me the most is we’ve got Wyoming people who are either ignoring or are totally unaware of the import requirements.”

Logan is also frustrated with the Weld County owner. The infected horse was one of several shipped to Wyoming without the proper paperwork. Wyoming can’t fine the Colorado seller because the onus is on the buyer.

“Nobody enforces these laws,” Woodward-Whithead said. “It’s a trust system.”

In all her years buying, selling and transporting horses, she’s never been stopped and asked for her animals’ health certifications.

“It’s appalling is what it is,” Woodward-Whithead said. “People get to skirt the laws and get away with it.”

Fifteen horse owners in nine Colorado counties are under hold orders while their animals get tested. The state still needs to find nearly 100 more horses. Roehr’s asking anyone who bought a horse in Weld County between July 18 and Aug. 20 to contact his office.

But he can’t give out the names or locations of the properties in Adams, Arapahoe, Crowley, Delta, Douglas, El Paso, Mesa, Montrose and Weld counties — even if you live next door.

That’s how Kate’s horses ended up potentially being infected. Her neighbor agreed to hold some of the potentially infected horses, but her property isn’t far enough away to meet the 200-yard distance requirement for infected animals.

“They didn’t even tell us,” said Kate, who asked her last name be withheld due to safety concerns. “It’s frustrating to say the least.”

She now has to keep her horses on her property and wait until October to learn whether she’ll have to euthanize them.

“People don’t realize they are exposed because the people on hold aren’t telling,” Kate said. “It’s just a nightmare.”