Strangles

["Kathy Mayeda" <kathy_mayeda@atce.com>]

There is strangles happening where I board, too.  There was lot of confusion

about the vaccinations, whether or not to use antibiotics, what does strangles

looke like, etc. etc.  A lot of upset people, not the management's fault, either.

They did the best they could to keep the sick horses isolated.

 

When I first moved my horses to the Bay Area, I was warned that a

certain place had "strangles in the ground."   So I vaccinated my horses

before I moved them, and there hadn't been a case of strangles there

that I know of during the three summers I boarded there.

 

I almost opted NOT to get the strangles intranasal vac because it's only

60% effective.  I did it anyway, just because of the boarders' paranoia reaching

a fever pitch and I really didn't want to be accused of not doing the best for

my horses and/or spreading the contagion.  But a horse that did get

vaccinated came down with strangles because she was put back into

the pasture that had the first outbreak at our place to begin with,

after her vaccination. 

 

And one horse sharing that pasture went was first identified as having strangles

and put in with the quarantined horses, then not, then having it again and now

we know he has it for sure.  Another case we suspect that the owner

jumped the gun and put her horses in with the sick horses and if she

wasn't sick before, she is sure sick now!

 

It's an ugly disease, but not normally fatal.  I grew up (I'm showing my age)

where we all had chickenpox, measles and mumps and now those disease

have theoretically been vaccinated away.  I survived all these childhood

diseases and now have immunity to them.  A horse with strangles will

have immunity too once they get over it.  Don't have to worry about the 60%

effective vaccinations anymore.  Not saying that it's a good idea to expose

your horse to strangles.  It's a drag and a worry to have a horse with

strangles but it's not necessarily the end of the world.

 

Last weekend, I notice a bump - just under the skin - and made the

mistake of showing a fellow boarder.  Even though it was isolated

close to the skin on his neck and I DID discover a tick right in the

middle of it, she was so paranoid it was strangles, she insisted that

the management see it.  Of course, they weren't home!  I convinced

her that he showed absolutely no other signs of being sick, got his feed

bucket and he whinnied and pranced appropriately so that she could

leave the barn without blowing a cork.

 

My darn farrier (that I just fired because of three sprung shoes) won't come

to our barn because of the strangles.

 

No new cases, so hopefully things will go back to normal soon.  I just

can't stand the hysteria that is going along with it.

 

K.

 

 

 

BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:Mayeda;Kathy
FN:Kathy Mayeda
ORG:ATCE SJ
TITLE:Electrical Designer
TEL;WORK;VOICE:(408) 436-8300 ext: 239
TEL;WORK;FAX:(408) 436-1511
ADR;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:;;97 East Brokaw Road=0D=0ASuite 300;San Jose;CA;95112;USA
LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:97 East Brokaw Road=0D=0ASuite 300=0D=0ASan Jose, CA 95112=0D=0AUSA
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:kathy_mayeda@atce.com
REV:20000718T163307Z
END:VCARD