STRANGLES at our yard!!!

M

Mbronze

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This is just great....

A woman from our yard buys a new horse from a dealer in Leeds (somewhere) brings it back without having it vetted etc
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, YO does not have a policy on introducing new horses to the yard so it gets put out in the field with others and stabled in both my horses barn..
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!!

And a week later after the vet had been because it had suspected flu, we have now got a confirmed case of Strangles..(not sure of the strain though
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)...akk

Neither of my horses have had the vaccine, partly because it was expensive and partly because to my knowledge it hasn't been proven to work.
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So am in distress, my oldest boy (28) is having to go out every night to make sure that he gets (fresh) air, but he looses weight so easily and it really is taking its toll on him leaving him out, and my youngest can't do any comps for the next 3-6 weeks.
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The only consolation i have is that they are still both healthy
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, and nothing abnormal about them ATM!! Any advice???

Would you be inclined to leave your horse out until the all clear or stable them, or would you have your own vet do swabs to check them (all in a tizzy now!!!) Why me!!
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I give the older one, three small feeds a day instead of two semi large feeds, because I heard the little and often feeding helps with weight.

They have removed the strangles horse today, but just worried that our barn is contaminated!! That may sound weird though...
 
Try not to worry about it too much, if everyone behaves responsibly it shouldnt spread! Both my horses have been exposed to strangles 4 times (on one occasion my horse could even touch noses with the infected horse (before we knew it was infected)) and never caught it.
 
I gotta say here as one of the population who has been through this with my own horse and nearly lost him (he had the bastard strain of the disease)

I gotta defend the owner of the horse, none of us choose to go through this, its heartbreaking and one of the most distressing things both horse and owner can go through.

Even if she had of had the horse vetted the chances are that it wouldnt of shown up as its not one of the things they test for.

Every horse in their lifetime will catch this disease, some get it and you never know others get it and they die.

Please do not feel put out or angry with the owner of this horse as im sure if it were you going through the same thing you would want support from fellow horse owners who understand that its not your fault because i know when Indi had it i was made to feel like it was my fault it was only when people saw how poorly indi was and what i had to do to keep him alive that they took the time to understand.
 
Oh and just to add we were on a yard of 20+ horses and Indi was quaranteened inside his stable inside a tarpaulin tent 24 hours a day 7 days a week for 6 months and had to have a emergency traceoctomy as he literally couldnt breathe.

No other horses caught the disease on our yard including my moms 3 year old who she had to go home have a shower and change clothes before seeing to after she had helped me with Indi.

The best advice i can give is disenfect everything and keep your distance from the infected horse and more importantly tell the owner that you UNDERSTAND and are THERE FOR HER if she needs a shoulder to cry on!!!

Believe me this will mean alot to her.
 
It's not the woman's fault and it wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference whether the horse was vetted or not - it wouldn't have shown up in a vetting.

Some yards are not able to run a quarantine area for all new horses and some yards don't want one either. It's pot luck where strangles is concerned - any horse can catch it.

The strangles vaccine never worked and it has subsequently been withdrawn from the market anyway, so that wouldn't have made any difference.

It is just bad luck and nothing anyone could have done about it.

I've dealt with strangles twice in my life and it generally isn't anywhere near as bad as most folks would have you believe. Normal strangles just makes your horse feel under the weather for a week or so - the worry is always that it could turn into bastard strangles; this is the main reason I will never use Pen G when giving nursing care to horses with strangles; best just letting the symptoms come and go.

If I was you, I would leave my horses out. They have a far better chance of not catching it if they are not in contact with so many horses. Your old boy may have a better chance than most to be quite honest. 75% of all horses who get strangles become immune to it and there's a good chance he may have had it at some point in his 28 years.

You wouldn't want to to do competitions, or indeed take your horses off the yard for 60 days after the all-clear, but it's a small price to pay really.

Good luck - hope they all weather it well; and please don't worry too much; it's usually over and done with in no time.
 
My friend's horse has just had strangles and she is at a yard not too far from Leeds so I would be interested to know where this horse came from if you find out. Thanks.
 
Are you sure the new horse brought the virus? I understood that often when a new horse arrives, the stress of traveling and settling in to a new environment can weaken their immune system. This means they are more susceptible to viruses that are carried by horses at the yard they move to. Hence why it is more likely for horses to catch a virus in a new yard than to bring it.

I don't know how strangles works, can horses be carriers without showing any symptoms? Whatever the reason, it doesn't change anything and all you can do is focus on doing the best for your horses. Fingers crossed that yours manage to avoid catching it. All the best with it anyway.
 
Yes horses can be silent carriers of strangles. This can mean that they never ever show symptoms and all horses they come into contact with, may or may not be immune to it which is why some horses can catch it from them and others won't.
 
Look after your oldie. Ours at 26 got complications. She survived - the slightly younger pony she caught it from didn't
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Keep it well away from everything, if it isn't too late, and get veterinary advice if he shows <u>any</u> signs of being unwell. His immune system may well be slightly compromised with his age. Lots of TLC and add echinacea to his diet quick!
 
We had strangles at our yard last year in similar circumstances. I think you just have to sit it out really. Our YO stopped all movement in and out of the yard, and all unnecessary contact with the horses. If your chap has been out and hasn't had contact with the infected horse, then I would leave him where he is. I know it's a worry with his weight, but it won't be forever and it may save you loads of money and heartache in the long run.
 
think I'd be inclined to leave them out, well away from the infected horse. Many horses show no outward signs of strangles, but can have it just the same, sometimes carrying it for a year or more, and infecting other horses. This is why it's so hard to contain. You, and every one else on the yard, also need to be vigilant with regard to cross contamination, so no shared feed buckets, no dropping of bedding etc etc, the owner of infected horse should not come into contact with anyone else or their horses. Hard to manage unless everyone is really conscientious.
 
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