Dealing with an outbreak of Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA), or swamp fever, in their horses has been traumatic and needlessly overblown by uneducated neighbors, residents of the Tehinnah Ranch say.

Ranch owners and leaders of the Tehinnah Messianic Fellowship Joseph and Judy Ramirez, their daughter Regina Ramirez and ranch resident Melissa Grider expect to lose as many as eight of their more than 20 horses from their Divide-area ranch to swamp fever, a blood-borne disease spread by horse flies and without treatment or cure.

Already two horses have been euthanized -- one on the ranch and another that the family had given to a friend in Melrose.

Six others -- two of which are pregnant mares -- have tested positive for the disease and have been quarantined on Tehinnah property.

The animals are pastured in a canyon about a half-mile from the ranch and held in with electric fence. Department of Livestock regulations require horses with the disease to be kept at least 200 yards from other horses and public roads.

And livestock department personnel approved the area where the Tehinnah animals are quarantined, Grider said.

The department does not require EIA-positive horses to be killed; instead they must be quarantined for life. But Danny, Spotted Lady, Bearpaw, Zuni, Babe and Aurora -- who have displayed no EIA-related symptoms -- will likely all be put to death.

Regina Ramirez -- who cares for Tehinnah livestock -- wants to wait for the mares to deliver before putting them down. It is possible the foals will test negative for swamp fever.

And she and Grider, who also tends to the animals, don't know how to deal with euthanizing the other horses, some of which have been with the family for more than a decade.

" They tested my best horses positive. My best horse -- my friend," Regina Ramirez said. " I'm not going to put him down."

But Bearpaw -- so named for the white paw-shaped markings on his shoulder -- may indeed end up in a lab in Pennsylvania where Tehinnah residents plan to send the bodies of the infected animals for research purposes.

But until the mares give birth -- which could be any day now -- the six infected horses will remain quarantined. That decision, in conjunction with initial reports of the Tehinnah Ranch outbreak, resulted in what ranch residents say has been unpleasant, unnecessary publicity.

" There's a lot of misguided information out there -- designed to bring hurt," Joe Ramirez said. " (People) don't know our situation. They don't know our boundaries. They don't know what the (state) vet said."

In fact, livestock department officials have not reported any difficulties in dealing with the Tehinnah Ranch.

And Tehinnah residents bristle at accusations that they have failed to follow quarantine regulations and have endangered other animals.

" We have been in full cooperation with the state from the beginning," Grider said.

Livestock department personnel visit the ranch two to three times a week, Joe Ramirez said. And he has done what they have told him to do.

" The state doesn't come in here and ask. The state comes in here and dictates," he said.

But even if they are a little overwhelmed by state visits and media attention, Tehinnah residents say the suggestion that they are indifferent to the ramifications of swamp fever is ridiculous.

" We want our neighbors to know we would not endanger their horses," Regina Ramirez said. " I would never put my (infected) horses in a place where I knew they could cause contact with other horses.

" If anybody is concerned, it's us -- because we're facing it," she said.

Indeed, the Ramirezes and Grider say they are animal lovers and they feel like they're losing members of their family.

" We care about our animals. We care about our neighbors' animals. We've called many universities and vets to learn about (this disease)," Judy Ramirez said.

Grider hopes the outbreak will spur more research into the disease.

" We are not cold-hearted people," she said. " This has been traumatic for us. We have relationships with our animals. They're not just business to us."

But Tehinnah residents are as concerned as their neighbors about the effect the negative publicity will have on business.

" It's going to be more damaging to us than any other horse business. That's the shame and injustice of it," Grider said.

Ironically, Regina Ramirez said the Tehinnah Ranch will probably be the best place to purchase horses in the future because they are going to begin regularly testing all of their animals for swamp fever.

" We're going to have the most pure herd in the state of Montana because of the school of hard knocks we've gone through," Joe Ramirez said.

Regulations require horses to be tested only when they are crossing state lines. That's how the first Tehinnah horse was diagnosed in January -- the family was considering selling it to someone out of state and had it tested.

That's also why they believe they bought an infected horse from someone within Montana.

" The virus can be anywhere. It could be all over Montana. It's only going to be (detected) when you sell out of state," Regina Ramirez said. " People are going to be buying blindly."

Buying blindly is what got the Tehinnah Ranch into this situation, and it's something they will never do again, she said.

Even though testing is expensive -- the tab for initial testing of the Tehinnah herd is approaching $1,000 and the animals must be tested a second time before they are declared disease-free -- Regina Ramirez plans to test every horse she buys, sells or raises.

In the meantime, she, her parents and Grider have an emotionally charged predicament on their hands.

Putting down the first infected horse was a challenge.

" I stood in the house and watched from the window," Judy Ramirez said. " I was crying the whole time."

The family will likely face that situation six more times.

" You're talking about shooting my buddy, who I've depended on and who has depended on me," Joe Ramirez said.

Regina Ramirez is urging all western Montana horse owners to test their horses for Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA).

EIA, also known as swamp fever, is a blood-borne disease spread by horse flies. There is no treatment or cure, and all diagnosed animals must be quarantined for life or euthanized.

A Coggins blood test, administered by veterinarians, can detect the disease.

Eight horses from Ramirez's Divide-area Tehinnah Ranch have tested positive for the disease this year. Ramirez is certain her horses contracted the disease from a horse she purchased somewhere in southwestern Montana.

" I believe that it came from these parts of Montana because all of my horses that were bought in Montana came from the western part of the state," Ramirez said. " Any horse we ever bought out of state '85 had a Coggins and a health test before crossing the Montana state line."

Ramirez speculated the disease has been in her herd for several years and is concerned for other ranchers who could be caught off-guard by it, as she was.

" The same thing could be happening in other horse herds across the state, not being discovered for years," she said. " I strongly suggest horse owners get a Coggins test to prevent its spreading."