GRAND JUNCTION _ Some Colorado counties are lifting temporary horse bans at county facilities prompted by an outbreak of equine herpes virus.
The Mesa County Fairgrounds said Friday it will lift its horse ban next week. 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.
The Boulder County Fairgrounds announced Friday it would reopen to horses. In southern Colorado, Fremont County lifted a temporary ban last week.
The virus is highly contagious among horses but harmless to humans.
???
Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com/
