Prevention

Several measures can be taken to minimise the risk of strangles on a yard;

1. Try and avoid contact with horses of unknown origin
2. Make sure a yard doesn’t become overcrowded
3. If horses are introduced, keep them in quarantine for at least a few weeks to observe the onset of any clinical signs of disease. Care must then be taken with personnel attending the isolated horses – they must not move from the isolated horses to the other horses on the establishment
4. Reduce sharing of tack or equipment from horses of unknown health status
5. Restrict movement of people onto the premises who have arrived from an affected yard
6. Minimise the risk of horses on the yard coming into physical contact with horses on neighbouring yards whose health status is not known
7. Vaccinate if the horse is at risk of contracting the disease, and ensure that new animals arriving onto the yard have an up-to-date vaccination program. Please discuss a suitable vaccination programme with your vet.
8. To maximise the effectiveness of a strangles vaccination programme, all horses on a yard should be vaccinated