possible strangles, maybe URI

We got a new horse, and quarantined him for 2 weeks, we then integrated him in our herd, at the time he had NO symptoms, after about a week of them being in there, I take my girl for a short 10-15 minute ride and I notice her coughing quite a bit so I put her up, the next day I notice tapioca pudding like snot comming out of her nose, I instantly think Strangles, by the next day everyone had it. That is 7 horses and a donkey.

called the vet out last sunday, he suggest starting them on 25 CC's of penicillin twice a day. And if they arn't better by tuesday to give him a call. Long behold they ARN'T better. So we called him on tuesday, he never picked up we left a frantic voicemail, the next day we called the vet office to get ahold of the other equine vet there, she answers and refuses to let us bring them in to be seen because of the contagiousness of it, and offers to come out, and says she will call us back.

She never called us back yesterday, today she calls me to tell me it is probably a URI (granted I still haven't gotten to talk to MY vet because he is on vacation now..) and that they need a shot of Exede, and continues to say that it will cost well over 1000$ to treat them all.. that's fine and all but my vet said a shot of Exede would only cost 50$'s a piece which would put us at 350$s and not over 1000$

Another option we were told would be 200 S.N.V pills (i think that's what they were..) we would give 10 of them twice a day, which would also be about 400 to treat all 7 and the donkey. Right now as we speak I am waiting on the vet to call me back about the SNV pills, she is "consulting my vet" about them. Im really at a loss has anyone else experienced this?

As of right now their symptoms include
Runny noses
Cough that sounds productive,
A couple of them have swollen nodes under their jaws
Raspy breathing
A couple of them have diarrhea
A few of them are having complications peeing it seems
Their appetite's seem fine

If anyone has any insight on to what this could be or what more I could do for them at this point I would be greatly appreciative.

I'm not a vet and new to horses myself but I would had the vet to perform a CBC on the first horse. I had two vets come to diagnose a cough in the last two weeks. First one never took blood. Second one did and revealed a virus. Probably Shipping Fever she said and put my mare on Uniprim and a probiotic (yogurt). I think Shipping Fever leads to Strangles if left untreated.

So sorry to hear of your situation. Hope you get it under control.

Yeah I hope we do too. And I hope our vet comes back from his vacation soon, I really need him. On the plus side I found out the pills are called SMZ_TMP bt they are to treat a bacterial infection and not for a viral illness so I am not sure if the URI they have is bacterial or viral.

Is there another vet you get out there to help? Horses without the proper diagnoses and thus proper treatment can go downhill fast! And you have a lot of sick horses. If it were me, I'd be freaking out and calling another vet.

We have gotten ahold of 3. One just suggest the SMZ pills, the other has given us the complete run around which is frustrating and my vet hasn't gotten back to me since tuesday because he's now on vacation and wont be back till next week, which is highly frustrating because he offered those 50$ dollars shots and then this other lady said the same shots would put us at over 1000$ for the lot, which means its well over 120$ for a shot when he promised it for 50$ or less, I am just completely at a loss here.

Omg I am seriously at my wits end. The lady that was giving us the run around referred us to 2 different vets because she doesn't feel qualified to diagnose our horses... seriously?

I called the other 2 vets, 1 charges 95 for a farm call and 65 for bringing them in. And the other vet is at a graduation and wont be available until saturday afternoon. This is so insane.

Finally got a vet from SC to come over to NC to see them. He precribes SMZ-TMP, 9 pills twice a day for 7 days.

We had a horse just recently we thought had strangles. My vet said the best thing was bute or banamine to control fever, then just let it run its course. Don't medicate. She said that's how they build their resistence.
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Yeah that's what he wants us to do at well but we have 3 that are pretty bad off, and he prescribed them the meds, the rest of them he said to just monitor them closely, and let it run its course but if any of them seem to go off their feed then he will make another trip here to check them again.

It is a little too late to change your approach now, but there is a way to do this that is much more cost effective and does not make you over-medicate horses and lets their immune system work like it is supposed to.

I can offer a few of tips:

First, get acquainted with two different sets of Vets -- we have three. One should be what we call a 'country Vet' -- this is one that has a small clinic out in the country and doctors dogs, cats, and all kinds of livestock. They can handle most ordinary things BETTER than the big equine centers. We prefer 'older' Vets because they have a degree of common since and experience not found in young Vets and are less prone to over-medicate. First of all, they are MUCH, MUCH cheaper, will be much more likely to dispense meds for you to keep at home. We always keep a bottle of 500 SMZs at home. The country Vet we use charges $60.00 a bottle for them, by the way.

If you have 7 horses, you should keep a few basic supplies. These should include a stethoscope, thermometer, bandaging material, a hoof boot and a few basic medications like Banamine, Penicillin, SMZs and Bute. We keep quite a few more meds, but we have a lot of horses and have been doing this for 50 years.

If you have a horse develop the 'snots' and a cough, first determine what it is. Take the horse's temperature (in this case, all of them). Listen to their lungs and listen for gurgling or raspy sounds. Call your country Vet, explain what is going on and ask what has been going around. Chances are they have seen it. Before you start medicating, take a nasal swab and/or a CBC. You need to know if you are dealing with strangles or a common Equine Flu or Rhino Virus.

For Strangles, you usually get very large lymph nodes very quickly. You are best off not medicating unless you have a very serious case of Strangles (which would include horses having a LOT of difficulty breathing and symptoms of internal abscesses). Also indicative of serious Strangles is swelling in the gutteral pouch area. NEVER give meds to any horse you suspect of having Strangles without being prepared to give that horse meds until it has a normal white count. If you quit to soon, you will run the chance of the medication causing Bastard Strangles (internal abscesses) and having the horse die. If you do doctor a severe case of Strangles, Penicillin is by far the best antibiotic as it is VERY effective on Strep organisms.

You see a lot more coughing with the Viral diseases, especially Equine Flu. [Many horses with Strangles do not cough at all.] We personally do not vaccinate for Strangles but do vaccinate at least 2x a year for Flu. Flu spreads much more quickly and crosses fence-lines where horses have no physical contact with each other. It will spread 1/4 mile or more from horses down the road as it is airborne. Strangles requires contact. You can isolate it.

Have a big Equine Center available to you where really serious and very difficult things can be diagnoses and treated -- especially lameness. They will be much more 'up' on lameness and on the latest treatment for a difficult one and for difficult illness -- this would include serious colic bouts.

When you have a bunch of horses, you soon learn who does what best and who just gets DEEP into your bank account for very ordinary things.