auction colt has strangles!

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The little guy is pretty sick. I have checked the archives and found very helpful information there, but if you have more wisdom to share, please do!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 14, 2002

Answers

When I was a teenager a horse breeder told me that all horses got strangles sooner or later, after which they were immune. He also said that they would feel very ill for a couple of days, and that good care was the best remedy. Of course, that WAS 30 years ago so the state of the art has probably changed!

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), January 14, 2002.

Try this site,Strangles Information Page, they are in Australia but offer information and a free CD on horse vaccinations and other information. Appears that the auction people need to be notified, as "Strangles is very contagious, especially with foals, spreading easily from horse to horse and often leading to large outbreaks with many horses affected. It is spread in the discharges (pus) from the nose and burst abscesses." From this, it appears that all of the other horses at the auction could of been infected.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 14, 2002.

Strangles is VERY contagious, but the good news is that normal, healthy horses usually recover. It does take a very long time, a long course of injectable antibiotics are necessary, and you will get real good at horse injections real quick!!!

Strangles and shipping fever are the two most commonly spread diseases among horses at auctions, the jamming them all together and the stress of shipping and being in a strange place combine to reduce their normal immunity. Most all the horses I have heard of coming from these type auctions have at least shipping fever, which is no picnic either, they can die of it if it develops into a bad pneumonia that doen't respond well to conventional anitbiotics.

You do need to quaranteen all your other horses awya from the colt, your vet will tell you how and why and what to use. Ask him/her about innoculating the other horses with strangles vaccine, it may still help after the fact ( just like smallpox vaccine does). Stragles vaccine is a three dose series that is pretty pricey, but effective.

Care of strangles, besides the injectable antibiotics, is basically supportive in care, keeping the little guy warm, dry, out of drafts, and plenty of high quality food and warm water offered frequently, he will not want to eat much at all when the disease really kicks in, ask your vet about offering root vegetables and beet pulp and the old stand by, pelleted Calf Manna, horses will eat that when they turn down all other food!!!

Best of luck with this one, Shannon :-)!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), January 14, 2002.


So sorry to hear Shannon. I would check out the site BC recommends. This looks like it covers it pretty well. What did your vet say to do? He is the one that saw the colt in person, I would take his advice first. Everyone here has had different experiences with their horses, used different treatments and have different opinions. ( some good advice and some not so good, but all with the best interest of your colt in mind). Please listen to your vet first. Good luck!!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002.

Lio has been quarantined since we brought him home, but the vet says I could have spread the disease already on my boots, just in normal daily activity around the farm. I'll be watching for signs of any illness in my other horses, and will start them on antibiotics if they start to act sick at all. I currently have no debilitated horses here, so hopefully if anyone else DOES get sick, they'll pull through. Doc doesn't want the colt on antibiotics for reasons given above, (bastard strangles). He says we just have to go through it, and to give supportive care and good food. He said that strangles was the first thing he thought of when he heard I had gotten a colt out of this particular auction. So far the colt continues to eat and drink at an acceptable level, though he is definitely depressed. Thanks for your concern and advice!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 14, 2002.


Sorry to hear about your colt, Shannon. Hope you already had him quarantined with separate feeding and housing.

How many animals do you have who could potentially have been exposed and need vaccinating? There's good advice above, I'm more familiar with Annie's scenario, and I know you're in for a hard row to hoe here. You have courage and conviction - I wish you stamina and lots of on site friends to help with what's coming your way. Keep us posted. Good luck!

BTW I finally saw the picture. Good lookin' animal! What are you going to do with him later?

-- HarleyinFL (cruisindog@juno.com), January 14, 2002.


I just re-read my answer and want to re-adjust it a little. By the statement "Everyone here has had different experiences- blah,blah,blah." I'm referring to this forum, past posts, not this particular post! Terri, BC, Annie, and Harley gave great advice. Just wanted to clear that up! Now that I have my foot out of my mouth, I can go eat supper! Best wishes to all!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), January 14, 2002.

Shannon, bless your heart, I am sorry the colt and you have to go through this. And yet, what better way for Lio to learn that you are Momma?!? The same thing happened to me after purchasing a two year old at a sale barn some years back. My vet did the same as yours. No antibiotics..just hay and water and alot of tender loving care. I must say it did bond us. One horse outta the bunch that was already on the farm broke with them shortly after. Neither had any lasting ill effects. The vet said, even though nasty looking, as long as the bumps broke to the outside and drained all would be well. As it was my first experience with it..I remember being in doubt on that!! But he was right..and all was well.

Keep up the great job and I sure thought that was a cute picture you posted!

Thinking of you both...Sher

-- Sher in se Iowa (riverdobbers@webtv.net), January 14, 2002.


Shannon, sorry to hear about the colt getting strangles. Your vet is right in not giving antibotics for your case of it. Where I grew up, the horses got it usually before they were one, got over it with easy care and then we didn't ever worry about it again. Kind of like chicken pox with children. If you use antibotics on strangles it will only take longer for the horse to get over it. In some cases the antibotics are needed if other health problems come up from the strangles, but most of the time they get over it quicker without. Giving him easy food to eat and keeping him quiet is the best thing for the next 14 - 21 days. Like I said, so sorry to hear he got it.

-- shari (smillers@snowcrest.net), January 14, 2002.

Strangles is nasty, but I look at it like Chicken Pox once they have it they're immune and you don't have to worry about it again. Bastard Strangles is the exception, but it doesn't happen with every case- thankfully! I've only seen one or two cases of Bastard Strangles. If your ponies haven't had Strangles they can easily get it (especially the young one), the bacteria in the snot is shed and can live up to a year outside the body. Bleach does nothing to kill it, you must use provodine iodine and wash everything down that he comes in contact with--including your hands and boots.

There are Strangles vaccines, but the Vet's I've talked to said that they haven't been proven to work consistently--from what I gather the intranasal is a better vaccine than the IM.

Did your Vet prescribe Bute or Banamine as an antiinflammatory/painkiller? They can help alleviate the pain associated with Strangles.

Thinking of you...

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy (KincoraFarm@aol.com), January 15, 2002.



Hi Shannon,

Though I haven't personally dealt with strangles I have seen it. The only help I can offer are some tips on getting horses to eat. He will probably nibble at his hay but not much more. I have found that horses will usually eat the following when they won't eat much else:

1. Bran Mash sweetened with some molasses or apple juice (I would use the small frozen cans of apple juice)

2. Equine Junior, Purina brand.

When I give them the mash I give small amounts at a time, about a quart, as it can sour. They'll nibble at it, stop, go back etc.

I've had sick horses that wouldn't eat anything but the above. I've tried it on quite a few horses and they'll eat one or the other, usually both, sometimes mixed, sometimes alone, but they will eat it when they won't eat anything else. Note: For full grown horses I use equine senior by purina. I've tried other brands and the purina was the only one, one for one, they would all eat.

-- Stacia in OK (OneClassyCowgirl@aol.com), January 15, 2002.


My son has a 1/2 Arab who had what they believe to be strangles when she was young (she came from a big stable) before he got her. She became sick and had trouble breathing and had to be taken to a vet clinic for a trach. The Vet clinic had to put a hole in so she could breath poor filly! The rest of the horses in the barn recovered fine some did not even get anything. A new horse had been brought into the stable and they isolate, so things can happen. Keep an eye on him.

-- PJC (zpjc5_@hotmail.com), January 15, 2002.

Just keep an eye on the little guy's throat. Watch for swollen glands there and up underneath his cheeks (jaws). If these swell too much and don't rupture on their own, they will have to be lanced because they can swell so much they cut off his air--hence the name strangles.

-- Shauna from Oklahoma (shamelesscowgirl2001@yahoo.com), January 16, 2002.

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