Major problem with strangles AGAIN :-(

[doodah]

hey, i aksed about strangles bout a month ago and lots of you were very helpful.
The yard's vet came out and explained everything but a month on, something is not right.

We all adopted some quarantine rules but now, when we've had 2 other outbreaks, the yard owner doesn't seem to care.
the annoying thing is that because it's a really well developed yard, the yard owners are really strict usually about health and safety but they are now letting people into each others stables, the 1st infected horse which hasn't yet had 3 clear swabs and still has absesses has been moved to a different place, trailers are going onto each others farms and the owner of the 2 horses who have just got it, is not sterilising or anything.

sorry if i'm going on a bit, but i'm really angry especially when i'm disinfecting properly. the vet seems doesn't seem to care either, which is worrying. especially when pus is leaking out of absesses everywhere.

what am i supposed to do as i don't feel like i should step back and just let it happen

[lincolstables]

This is scandulous

The yard should be quarantined for at least 8 weeks, one person should attend their own horse and touch NO other, clothes should be washed after each visit and hands etc washed in Hibiscrub.

This should be reported to BHS, as to run as a Livery YO must have a Licence and if she is breaching Defra rules she could lose her licence.

[ferret]

we have had strangles a few years ago , our vettold us to not panic , treat the yard and horses the same apart from no hacking out or movement off the yard . He even said to turn out as normal , as the sooner they all come into contact with the virus the sooner the yard will be clear . We were lucky as only about 4 got any symptoms and only 2 were very poorly . The yard was shut in total about 8 weeks .
I think the big problem on your yard seems to be the yard owner , they need to make the rules and make everyone stick to them

good luck

[stinkpig]

You cannot be TOO careful with strangles and it needs the whole yard to be vigilent not just a few of you, the sooner everyone on your yard (including the owners ) realise this the sooner you will get back to normal, if not it could take an awful lot longer than need be.

[doodah]

yeh i fink the yard owner is scared of some people so this is why the are jsut walking all over her. as for defra, they can't step in because its not a notifiable disease, at least i don't think they can, its just so annoying especially coz we have young show ponies up there, who tend to be more susceptable to the disease, and its my last season on 14hh, 14.2hh so i really want to show! grrrrr...

[stinkpig]

I'm sure that you are desperate to show but the health and welfare of your horses has to come first. Why not try getting everyone together and talking this through so that they all know exactly what has to be done .

[doodah]

i mite, but 90 horses on a yard is pretty hard, but ur right, we shud all work together to get rid of it, i mite ring my vet to get him do do the talk again
thank you for ur help

[stinkpig]

It must be difficult with that many but got to be worth a try.

[ferret]

let us know how you get on

[doodah]

we have had another outbreak tests just got back today! grrrr..
i took ur advice and have revised quarantine rules and not as bad as i thought.
the kids just think disinfecting is a game so they are going through bottles per day, but better using too much i suppose.
the whole yard stinks of jayes fluid lol! but at least it smells clean.
i think it will just be a slow process but we will get there in the end

[stinkpig]

Be patient and the best of luck .

[ferret]

this is the problem with strangles ...it always finds a way to spread no matter how careful you are thats why our vet said the best way is to subject them all to the virus , they then will either get it or not and then the yard can hopefully reopen quicker , and also they will have built up some sort of immune system to it for the future

[interlude]

ferret said:

this is the problem with strangles ...it always finds a way to spread no matter how careful you are thats why our vet said the best way is to subject them all to the virus , they then will either get it or not and then the yard can hopefully reopen quicker , and also they will have built up some sort of immune system to it for the future

That's exactly what our vet said when the yard I was on had an outbreak about 4 years ago. Only 5 horses out of 50 odd actually got it. He also said a lot of horses are silent carriers i.e. they've had it and show no symptoms at all but can pass it on so you can go to any event and catch it from somewhere

[ferret]

the problem is when your on a big yard they all tittle tattle and everyone else knows best and then you have the yard 'know it all ' putting their penneth in to the less experienced people ;D

the vet should lay out the best treatment and care and then the yard owners should make the rules

[stinkpig]

Hear hear ferret, when we had an outbreak we made sure that horse owners in the area knew but i'm afraid a few of them were scaremongers and through ignorance could have made things worse

[labryinth]

We carried on as normal when a new horse bought strangles onto the yard, and none of the others developed it, nor was is passed out of the area.

Our vet pretty much said that it was better to carry on, as horses need to develop immunity, and if they were going to get it they were going to get it.

Luckily for us, it never progressed, although appreciate your concerns - most of the horses on our yard were reasonably old, so suspect that they had either had, or been exposed to virus before

[halfpass]

yep have to agree we were told to carry on as normal apart from leaving the yard or hacking as it is far easier to clear the yard after it has run its course

[try]

We had it last year. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. We closed our gates and nothing came in or went out until we had the third clear swab. We had four out of six come down with it one after the other, one would start recovering then the next one would come down with it. Our little stallion had three bad bouts, he would look as if he was recovering after the ten day course of antibiotics then four days after the antibiotics stopped the snot would start again. It took four months to clear it completely, until we had the third clear swab from everyone and i mean everyone, they had gutteral pouch washes and swabs, i was deteremined that none of my horses would carry it to anyone elses horses. My vets bill was horrendous, as you can imagine! Thankfully we have very understanding vets!!

[smudger]

i didnt think you should give horses antibiotics when they have strangles because if an absess needs to form it cant properly.....also virkon is the disinfectant to use rather than jeyes fluid....thats what my vet told me

[try]

Vets seem to be split into two camps on the anti biotics for strangles question. Our vets believe that you should treat with antibiotics (Crystopen) and i have to say i was very pleased with their handling of the whole situation. Only one pony out of our six had an abcess and she was the first pony to come down with it, the abcess had appeared before the tests had come back positive for strangles, she did not have anti biotics, we let it run its course with her. However vets in the next village do not believe in antibiotics for strangles. i think each practice is different!

[labryinth]

We were prescibed antibiotics, but not until the abcess had burst. The horse was in a very poor state when we received it, and the site of abcess was so big you could put your fist in it.

I had the job of injecting the horse and bathing the area, and it was the last job I did every day before leaving for home. I had an old pair of wellies which were thrown away when he had the all clear, and I washed all my clothes at the end of each day.

I don't know if this made any difference, but nothing else caught it.