Is the scrapies prion (sheep, goats) transmissible to horses?

Question

Is the scrapies prion (sheep, goats) transmissible to horses?

Answer 1

I have never heard of that happening. Most likely the prions that cause scrapies can only live/multiply in more closely related animals. Horses are not as closely related as sheep and goats and cows and deer (all of which are susceptible to those same prions).

Answer 2

The proteins (or in this case the misfolded protein) would need to be almost identical in both horses and sheep or goats. The disease occurs because the prion, or misfolded protein, comes in contact with native (correctly folded proteins) form causing a conformational change in the protein to the disease state. As far as I know prion disease in livestock is the result of eating protein from the same species.