Strangles

Strangles is so-named because the infection causes the lymph nodes between the jawbone to become enlarged, causing the horse to make strangled breathing sounds.

The infection is highly contagious and causes fever and abscesses in the head and neck region. The animals' throat becomes inflamed, which makes eating and swallowing difficult. It is spread to other horses by direct contact and can be spread by contaminated food, water and equipmet. Horses under 5 years of age are more susceptible than older horses and it most often occurs when the weather is cold and damp. Once a horse becomes infected the symptoms usually appear within 2 to 6 days.

Symptoms of Strangles
Symptoms include sudden high temperature, inflammation of lymph nodes accompanyed by nasal catarrh and often coughing. The horse is distressed and may be off its feed as swallowing is difficult. Although not usually fatal if left untreated the lymph nodes can abscess. These will usually burst and drain but in extreme cases the abscess can become so large as to cause the windpipe to be crushed resulting in strangulation of the horse.

Treatment of Strangles
Any horse suspected of suffering from Strangles should be isolated from others and veterinary advice should be sought immediately. Antibiotics are not routinely recommended because they can cause the infection to establish itself at other locations in the body which are harder to treat. In severe cases the abscess may require to be lanced and the horse fed intravenous fluids.