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[RC] Advise on Strangles from the Vets - Dana B.

Tony Corbelletta, CA wrote:
 
"Two horses at our barn(out of 80) have strangles..... They are now
say that the barn must be quarantined and NO horses can leave the property
for 60 days....  Keep in mind that NO authorities have mandated the quarantine, not the Vets or other "health department" folks...
I thought that Strangles was spread by contact with mucus, sharing feeding and water troughs etc.  In the past I have had horses sick with strangles who got better with penicillin and no other horses got infected"
 
Tony, I'm not a vet but there is tons of info out there on strangles.  The consensus seems to be that penecillin is *not* indicated on a routine basis.  It is also possible for a horse to be an asymptomic carrier for quite some time, and that horses can be contagious for 6 weeks after recovery.  Incubation period is 4-14 days.  Spread of the disease can also happen via clothes and shoes of people in the area.
 
I personally applaude the folks who are willing to self-impose a 60-day quarantine on their horses and not inadvertently (and selfishly) risk exposing potentially hundreds or even thousands of other horses to this ugly disease which does carry a risk of mortality.  It's one thing to go to a ride and then discover that your horse was exposed or carrying something, but completely another to consciously make the decision to do so when there is a chance, albeit remote, that you could infect other peoples' horses.  I personally would not even think of attending  rides under those circumstances.
 
Dana,
also in CA who would rather not share a trough with you less than a month after your horses have most likely been exposed to strangles (they might be separated by distance, but insects and other creatures travel, and people are woefully careless with aseptic technique)


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