[GingerSnap]

With mine it started with a thick yellow snotty nose, that was the only sypmtoms Peyton got. Amy got the snotty nose too, but the vet noticed a swollen lympnode on her neck behind her cheek bone but in the throat latch area up kinda high.

so far only a golf ball size swelling under her jaw bones. She is eating well, so did Peyton. Those were my only signs. If my friends horses hadn't swelled up so badly I wouldn't have thought twice about it until the lab results came back. Well those did come back positive.

[doublebarr]

Yellow/green gucky nose to start, and then the ever present lump (though sometimes the lump never forms Had one that swelled in the jaw but never got an observable lump, but still burst through the skin under the jaw that was ALL swollen. It was NOT a tooth, cause at first I thought that might be it, till the vet looked/cultured.).

The lump will burst and drain nasty yellow pussie stuff and then "crusts over and begins to heal. By the time the lump bursts, the nose is usually clear, but still slightly runny and sometimes not runny at all.

JM Observations with my horses.

[PeggySue]

IME The horses treated from the get go seem to stay sick longer and get it again easier then one that are let go

when/if my horses get it I do the same as Cindy

I also warn any horse person or people likely to come in contact with other horses that my horses are sick and what it is so they can make the choice on exposing theirs or not

[GingerSnap]

Ok here is one to toss out there. I think the answer should be NO but you tell me.

Ann asked if we should put 1 teaspoon of bleach in there water, since they use bleach to disinfect drinking water wells. Her reasoning is so that there Nose are getting disinfected as well as from the inside out.

[doublebarr]

Originally Posted by GingerSnap

Ok here is one to toss out there. I think the answer should be NO but you tell me.

Ann asked if we should put 1 teaspoon of bleach in there water, since they use bleach to disinfect drinking water wells. Her reasoning is so that there Nose are getting disinfected as well as from the inside out.

LOL, ask her if she want's to put 3 drops of bleach in her water glass each time she fills it up? I think you get the idea.

[naughtygirl]

Charlie gets a vac for it.
Our area actually had a scary only last week at one of the local racing stables.
Heres the doco, do i dont have to type it out or try and explain it, lol.

Eighteen horses quarantined at a Hawke's Bay showground after an outbreak of strangles -- a highly contagious disease -- were today cleared to run at a Hastings race meeting.
A Pukekohe racehorse confirmed to have the equine disease has been isolated and is being treated.
The outbreak was discovered after a horse was transported from a stable in the Taranaki region on June 17, with one other horse. That other horse has also been isolated near Pukekohe. Swabs have been taken but test results can take up to three days to confirm the disease
New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing said it yesterday diverted two horse floats -- containing 18 horses from six stables -- to the Hawke's Bay A&P Showground on the advice of veterinary experts.
Veterinarians who inspected the horses last night found no clinical symptoms of strangles and the horses have been cleared to run at today's Hawke's Bay meeting.
But the veterinarians have warned that those horses should be stabled together, separately from other runners, while in Hawke's Bay and should be monitored. Normally, an isolation period of six weeks is usually regarded as necessary to ensure that the disease is not still incubating.
Strangles is spread when the nasal discharge or material from the draining abscess contaminates pastures, barns and feed troughs. Clinical signs and symptoms include fever, heavy nasal discharge, and swollen or enlarged lymph in the neck and jaw.
Affected animals may also stop eating.

[GingerSnap]

Originally Posted by doublebarr

LOL, ask her if she want's to put 3 drops of bleach in her water glass each time she fills it up? I think you get the idea.

LOL...See I told you my answer was NO....I will ask her.

[its.me.heather]

Originally Posted by doublebarr

Well, that is not the way I put it in the original post she is talking about. I do not vaccinate and much perfer my yearlings to contract strangles. Which, because we are close enough to the Amish that we are often in contact with their "constant sale barn purchases" and we see it every year. So, if that is what you mean by "choice to expose horses to strangles" then yes, we do. I however, never have had to worry about a pregnant mare coming down with it later in life or show horses coming down with strangels at a awful time. They get it as yearlings, and I can honestly say, with all the horses we've owned, NOTHING has ever gotten strangles again.

This is something that I have gone over with numerous vets and they are split about 50/50 in agreement or not. Some are very vocal about why I should vaccinate, and the others are in full agreement with our practice. And I am talking about Equine vets, not cow vets.

You and I seem to be in the same situation. Except I don't ever goto the sale barns.. I do live in the middle of many Amish - or similar religions and their drive their buggies past the house every day.

We never used to vaccinate for strangles because our horses never leave the farm. We started vaccinating for it after a really bad year of strangles. My worse case EVER was a mini that was vaccinated. I never thought he would pull through but he managed to make it somehow - he still looks like **** seems like I will never have his weight right again.

So..... I work small animal but have been attending many large animal and equine conferences to get opinions on how to handle this and as you said its 50/50. Actually when you explain this particular situation you get more opinions to just not vaccinate and let them get strangles. That would not be the case for many other people not in this type of situation though. I live in an area that I know DAILY silent carriers are passing my house and coming in close contact with my horses. There is nothing I can do about that. If I lived in an area where there wasn't this constant contact with the illness I would vaccinate with no questions. At this point I still don't know what to do. I vaccinated everyone again this year because I had the vaccine and now I just pray.

I'm going for my "dream baby" this year. I'm already torn about what to do when the foal is born next year. I feel like I have no "safe" situation. No right answer so to speak. Well, we could move. I can say that will not be happening but it would be about the only solution to this problem we are facing.

Heather

[Morri]

Just a cautionary note here. Just because your horse gets a runny nose and a lump in the throatlatch area, DO NOT assume it is strangles! I had it happen once, (I was in a boarding barn at the time and it was OMG time) and it turned out to be an impacted salivary gland! Always best to have the vet out to be sure!

That said, I am one that feels we over vaccinate our animals, just my personal opinion, and since my horses are at home and rarely in contact with horses that I don't know, I choose not to vaccinate. LOL Knocking on wood, I have yet to have a case of strangles in one of my horses or one under my care.