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To address the 'where did it come from?' question. Some horses are  
'carriers'. They harbor the bacteria in their guttural pouch where it  
can survive for years in an apparently healthy horse. These horses  
can 'shed' the bacteria and infect other horses through water tanks,  
stalls, etc.  Especially if conditions favor the bacteria. So  
sometimes it didn't come to the place - it was there all along. These  
carrier horses can't be diagnosed with swabs either, the only way to  
'cure' them is with antibiotics. I also learned that the 'don't give  
antibiotics or they may develop bastard strangles' is a myth.  
Antibiotics will kill the bacteria if administered properly. period.

My horse picked up strangles at the New Mexico ride last winter. I  
don't know when or how he actually contracted it (though we did see  
one very snotty horse drinking from a common tank) but I had to pull  
him from the ride, elevated heart rate and definitely not himself (I  
was wondering why he was being so good:). Didn't suspect anything at  
the time, but we got back to Arizona and he got a snotty nose, and  
soon almost all the horses on the place were sick. He was the only  
one that required treatment, as he did develop purpura - elephant  
legs and everything - and required tons of antibiotics and steroids.  
Merri and Rusty took care of him and all the others (I had flown off  
for some big event) including disinfecting everything. It totally  
shot the winter ride season for everybody!

Steph
On Jan 16, 2009, at 12:31 PM, Karen Everhart wrote:

> From my "13 horses out of 28 had strangles 3 years ago" experience.
>
> Here is what I learned from the Internal Medicine Vets At Oklahoma  
> State University:
>
> 1-    DO NOT GIVE THE VACCINE - the Internists there refuse to give  
> the vaccine unless an owner demands them to do so
> 2-    A horse which has had Strangles in the past OR has been  
> vaccinated can get the secondary, often fatal, complication called  
> Purpura.  We had a horse get it and he was hospitalized for 18 days  
> - first in ICU, near death, for nearly 2 weeks at OSU, and then in  
> quarantine for the remainder.  He came home with 6 weeks of IV  
> meds, etc.
> 3-    There will be times when you have no idea where the Strangles  
> bacterium came from.
> 4-    There are SOOOOO many strains now that the typical  
> symptomology we look for may not be relevant
> 5-    Once exposed, most horses develop a high immunity to the  
> strain they experienced.
>
> A brief review of our experiences:
>
> This all started in May.
>
> We had no new horses come into the rescue for 5 months.  We had no  
> illnesses.  One day, one horse (one of mine) showed a slightly  
> snotty nostril and an elevated temp.  This horse had not been off  
> the place for 1.5 years.   DX - Upper Respiratory Infection.
>
> Within a couple days another horse got sick, this one a rescue  
> which had not been off the place for 1.5 years.  Same initial  
> symptoms.  BUT, also displayed some choke signs.  Took her to the  
> Vet.  Vet tried to tube.  Unsuccessful.  Referred to OSU for  
> endoscope.  OSU said that there had been an outbreak of Strangles  
> in OK.  Was this strangles?  Vet said, absolutely NO.  So,  
> appointment was made.  I postponed the trip for one day as I was  
> not certain she would make it without hanging IV fluids due to  
> rapid dehydration.  She got better........within 2 days.  So, no  
> trip to the hospital.
>
> Then 4 more horses ill.  Called the Vet out to come and swab the  
> noses for a culture.  By the way, NONE of the horses showed the  
> classic submandibular abscesses.  On the day the Vet arrived the  
> most recent "patient" showed a thumb nail sized abscess (very  
> small) under his jawline.  It has opened and was draining.   
> CRAP!!!  Strangles.
>
> We had nearly 30 horses, and all run together, so all exposed.  So,  
> our Vet's decision was to vaccinate all which had not shown  
> symptoms.  BIG MISTAKE!!  One of those had apparently had Strangles  
> as a yearling (we checked with the breeder) and developed the  
> Purpura.  He was rushed to OSU and we saved him.  Within 2 days,  
> another developed Purpura (his 1/2 sister) but we knew what we were  
> dealing with and got it stopped with Dex and high doses of  
> antibiotics.  This mare was not hospitalized.
>
> It took us over 12 weeks to get through all the sick horses and  
> then 6 weeks of post symptomatic self-imposed quarantine.  We  
> worked hard on isolation procedures, etc. for months.  Since  
> then......knock on wood....nothing.
>
> We STILL do not have a clue where it came from .  We had no horses  
> off the place.  There had to be a carrier (remember, no new horses  
> for 5 months) but which one????
>
> After that experience, I will never vaccinate for Strangles again.   
> For 98% of the horses, this is a benign, contagious disease.  For  
> most, they don't even go off their feed.  It just is not worth it.
>
> As a side note - the horse which was in ICU for Purpura came back  
> from his ordeal, which started in June and ended in early  
> September, to win the 2006 Arabian Horse Association 1/2 Arabian  
> National Competitive Trail Ride title.
>
> Just my "more than just one rat" opinion.
>
> Karen Everhart MEd
> Co-founder and Executive Director
> Rainbow Meadows Rescue and Retirement, Inc.
> Serving the equine companions who have so loyally served us...
> www.rainbowmeadowsranch.com
> 620-725-3402
>
>
> Owner/Operator Horse Calls - Equine Management Solutions
> Centered Riding Instructor
> Distance Horse Conditioning and Training
> www.horsecalls.com
> 316-648-5082


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