Strangles

[shellie4597]

There is a foal where I agist my horses that has thick nasal discharge & a lump the size of a tennis ball half way down his neck. The owner of the agistment property owns this foal & has had the vet out to him but did not inform him of the discharge & said the foal had probably been kicked by another horse in the neck. I am worried about it being strangles. None of the agisters have signed a contract and I was wondering who would be liable for vet costs if the other agisters horses contracted this from the foal. I am going to ask the agistment owner to get their foal tested but I'm afraid that it may be too late for our horses. I have a mare in foal and 3 other horses agisted at this property and not sure what to do.

 

[sil]

If the vet came out he would certainly have noticed the discharge. Haven't seen any confirmed strangles cases recently (lots of rumours though) in WA.

Strangles jab helps reduce the symptoms but doesn't stop infections.
If you are very concerned your best bet would be to speak to your agistment manager and sort something out.

 

[shellie4597]

the discharge was gone when the vet came out no one noticed till the morning when the foal was taken from the stable to the paddock. I informed the owner myself that he looks like he has a cold, but then we thought about the lump on his neck. I think its best she gets the vet out to do a nasal discharge test to be sure.

 

[kp]

The last case of strangles I heard of in WA was about february. It is usually pretty obvious that the horses are sick. The abcess they sometimes get (not all strangles cases will develop an abcess that drains under the jaw) isn't usually half way down the neck.

As the owner of the horse you liable for all vet fees. It isn't necessarily anyones fault a horse contracts strangles. Once it is on a property the infection will run its course.

 

[Harriett]

Yep its that time of the year again.... I have just given mine all their Strangles shots again as my vet has seen a few horses with Nasal Discharge, and swollen Lymph nodes esp in Wanneroo and surrounding areas.
Better to be safe than sorry I say