“Many people think that the only tick-borne diseases to worry about are Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans, not realizing that there are many other diseases out there that they and/or their horses could get,” says Angela Pelzel-McClu

is one of the mysteries of Lyme disease; it is so variable in presentation----in humans as well as dogs and horses. There are people who test positive for Lyme disease who never had any symptoms either. Perhaps they have a stronger immune system or encountered weaker bacteria; we don’t know.”

• DIAGNOSIS: Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose because exposure to the bacterium alone is not proof of illness, and the outward signs mimic so many other problems. For that reason, other illnesses and injuries are generally ruled out before a Lyme diagnosis is made.

ELISA and Western blot tests, which detect antibodies to B. burgdorferi in