HORSE PPL---strangles???

Question

ok...2 horses at my farm caught strangles....from a horse at a show....will my horse get it? how can i prevent her from gettin it? how do i kno she has it

Answer 1

Your horse is at risk as any other horse at your farm.

What you need to do is make sure that:

1) No horse comes in the farm as no horse goes out of the farm until it is clear this virus is gone. Need to corinten the area.

2) The horses are getting proper medical treatment and not being physically exposed to other horses (no pasture etc).

3) Have your vet check your horse and you keep an eye on your horse's health. Even if your horse doesn't get it, the virus is still present. he can recieve it a month down the road, since it also is transmitted through uncleaned buckets, un-cleaned stalls, un-cleaned railings etc.

Has your horse had strangles before?

Make sure your horse is up to date on vaccination.

Reason why I am asking is because of Purpura Haemorrhagica, it is a disease oftenfollowed by strangles, a immunological reaction.

When I bought my mare, they said she never had strangles as a young horse. (bought at 4 and half years old).

4 years ago, a person brought a horse in with strangles. My mare got purpura (secondary strangles known to vets).

At first I thought someone vandilized her by slashing back of her pasturns, which swelled her whole hind legs to her hocks and her front to her forarm. Vet came out and realized it was purpura.

If it is left untreated and spreads, it will get into the organs and respitory and the horse will die.

We kept her on high steroids and antibiotic treatment for 1.5 years before she was concid "out of the woods". Her fur coat was dry and extremly thin due to the steroids and her hindquarters and neck as sore due to the pennic/ antibiotic shots. She lost 400 pounds and til this day, I FINALLY got her back to her normal weight she was prior.

Extremly serious to keep an eye on your horse and treat anything before it gets bad. My vet said she will get worse before she will get better. It was really hard to know I was so close to putting her down one day knowing it took 20 mins to walk her 10 feet. To see her lift her feet in pain when I had to cleanse her. To see her chest wall become in larged and drain.

Horses are like humans. If a human doesn't have chicken pox as a child, they can recieve shingles as adult.

If a horse don't have strangles as a youngster, a older horse can have purpura.

My gelding was 2 years old when he got strangles and we took him home to our back yard at the place we used to live. (3rd of acer to have a horse on legaly). so I can care for him, keep an eye out on him and properly dis-infect the stables as someone else brought a horse in with out properly checking the health.

A guy said my mare did, but the previous owners say she didn't. Whatever it was, she got almost deathly ill in less than 14 hours due to some idiot who brought a known sick horse into the stables with out a care of other horse's health.

Answer 2

It is possible your horse may get it, but there are some things you can do to reduce the chance. If your horse has not been vaccinated with the intranasal Strangles vaccine this year, call your vet right away to have this done. This is a good vaccine to get routinely if you show your horse or if there is a lot of turnover of horses in your barn.

In addition to to the vaccine, do anything you can to reduce the fly population. Clean up manure promptly and remove it from the area. Use fly parasites in your manure disposal area. Use fly repellents such as citronella in the barns. Protect your horse with a fly sheet, fly mask, and fly spray or pour-on repellant. You can also consider using feed-through fly control chemicals.

Make sure that whoever handles the horses with Strangles does not touch any other horses afterward, or even any equipment that will be used on any other horses. Ideally they should leave the ranch right after they care for the sick horses. Don't share equipment between sick and healthy horses. Stable the sick horses in such a way as to prevent direct contact with healthy horses.

If you follow all of these instructions, your horse will most likely be OK. If she does get sick, she will probably demonstrate some of the same symptoms as the other horses at your ranch. These can include fever, coughing or choking, nasal discharge, and swellings. Your vet can help you treat her if she gets sick.

Answer 3

sokumurarvt's answer is beyond perfect so I will leave you with this short note and a link,

How does my horse get strangles?
Strangles is very contagious, especially with foals, spreading easily from horse to horse and often leading to large outbreaks with many horses affected. It is spread in the discharges (pus) from the nose and burst abscesses. It often occurs when you introduce a new horse into the field as recovered horses can spread the disease for up to 8 months even though they appear well. Objects such as water troughs, stalls, feed buckets, brushes, tack and other equipment, if contaminated with infected pus, can also spread the disease. Fortunately, the bacteria can't exist in the environment for long periods.

http://www.interkonect.com/websites/minstervet/pages/Horses/strangles.htm

Good luck I wish you the best,

Answer 4

Strangles is a highly contagious and serious infection of horses and other equids caused by the bacterium, Streptococcus equi.signs of starngles are swollen lymph glands that may burst and pus discharging from their nostrils. penicillan is the best antibiotic treament.

Answer 5

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. It can affect horses of all ages and types.

Strangles is a common threat
The disease causes major economic losses to the equine industry worldwide due to its prolonged course, extended recovery period and associated serious complications. According to International Collating Centre reports, strangles is responsible for 30% of infectious disease episodes. Reliable UK statistics are not available, but in Sweden, where strangles and equine flu are notifiable diseases, there are approximately four cases of strangles for every case of flu (see table).

Reported cases in Sweden 2000
2001
2002
2003

Strangles/flu ratio 4:1
4:1
6:1
4:1



A dangerous and contagious disease
Strangles itself can kill (in simple cases there is a one percent mortality rate), but the major reason for its concern is the speed with which strangles spreads among horses, especially in a stable setting. In large horse populations, established outbreaks may last for months, essentially shutting down stabling premises.

Moreover, “recovered” horses (carriers) 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.

Several measures can be taken to minimise the risk of strangles on a yard;

1Try and avoid contact with horses of unknown origin
2Make sure a yard doesn’t become overcrowded
3If horses are introduced, keep them in quarantine for a few weeks to observe the onset of any clinical signs. Care must then be taken with personnel attending the isolated horses – they must not move from the isolated horses to the other horses on the establishment
4Reduce sharing of tack or equipment from horses of unknown health status
5Restrict movement of people onto the premises who have arrived from an affected yard
6Minimise the risk of horses on the yard coming into physical contact with horses on neighbouring yards whose health status is not known
7Vaccinate if the horse is at risk of contracting the disease, and ensure that new animals arriving onto the yard have an up-to-date vaccination program.

Vaccination as part of good stable management forms a critical element in preventing strangles outbreaks on yards.

A vaccine is now available to reduce clinical signs and the incidence of lymph node abscesses. Developed by Intervet, Europe’s leading manufacturer of equine vaccines, the vaccine is now available to help owners and veterinarians manage this disease.

The vaccine can be used in horses from just four months of age and is administered by administering a very small volume of vaccine into the upper lip of the horse. In trials undertaken by Intervet, horses tolerated this innovative application method well.

Where vaccination is required and to minimise the risk of strangles taking hold, all horses in a yard should be vaccinated.

Answer 6

Call your vet.

FYI: From what I've found out about the strangles vaccine, its as dangerous as the disease itself. Make sure you know what the side effects are before you use it, if you decide to go that route.

Answer 7

One of my horses almost died from strangles. It is contageous too :( gl with your horse

Answer 8

Call your Vet and ask those questions.'

Answer 9

she'll get a huge swollen thingon her neck
but if you think she might have it, call a vet

Answer 10

call a vet