We are devasted - strangles

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Princess Layla

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We are so upset, it is heartbreaking for us and not sure how it has come to be as we only leave the yard to compete locally. Part of me doesn't want to own up as theres always a stigma attached but we do have a duty of care to report we have 3 of our beloved horses tested positive with strangles. We have isolated them but we have 5 others on the yard and it's almost impossible to isolate them from the other three, but we cant send them anywhere either.

We're in Chalfont, Bucks. We're told there is one other case locally. We've called around to tell everyone but nobody else is owning up.

More tests in 3 weeks. I'll keep you posted. :(:(:(
 
Oh no, really feel for you. I am never quite sure why there is such a stigma attached to strangles, it would be so much easier to control if everyone was open.

Well done for spreading the word, and hope you get it cleared up soon.
 
We had to deal with an outbreak recently. I'd just make sure EVERYONE knows what is expected of them in terms of infection control. Don't let them handle infected horses and vice versa. Be meticulous with your hygiene and hopefully you will get the all clear very soon.
 
I was on a yard where a few horses go strangles. The YO was brilliant and there were foot dip buckets and hand sanitizer all over the yard and we all dipped and wiped every time we "crossed a threshold". YO's mum did the sick ones and didn't touch anything else or if YO had to then she would shower and change afterwards. After it was confirmed no other horses got it. As people on the yard compete once the horses were better they opted for the swab and flush which if it is clear gives you the all clear straightaway. The other option is 2 clean swabs 6 weeks apart I think, which obviously takes longer.
I too find it very strange the stigma attached to it, it is just a virus after all.
 
That's a shame another who doesn't understand the stigma attached. Hope you get the all clear soon and no more of your horses become infected.
 
We have an outbreak here in East Devon.

Unbelievably, I went with a friend to view a horse last Friday - and arrived at the yard only to be told that the mare we'd gone to see "had a cough". She had, plus a snotty nose to boot, poor mare.

We are both YO's with the responsibility of other people's horses on our yards, we were not happy. We'd travelled over an hour to get there and if the seller had told us beforehand that there was a "cough" on the yard we wouldn't have gone. We didn't know at the time that there was "atypical" strangles around in Devon - that only came to light the following day. (The yard in question did not and has not developed an outbreak by the way).

Seller was very irresponsible IMO. Am still seething about that a week on............
 
Thank you for being honest and alerting others! Someone like myself really appreciates it.. If only everyone else was the same.

I hate to ask but would you mind PM'ing me whereabouts you are? I only ask because I am also in Chalfont and would like to know where I should/shouldn't be hacking/competing!

I hope they all recover quickly. I was once on a yard with a positive test, the pony was never as sick as what you'd imagine and nothing else came down, so fingers crossed for you :)
 
While I don't understand the stigma about what is basically viral tonsillitis in horses (yes I know it can be serious) I totally understand why you're wary of being open about it although it is 100% the right thing to do. We've had two outbreaks about 30 miles apart but I'm slap bang in the middle of the two. The hysteria and vitriol is unbelievable.

A friend of a friend went out hacking about 2 miles from the field where there were infected horses (old, retired horses who haven't left the field since they arrived 6 months ago. It must have been lying dormant and then got triggered by something) and had people chasing her down the road in their car screaming abuse at her. My friend who lives across the road from the field (there's a thick scrub area for the first 30m of the field so horses can't get near the road) has been boxing her (perfectly healthy - she's been taking his temperature every day) horse up and going 3 miles down the road to hack just to avoid being accosted. She rang the vet for advice and he said as long as she kept more than 10m from the infected horses or anything they might have touched she'd be fine.

The other yard where there was an outbreak was huge yard with over 60 horses. With proper management and hygiene they contained it to 3 horses, which is pretty miraculous. Having said that, 15 tested as carriers and had to be flushed and I believe the yard is still in lockdown 3 months later. They have dealt with it very professionally and reasonably. We still had people pulling out of a clinic my riding club was running though - 10 miles away and one to one lessons!

Hope yours recover quickly.
 
Very well done for being honest. That is what we need to break this ridiculous stigma. Sadly you may well have picked it up when competing from someone who was less ethical. Otherwise - on vets advice -you might want to test to see if you have a carrier.

Hope they all recover well and quickly.
 
Hope they recover soon. It's not nice.

I don't see what's the issue with it to be honest, it's just one of them things just wish more yards would be honest about it, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I was on a livery yard once and we had a horse get it, a two year old who never left the yard! Turned out one of the liveries was hacking to a local riding school and letting her horse be used in lessons which had strangles, her horse had been off colour so she'd be giving it bute in secret and told no one!!

I've just heard we have cases of equine flu in my area 😞 Worried about my mare with grass sickness as she's not vaccinated against flu due to her immune system being to low to vaccinate for it yet.
 
annagain said:
While I don't understand the stigma about what is basically viral tonsillitis in horses (yes I know it can be serious).
Click to expand...

I hate to be pedantic but its bacterial, not viral. It's an important distinction to us microbiologists ;)

OP I feel for you, its such a pain in the ar5e. Do not share a tap, buckets or other water sources as well anything else-a friend had it rolling around the yard she was on due to people using taps,buckets, troughs etc etc.
 
Also, to be pedantic, the owner of the horse it was picked up from may not have been unethical. It is surprisingly common for a horse to not have the obvious symptoms - neither of mine did when they had it. Horse,1 was new had a teeny bit of clear snot but only when ridden, then started coughing occasionally. Because he was new we got the vet out who didn't think it was strangles but took a swab to be sure - by the time we got the results back all symptoms were gone. If we had just given it a couple of more days we would never have known and he had just had his flu jab which is supposed to make it worse. He never had a high temperature or loss of appetite & had plenty of energy. Horse 2 caught it off horse 1 and had no symptoms at all despite being imminent compromised at the time.
 
annagain said:
While I don't understand the stigma about what is basically viral tonsillitis in horses (yes I know it can be serious) I totally understand why you're wary of being open about it although it is 100% the right thing to do. We've had two outbreaks about 30 miles apart but I'm slap bang in the middle of the two. The hysteria and vitriol is unbelievable.

A friend of a friend went out hacking about 2 miles from the field where there were infected horses (old, retired horses who haven't left the field since they arrived 6 months ago. It must have been lying dormant and then got triggered by something) and had people chasing her down the road in their car screaming abuse at her. My friend who lives across the road from the field (there's a thick scrub area for the first 30m of the field so horses can't get near the road) has been boxing her (perfectly healthy - she's been taking his temperature every day) horse up and going 3 miles down the road to hack just to avoid being accosted. She rang the vet for advice and he said as long as she kept more than 10m from the infected horses or anything they might have touched she'd be fine.

The other yard where there was an outbreak was huge yard with over 60 horses. With proper management and hygiene they contained it to 3 horses, which is pretty miraculous. Having said that, 15 tested as carriers and had to be flushed and I believe the yard is still in lockdown 3 months later. They have dealt with it very professionally and reasonably. We still had people pulling out of a clinic my riding club was running though - 10 miles away and one to one lessons!

Hope yours recover quickly.
Click to expand...

Echo this. I had it here - two got it bad, one coughed twice or something and five (including two who were in the field next door and whose owner said 'so what?') nothing. By the time it was obvious what was going on, it was too late to isolate. I was ***** furious with the person who knowingly passed it on, and I stayed at home.

It's nasty, yes, but there's no need for anything except sensible behaviour and respect for the wider community.
 
Thank you for sharing - the more people so this the more likely we'll l break the stigma. Hope your horses are better soon.
 
Chalfont near to Seer Green? I was at a yard there that came down with strangles, all cleared up a couple of months ago though
 
I'm at a yard local to Chalfont - can you PM me as we can't find out where the outbreaks are and need to know how close you are so that we can take the necessary precautions.
 
My friends horse got it and nearly died that was about 12 years ago now. The vets were incompetent and the one that saw him had just joined the practice after working in Nz all his life. Luckily she got a second opinion and bascially the treatment saved his life and he went onto join the police and he retired last month. He had to be tested to see if he was a carrier. Anyway a lot of horses come in contact with it depends what strain it is how well they are how as most get a slight cold and you would never even notice. So although people say don't panic but understand what your dealing with and how quickly it can spread if not contained it is part of the course of being a horse owner knowing how to handle things..
 
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