Anyone here had experience with it?

A friend who is very new to horses, just bought a mare in foal. She already has one horse at home. She called me alarmed because she went to look at the horse and she had an open, draining abcess under the neck. The woman she got the horse from told her it was because the mare had gotten a cold while being shipped to her and that it was normal for that to occur. I told her that was absolutely NOT normal with a cold.

Since I have never experienced strangles myself, I put a call in to my vet, who I adore, she is awesome and asked her. She said she couldn't diagnose over the phone, but it sounded like strangles to her and her recommendation was to not get the horse because once you have it, it will go through your barn like wildfire and is nearly impossible to get off the premisis. Well I told my friend this, and she talked to her vet, he told her it probably wasn't strangles...and of course the woman again told her it wasn't strangles. My friend's vet mentioned a test, which the woman selling the horse told her wasn't necessary, even when my friend offered to pay to have it done. Well, she has gotten so convinced that she went ahead and purchased the horse anyway, even after I told her to pass, especially since she has her other horse there which can get infected. She is completely convinced the horse is fine.

The woman she got her from did not own this horse, she bought her and had her shipped in and is reselling her. This woman has around 100 head and this horse was in the barn with the other horses and in contact with them as well.

So...am I just completely paranoid? Or did this woman and my friend just totally screw themselves by allowing this horse contact with their own?

I just really hate to see my friend taken advantage of...I know I would have passed on the horse...but it was everything she was looking for...size, color, training and she is in foal. I just think she made a mistake. Is it just me?

HB

There is different stages of strangles. Horses may be infected for three to thirty days before showing signs (incubation period). Clinical signs of the disease are visible for three to twenty days, but may last up to 6 weeks. During later stages of the disease, the lymph nodes may burst, draining pus from openings in the skin.
The abscesses do not always remain confined to the throat area. Occasionally the abscesses spread to other parts of the body such as: the liver, brain, or lungs. I believe once it travels to the "other" parts it's called "bastard strangles". And this is the last stage before death. Most horses don't die unless poor nutrition and hygiene due to lack of owner care.
I always thought strangles was brought on by unsanitaty living condition and lack of "normal" care and food. Similiar to that of "ringworm" in a dog or cat. And horses that are exposed to other horses and their equipment (via travel, shows, sale barns, etc.) are at a greater risk of contracting strangles than isolated animals that remain in their own barn/pasture.
And I believe horses that were previously exposed to strangles have a lesser risk of becoming seriously infected than naïve animals. Stressed animals have a greater chance of contracting, since their immune systems become depressed with increased stress.
This disease can be a frustrating problem for any horse owner. But with efforts by the owner to maintain good hygiene and monitor the overall health of the horse, this disease can be resolved and prevented.

Strangles is a serious matter here in Pa, we had a "scare" and 30 day quarantine "race track closed" because a horse came through the gates with strangles positive.

I would have never bought the horse. Not to mention bring it home to my healthy stable.

Just an opinion.

If anyone knows anymore first hand let me know about it.

Man HB. She shuold have listened to you. Best case scenario the horse didn't have Strangles. I would live with that considering the worst case scenario was that it did and infected my other horses.

Not a chance I would take. SO no, its not just you. I think it was a mistake as well. And the person she got it from, like you said, just took a chance of affecting her 100 horses she has.

I delt with Strangles many yrs ago.By a friend visiting my barn and telling me she had strangles a few weeks back.But they had already walked in my barn and me showing my horses to them.What a mess I had. Sick foals.(almost lost them all. Sick mares and all the mares miscarried.And I had a hard time getting the mares back in foal at a later time..I have some horses comming from Indiania. (I hope tomorrow arriving).They will have to be quarantined. I don`t want them near my pregnet mares.

OK well here are some Q's I have.

Is the infected horse contagious if she is asymptomatic?

I know it comes from the bacteria Streptoccocis Equi...but is this something the horse will always have? (Similar to a Herpes type thing) Only contagious to others when the horse is having an outbreak?

From what I've read, it is nearly impossible to get rid of because it will get into the ground and everything. Is this the case? (Like ringworm in long haired cats)

Since this mare is supposedly "cleaned up", the abcess is healed and she isn't showing any signs of sickness, can she give it to the healthy horse now, or does she have to be showing signs of illness to give it to the other horse?

Just a note...she turned the new horse out with her other horse, the first day she got her home...which is a bad idea IMHO. I quarintine EVERYTHING, vaccines, no vaccines, healthy or not...until my vet comes and checks it out. Even then they are in Q for at least 2-3 weeks.

I am no expert in horses and I will gladly admit that my knowledge is limited...I know much more about dogs...lol. But it really bugs me when someone asks my advice about something, then completely does the opposite. I bothered my vet to ask about this horse, that isn't even mine, for HER benefit. I did that for nothing since she bought the horse anyway, never even bothered to do that test that her dog vet told her about and still turned that mare out with her other one, even though I told her she'd do better to not do that.

I dunno, maybe she has to be burned bad enough to realize that I wouldn't tell her something without talking with my vet or doing significant research on it first. I don't dole out advice I know nothing about...I'd just refer her to speak with her vet about it. I just don't know why one would bother to ask someone advice if they didn't trust them.

Maybe it's just me.

HB

If you have the strangles you need to be giving something like Tucoprim, which is a broader spectrum of antibotics, which is a conjuction of sulfradiazine and trimethoprim, which blocks the growth of the bacteria.
....penicillin works, but you need to give massive amounts, like 20ccs twice a day.
When not given enough, is when the bastard strangles occur.
My understanding of shipping fever isnt strangles, its equine influenza, which when a horse is stressed, the bacteria or virus jumps in and has its fun.
Either way, its always best to call a vet whenever you see your horse not eating normally or seemingly running a fever. Even just to check in with her/him and get him up to date with what is happening with you animal.
.....Oh, and I'am not a vet. Just some ideas.

A horse suspected of having strangles usually has a high fever and swollen lymph nodes around the head and face. If you feel under the neck at the throat you'll feel lumps kinda like pimples under fur. You can't miss them. ( this is the first stage of strangles ) The first step in proper management is to isolate this suspected case of strangles immediately. By isolating the horse you are protecting any other horses on the property. The only way to get a definitive diagnosis of strangles is via culture, so you must have the veterinarian examine the horse and get a sample to send to the lab.

In normal circumstances, a horse with strangles needs time to let the disease run its course. ( Vet. listed that is ) You should make the horse as comfortable as possible by providing proper housing and good quality feed. If the lymph nodes are swollen they may develop an abscess which usually break and drain. Try to encourage external rupture and drainage by applying hot packs to the swollen areas. In some cases, using phenylbutazone (bute) to reduce fever, pain, and swelling can also be helpful. 15% of horses with strangles will develop complications including internal abscessation of the lymph nodes of the chest, an allergic reaction to the cell wall of the bacteria resulting in purpura hemorrhagica, respiratory distress, and death.

My experience with strangles leads me to believe that some horses are carriers of Strep. equi. Though rare, these horses harbor Strep. equi within their lymph nodes or mucous membranes all the time. When they are stressed by hauling, crowding, hot weather, etc., Strep. equi becomes present in their nasal secretions. As the carrier horses drink at the stock tank and greet their susceptible neighbor nose to nose the disease is transmitted. In the susceptible horse the disease will become clinically evident in 3-20 days.

There is a new vaccination against strangles available and has been proven to be relatively effective. It may not fully protect against the disease and never will, but it lessens the incidence and severity of the disease. Called Pinnacle I.N. (intranasal).

Check it out!