Stressed. High strangles blood test

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Blueysmum

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New horse is supposed to be coming home tomorrow. Blood test last week came back today at 1.5 and 1.9.

So have had to quickly book in a pouch wash for tomorrow at another expense (£340).

She’s currently at the sales livery yard 3 hours away from where we live.

I’m so stressed. I don’t know what to do :(

She’s very high, if she comes back she has it (she’s showing no signs) then what do I do?

😩
 
I’m currently paying to keep her at the livery until she can come home, I can’t afford to pay for more weeks 😩😂
 
I'm sorry this has happened. But unfortunately, you're getting a crash course is horse ownership, unexpected costs crop up all the time.
Fingers crossed the pouch wash does the trick, and you can bring her home soon.
 
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I’m sure I won’t be the last person to post this. I had a horse test positive, similarly to yours OP, so a guttural pouch wash had to be done. This was clear. It’s highly possible yours will be the same- but fingers crossed for you.
As you need a clear strangles test result, there’s not much you can do I’m afraid other than have the GP wash, which will hopefully be clear.
 
Why are you paying for pouch washes can’t the dealer or owner of horse you have bought from stump up? Did the high blood count come from a vetting pre purchase? I wouldn’t buy until clear and would expect reduced livery fees from sales yard…this should impact their business.
 
Only about 10% of horses are carriers so it's unlikely there's anything in the pouch. Try not to worry. My horse had equally high results over a year after known exposure and his wash was clear.
 
Midlifecrisis said:
Why are you paying for pouch washes can’t the dealer or owner of horse you have bought from stump up? Did the high blood count come from a vetting pre purchase? I wouldn’t buy until clear and would expect reduced livery fees from sales yard…this should impact their business.
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Then you'll find no one will sell to you.
The test is optional and doesn't affect the horse's suitability, so nothing to do with the seller.
 
And for OP: it is unlikely there's anything in the pouch. If, however, there is , then your options are to pay for treatment and a number of GP washes, to remove the infectious material, or to walk away.

You can ask the seller to pay towards the treatment, they may or may not agree. But this is the worst case scenario since the vast majority of horses are not carriers. The horse may have been exposed to the bacteria even years ago , the score itself doesn't mean anything in terms of how recent or how "bad" the exposure was.

It is unlikely there is a problem so try to chill a bit and wait for the wash results. I was in the same boat a few years ago , hence was forced to learn quite a bit about this !
 
You need to be guided by your vet. Once you have the gutteral pouch wash results you'll be better placed to make decisions. Many horses have a positive blood test but the guttural pouch wash comes back clear. Ideally she should be isolated until you have the results, certainly don't put her with other horses at home until you know she's clear. Isolation is hard work but saves potential heartache.
 
Blueysmum said:
New horse is supposed to be coming home tomorrow. Blood test last week came back today at 1.5 and 1.9.

So have had to quickly book in a pouch wash for tomorrow at another expense (£340).

She’s currently at the sales livery yard 3 hours away from where we live.

I’m so stressed. I don’t know what to do :(

She’s very high, if she comes back she has it (she’s showing no signs) then what do I do?

😩
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It means at some point in the previous 6mths your horse has been exposed to strangles. It doesn't mean he has it but has either had it or been in contact with a horse that has. As he's from a sales livery it's highly likely he's had some exposure at some point.
I wouldn't panic but the gutteral pouch wash will cost a bit more than the bloods have done but it will give you a definitive answer. Worst case scenario antibiotics to kill any remaining bugs and he'll be good to go. You might need to quarantine him before moving him if he comes back as having it but then so will the seller have to do the same thing if they're responsible.
 
Thank you!
Iv calmed down now lol

I’m 3 hours away from said horse so trying to sort it all out and find vets etc has been hard :(

Obviously gutted she’s not coming home tomorrow but I’m hoping Friday or Saturday. They said they will collect the test tomorrow and will hopefully get results by Thursday evening.

Thank you! Xx
 
Plus if it comes back positive she will have to stay at the sales livery and be treated? It’s £200 a week so I hope not lol
 
Blueysmum said:
Plus if it comes back positive she will have to stay at the sales livery and be treated? It’s £200 a week so I hope not lol
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If it comes back positive then she will need to be treated where she is, yes. No yard would take a horse that is a confirmed carrier (or with possible active disease given that your numbers have gone up over time and that a horse who has had prior exposure would likely show very few symptoms if exposed again).
 
Both mine have tested positive to the blood test (one of them was blood tested twice, the other once). Both clear on the guttural pouch flush.

Going forward with any other horse, personally I’ll go straight for the pouch flush.
 
I wish I had, I thought there was no chance she’d be positive so I’d go the cheaper route. Now I’m paying £480 more 😩
 
My mare was knowingly exposed - new horse on yard had yellow gunk from under its neck - but still negative on guttural pouch wash.

Fingers crossed.

Eta - once exposed they tend to keep their immunity apparently so maybe there's a bit of upside.....
 
spike123 said:
It means at some point in the previous 6mths your horse has been exposed to strangles. It doesn't mean he has it but has either had it or been in contact with a horse that has. As he's from a sales livery it's highly likely he's had some exposure at some point.
I wouldn't panic but the gutteral pouch wash will cost a bit more than the bloods have done but it will give you a definitive answer. Worst case scenario antibiotics to kill any remaining bugs and he'll be good to go. You might need to quarantine him before moving him if he comes back as having it but then so will the seller have to do the same thing if they're responsible.
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Not in the past 6 months necessarily, the exposure could have been years ago. My horse tested high 18 months after exposure.
 
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I hate the strangles blood test. It's the biggest waste of time and source of stress. Every horse I have ever had tested has been sky high - one was the highest the vet had ever seen - but they were all negative on the guttural pouch wash so try not to worry.
 
Tidy_rabbit said:
I hate the strangles blood test. It's the biggest waste of time and source of stress. Every horse I have ever had tested has been sky high - one was the highest the vet had ever seen - but they were all negative on the guttural pouch wash so try not to worry.
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Well said! Most people don't understand it , they talk about positive and negative, like there's a pass or fail. And it creates hysteria. Plus it doesn't actually stop spread of strangles, so for those ignorant people it gives a false sense of security.

If a yard asks for the blood test , I know it's not a yard for me because it shows ignorance and lack of understanding. And I won't go there. Unless they blood test after every competition and clinic outing of course, since the blood test gives them such reassurance 🤣. My vet hates taking the blood test for the same reason.
 
Sounds very positive and also that you will shortly have your new horse home :)

As others have said, the blood test is notoriously unreliable. I had a horse go to rehab livery following an operation. They wanted a strangles blood test and his came back positive but my vet said not to worry about it but it did mean he was kept in isolation at the rehab yard. I had him from a foal and my vet had known him since then and he definitely had never had strangles.
 
More worried about equine flu and horses going to competitions. My friend went a very well known one and the stables were wrapped but her horse still got it. She phoned them up and they said they don't disinfect the stables. Her horse was very ill. Another comp was held the week after and someone had posted that their horse was very ill from attending. So make sure you disinfect your stable before use.
 
Blueysmum said:
New horse is supposed to be coming home tomorrow. Blood test last week came back today at 1.5 and 1.9.

So have had to quickly book in a pouch wash for tomorrow at another expense (£340).

She’s currently at the sales livery yard 3 hours away from where we live.

I’m so stressed. I don’t know what to do :(

She’s very high, if she comes back she has it (she’s showing no signs) then what do I do?

😩
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It will be ok! when we moved yards we had to do one, and my boy needed the pouch wash but it did the trick!
 
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