It is the first known case of a horse infected with rabies in Bandera County in nearly 40 years.
Sunday night, the Modglings noticed one of their horses was acting odd and, at times, even violent.
"It was just not a good sight to see," said Beverly Modgling.
Modgling said she knew something was seriously wrong but just didn’t know what, so she called Conrad Nightingale, DVM, to come take a look.
"I suspected that we had something unusual going on here," said Nightingale.
In his 37 years of veterinarian practice, Nightingale had never seen a case of rabies in a horse.
However, as soon as the tests came back positive, Nightingale put every veterinarian in the county on alert.
He said he urged the veterinarians to vaccinate every unprotected animal and give booster shots to those who live close to the Modgling’s home in Medina.
Nightingale said, "The concern is that there's a source of rabies in this area."
Six months ago, a raccoon less than a mile from the Modgling’s home tested positive for rabies
Nightingale said he’s worried more domestic animals may have already been infected and fears humans may be next.
"Of course I was scared to death," said Modgling.
Since Modgling was exposed to the disease, she will have to undergo a series of shots.
"We're going to be like a sprinkler systems when this is over," she joked.
Modgling, however; said she'll do whatever it takes to keep this rare disease just that --- rare.
