I remember walking outside to feed and there I saw my mare with her head hanging low and a bloody substance oozing from underneath her jaw. Sure I had dealt with a few births and other equine-related illnesses so not much tends to gross me out, but I had never experienced anything like that before. I was also quite confused about how she got the oozy abscess. It wasn’t until a visit from the vet, did I know what I was dealing with. Ten years ago was my first encounter with Strangles.
So what exactly is Strangles and how does a horse get it?
It’s a highly contagious infection caused by the spread of bacteria called Streptococcus equi. The bacteria contaminates mucus in their nose and mouth which then moves up to the lymph nodes where it causes swelling and abscesses that eventually rupture. This bacteria can be spread from horse to horse, human to horse, exposure to previously contaminated tack, or through sharing a water trough with a horse that is already infected.
The severity of it depends on mostly the horse’s immune system. Although younger horses tend to show more severe signs whereas older horses do not. This could be attributed to the fact that once a horse gets it and heals from it it can carry an antibody for up to five years to prevent them from catching it again. However, hypothetically speaking a younger horse could potentially catch it and show severe signs and recover just fine, but if an older horse who’s already not in the best of health catches it, it could be a much longer road to recovery so ultimately it really depends upon a horse’s immune system.
What are the symptoms of Strangles?
The symptoms include lethargy, anorexia (because the airways can become so swollen that they stop eating and drinking), fever, nasal discharge, and swollen lymph nodes with abscesses. The incubation period can be from three to eight days which is when symptoms can appear. Lymph nodes can abscess about one week after getting the infection.
In my case, the only sign my mare showed was nasal discharge. There were no other obvious signs of the infection prior to her lymph nodes actually rupturing.
How is Strangles treated?
It is treated with tender loving care and possibly antibiotics which is a hot topic for most people. Some people think that if they treat it with antibiotics, it will lower the horse’s immune system and make it easy for that horse to get reinfected. If the lymph nodes have ruptured you will have to treat that abscess through hot packing and flushing the wound to keep it clean and allow it to properly heal.
The prognosis for the average Strangles case is good! It can take between three to six weeks to fully heal. However, If the lymph nodes did rupture it can take a longer recovery time.
If this has been helpful to you, please reach out on my personal Instagram @unbridledmama and let me know. Or, if you would like to see a different topic discussed let me know of that too!
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