Rising cases of Strangles

Traks

Traks

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 September 2021
Messages
3,312
Visit site
I’ve been following this page for a while and am slightly alarmed at the rising number of strangles cases…https://www.facebook.com/share/1NRzZKw6sz/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Multiple cases now across the UK rather than just one area. Why do people think this is on the rise? Is it due to poor biosecurity? Just seems to be something that we’ve never really come across before and wondered what others think?

We’ve had the strangles vaccine as the vets were doing a yard day before Christmas, and seemed a good idea as the yard does regular arena hires etc and lots of horses coming and going. We also compete a lot and go out at least once a week.

Just curious why people think this is becoming more prevalent?
 
Last edited:
I think it's always been around but we've got better at detecting it and also maybe horses aren't getting mildly exposed as youngsters and so building immunity.

As an example a small yard close to me has been on lockdown for months with it and have followed all et protocols. Several times they've had no symptomatic horses for well over the three weeks since the last infected horse tested clear but then testing before opening up again has shown another case. Even on such a small yard it's feeling never ending and costing everyone a fortune that some liveries can't afford. Now in the past it would have been a case of no horses symptomatic for a month, temperatures all consistently ok, off we go. Would it have spread more? Who knows. But while people are being this careful I wonder if it's a bit like the Covid situation where no-one built up any natural immunity and when young kids started school they were often constantly ill because they'd been exposed to so little and so had a very weak immune system.
 
Nari said:
I think it's always been around but we've got better at detecting it and also maybe horses aren't getting mildly exposed as youngsters and so building immunity.

As an example a small yard close to me has been on lockdown for months with it and have followed all et protocols. Several times they've had no symptomatic horses for well over the three weeks since the last infected horse tested clear but then testing before opening up again has shown another case. Even on such a small yard it's feeling never ending and costing everyone a fortune that some liveries can't afford. Now in the past it would have been a case of no horses symptomatic for a month, temperatures all consistently ok, off we go. Would it have spread more? Who knows. But while people are being this careful I wonder if it's a bit like the Covid situation where no-one built up any natural immunity and when young kids started school they were often constantly ill because they'd been exposed to so little and so had a very weak immune system.
Click to expand...
Have they cleaned out all their water troughs and disinfected everything? Because it can last for months on surfaces and in water. Have they looked for carriers on the yard? That’s the other possibility.

It has always been around - I was in yards with it twice in the first decade of my horse owning experience. Never had an issue once the first contacts went through it. It spread to horses in the same field and ones within sneezing distance stabled. Then stopped. No more cases thereafter.
 
maya2008 said:
Have they cleaned out all their water troughs and disinfected everything? Because it can last for months on surfaces and in water. Have they looked for carriers on the yard? That’s the other possibility.

It has always been around - I was in yards with it twice in the first decade of my horse owning experience. Never had an issue once the first contacts went through it. It spread to horses in the same field and ones within sneezing distance stabled. Then stopped. No more cases thereafter.
Click to expand...

Not my yard so I don't know, but considering they're following vet advice to the letter I expect so. That advice is including multiple guttaral pouch scopes and washes so yes any carriers would be picked up.

I wonder if in the yards you were on if they'd been testing all the horses regularly they'd have come up with a lot of mild/non-symptomatic cases? That's what seems to be happening here.
 
We are mid outbreak. It didn't help that the first 2 horses were swabbed and the tests came back negative for strangles. Both had different vet practices so not a vet issue. Neither horse had more than a temp, heavy breathing and a bit off. Despite being careful as the "random respiratory bug" was clearly infectious it had spread to 6 of 7 horses before any showed strangles symptoms. Of the whole yard only 2 had anything more than a few days of being low, off their food and some of them a bit puffy. My little treasure waited until everyone else was getting better before getting it, prolonging the agony.
 
I think it's always been around. We had it quite a few years ago when my neighbour bought a cob from a traveller. It didn't end well for that poor horse, but the others two that showed symptoms recovered, with only one having proper symptoms.
 
Horses going to more competitions and staying over and not disinfecting their stables before using them. This happened to an owner recently but it turned out to be a strain of equine flu. No biosecurity measures put in by the show. The stables were wrapped but no cleaning of stables after competitions and the shows there are big. Her horse nearly died.

Someone said today they had bought a pony no vetting,no GPW, straight into the herd, no biosecurity out competing the same week. You can tell them until you are blue in the face they won't listen and an irresponsible yard owner or as we often hear, the yard is owned by a farmer we do what we want.
 
Last edited:
I honestly think it should be a DEFRA reportable disease.

I know of a situation once where a horse with a known positive case was sent to a bin end dealer because the owner didn't want to treat the horse. That should.never be allowed to happen but it currently can.

It's obviously horrific for the horse and future horses that will come into contact with the horse but galling to those owner's that put the time and money into treating their own horses - never mind the one's that lost their horses to it.
 
Strangles has always been around in the semi-feral forest run ponies, it just varies in location and intensity. Each year before the drift season the Agisters decide on whether it is safe to hold certain drifts, or if strangles cases are too high then that area will be avoided.
 
I think it’s always been around, for as long as I can remember there’s been a breakout locally at least once a year, generally always well contained. Perhaps we’re just more aware of it/outbreaks are more publicised, due to social media?
 
KikiDee said:
I think it’s always been around, for as long as I can remember there’s been a breakout locally at least once a year, generally always well contained. Perhaps we’re just more aware of it/outbreaks are more publicised, due to social media?
Click to expand...
Just musing, but perhaps also more people having transport for their horses helps it spread across a wider area? In the days when lots of people hacked to shows (and there were more local shows and RC events) that would have put a bit of a limit on how much / how fast it could spread. Whereas now it's pretty usual to drive for an hour for a clinic or a group ride, let alone a show.
 
Widgeon said:
Just musing, but perhaps also more people having transport for their horses helps it spread across a wider area? In the days when lots of people hacked to shows (and there were more local shows and RC events) that would have put a bit of a limit on how much / how fast it could spread. Whereas now it's pretty usual to drive for an hour for a clinic or a group ride, let alone a show.
Click to expand...
Yes this is what I was wondering, people seem to go out a lot more than they did 20-30yrs ago and there are far more clinics etc
 
MuddyMonster said:
I honestly think it should be a DEFRA reportable disease.

I know of a situation once where a horse with a known positive case was sent to a bin end dealer because the owner didn't want to treat the horse. That should.never be allowed to happen but it currently can.

It's obviously horrific for the horse and future horses that will come into contact with the horse but galling to those owner's that put the time and money into treating their own horses - never mind the one's that lost their horses to it.
Click to expand...

I can't agree with this. In most cases it isn't life threatening, it's spread by contact, and it's more widespread than people realise. Making it notifiable would add layers of bureaucracy, add to the vets bills, and almost certainly lead to an increase iin people who ignore symptoms and don't get the vet because they don't want to set things in motion.

I do think it would help if more people knew there's now a decent vaccine available and if using it became as widespread as the flu jab is, at the moment some vets don't even offer it which is a shame.
 
Nari said:
I can't agree with this. In most cases it isn't life threatening, it's spread by contact, and it's more widespread than people realise. Making it notifiable would add layers of bureaucracy, add to the vets bills, and almost certainly lead to an increase iin people who ignore symptoms and don't get the vet because they don't want to set things in motion.

I do think it would help if more people knew there's now a decent vaccine available and if using it became as widespread as the flu jab is, at the moment some vets don't even offer it which is a shame.
Click to expand...
I would love a combined jab - flu, strangles, tet and the other option being flu + strangles. It would become routine to vaccinate horses and we’d be mostly done with this. Hopefully one day…!
 
I know of several cases over the last few years. Most were due to the arrival of a new horse rather than an existing horse bringing it back from a competition. One yard has had at least 2 outbreaks due to incoming horses from a bin end auction.

There's a lot bigger percentage go through dealers or sales livery than in the past so there's a lot more contact there. I've been at dealer yards where there is no way to isolate sick horses and where they don't warn you that there's one with a snotty nose likely to sneeze all over you :rolleyes: . Lack of disinfection at stay away shows and clinics wont help but I think the contacts at dealer yards are far more and more horses are exposed with internal barn type stabling than traditional outdoor boxes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top