OUTBREAK OF STRANGLES

As previously stated I have seen it first hand and lived with it for months, a horse died. However no one in the close vicinity contracted it, they couldn't.
 
I would still go, as unless my horse is rubbing noses with any other horses there shouldn't be a problem. I would park away from others, not share waterbuckets etc but otherwise you shouldn't be at a high risk.
 
If it where me I would avoid shows until the outbreak dies down because the yard with it caught it somewhere and shows are a risk.
But I would hack out as normal but avoid getting near other horses if you meet them.
 
ester said:
Is the not going to shows so that you don't pick it up from other horses? I am not sure why this is anymore likely that usual if the affected yard is on shut down?

2.5 miles is a fair distance, we had an outbreak at a large yard a couple of miles from us. It is only our two on our yard so we just hacked in the opposite direction and it certainly wouldn't have stopped me going out to shows etc as I don't think the risk from us or from others would be any greater than normal.
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The voice of reason!!

Strangles, as already stated, is spread by DIRECT CONTACT with the virus. There's a lot of hysteria related to strangles and a lot of urban myth too. Use common sense and I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
You are more than usually to pick up strangles at a show in the area of the affected yard because they picked it up somewhere.
This is why if it's in my area I dont go to shows and keep my ear to ground for a while before I go out and about again .
 
but they could have picked it up anywhere! People travel along way to compete these days, people buy horses from miles away or import, so no I don't think it makes it more likely than usual, particularly if you take all the usual precautions re eating/drinking/contact that you should anyway.
 
Goldenstar said:
You are more than usually to pick up strangles at a show in the area of the affected yard because they picked it up somewhere.
This is why if it's in my area I dont go to shows and keep my ear to ground for a while before I go out and about again .
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I see your point there but still feel that with normal precautions it should be fine
 
Strangles is primaraly a respiratory disease and can be spread when secretions like snot and saliva, either drop or are coughed, sneezed into the air, droplets land on items of equipment and/or people and are carried around and spread by these objects and people.
Whenever the secretions get onto you or equipment you are effectively a carrierif you go between infected and clear horses.

http://www.aht.org.uk/strangles.org/about.html
 
We have starngles at a livery yard just down the road from us so i feel your pain! I am being super paranoid about it and confining myself to the arena and hackinga round the fields on our yard til it goes away...
 
The neighbouring yard to us seperated by a lane had strangles they were a riding school and did not close our horses still did not get it as there was no direct contact.
Livery owner is over reacting ther is no more risk than usual . Strangles is always around except you often don't get to hear about it every show always carrys a risk so always take precautions.
 
ester said:
but they could have picked it up anywhere! People travel along way to compete these days, people buy horses from miles away or import, so no I don't think it makes it more likely than usual, particularly if you take all the usual precautions re eating/drinking/contact that you should anyway.
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Totally agree ester - I brought a pony over from Ireland and put him straight into quaranteen by himself for 2 weeks - other woman up there took her daughter's pony from one yard to pony club camp and then changed to our yard and thought nothing of shoving it out with ours! Just because it was PC camp! We had had strangles about 5 miles away. I regularly go to shows 2 hours drive away but not local so who is right and who is wrong? You can take precautions but there is also scaremongering.
 
marydoll said:
Depending on how its being managed you could find yourself doing this for a long time
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I know-i'm just being a bit cautious thats all! Its just beacuse some of the horses who had it were literally festering in the field with abcesses and their field is a bridleway so it could have been spread very easily. It seems to have died down now so i reckopn it will be safe to hack in the other direction to that yard at least! I admit i'm probably being way over cautious!
 
The yard in question is a highly professional establishment, run by very experienced people who will be following veterinary advice to the letter.
I don't think there is much to worry about TBH.
 
The whole subject of strangles is really a difficult area ,it often seems there is a sort of stigma about a yard getting strangles when in truth any yard that has horses going out and about can pick it up
THe severity of strangles varies so much so that sometimes its a short lived inconvenience but sometimes it's a terrible fatal disease and people's view of it are coloured by there own experiance of it ( my direct experiance was traumatic).
YO's can be forgiven for erring on the side of caution when strangles is about in their area.
But it goes without saying that of course affected yards should lockdown, but there is no definative right way for everyone else.
 
Gosh, here in the New Forest we'd never get out as Strangles is endemic in the feral pony population. We are however aware of the disease and don't allow our horses to graze when hacking on the forest or come into direct contact with Forest ponies. I know the vets around here would expect most local horses to test positive in a strangles blood test as they do get so much exposure to the virus. Generally only young or otherwise weak or poorly animals are effected, of course there are exception to this.
 
Yes that's the point isn't it, usually the affected horses are mildly unwell for a few days, the one who died on our yard was actually recovering it was a rare and unlucky reaction but very very sad.
 
I bought a little mare last year that contracted strangles on her first show out with us. She developed a small lump under her chin and that was it. She wasnt sick or sorry for even a day and it took months to go down. She had been in with all the others at some point and not one of them got it. My friends ponies had been in the field after her during a lesson one day ,again none got it.
Once we knew we confined her with the one she was in with as we figured that if she was going to get it she would have had it already and carried out strict routines and bio security. We were treated badly by some but majority were great within the pony club. We were allowed to compete for the pony club once the incubation period had died down and just kept ourselves to ourselves with red ribbons all round.
Our vet said that people in our position sometimes just stash the pony out of the way and carry on as normal. He said that he was not allowed to tell anyone so if we didnt nobody would know. We decided to be upfront about it because if we had known it was about we would have picked it up much quicker and exposed far less other ponies which may not have got through it as easily as our mare.
 
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