More at
http://www.equine-strangles.co.uk
http://www.horsevet.co.uk/strangles.php
It's not productive to be alarmist about strangles and other infections which can affect horses, but then it is inadvisable to bury one's head in the sand. Strangles is always present in equine populations; luckily the outbreaks are few. But it is incumbent upon all of us to be aware of the dangers and to take precautions to prevent outbreaks from happening in the first place.
Since humans first relied on horses for work and recreation, strangles has been a source of frustration. Caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi (Strep. equi), it is one of the most common equine respiratory infections in the world. The image to the left shows the parts of the respiratory tract affected most. It can affect horses of all ages and types. The signs of equine strangles include fever, nasal discharge and depression, and abcesses can also develop around the head and neck. The condition is contagious but not infectious, i.e. the bacteria are passed on by touch (including on fence posts, buckets, tack and other inanimate objects that the horse might touch). Horses snorting near each other is less likely to carry the bacteria from one to another.. touching is the problem.
Horses which have apparently recovered continue to be carriers. They can harbour Strep. equi with no outward clinical signs. Consequently, new or recurrent outbreaks are likely unless costly diagnostic procedures and aggressive quarantine measures are used. In our Hodgemoor area, this means that our vigilance against Strangles is ongoing, all the time, not just in the next few weeks abnd not just in the one yard.
Therefore, we advise as follows:
1. Do not touch any horse other
than your own.
2. Do not share tack or equipment
with horses of unknown health status
3. Do not admit any horse to your
yard unless vetted and certified clear, or unless you can be certain that
it will not touch another horse or human..
4. When riding with others, and
around the yard, do not let horses touch noses (or other parts of the body)
5. Try not to visit other yards
yourself, and certainly don’t touch their horses.
6. Ensure that suppliers including
farriers and vets touch horses as little as possible and wash frequently
with anti-bacterial hand-wash. Do you provide such hand wash in your own
facilities? Do it today!
7. Restrict movement of people onto
the premises who have arrived from an affected yard
8. Minimise the risk of horses on
the yard coming into physical contact with horses on neighbouring yards
whose health status is not known
Strangles is not something which
casts a bad light on the diligence of the yard in question… it can happen
to anyone. But this is an ongoing problem with horses in a high density
area like ours and you should continue to follow the above recommendations
all the time. Feel free to cut and paste this information into a poster
for your yard’s notice board.