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Strangles question

2K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  caseymyhorserocks 
#1 ·
I have a horse that had Strangles about 6 years ago. He has been checked by the vet and had blood work done but not the Strangles test. Has anyone had a situation like this? He has a white discharge from his nostrils and swollen throat latch. There are other horses in the pasture with him, one has never had Strangles so I'm wondering if he is a carrier or if this is something else.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Well if he had strangles before, he can't get it again, if thats what you mean. They can be a carrier, transmitting it to other horses after they caught it. I would say some other disease, but I would definatley have a vet check him out, probably some sort of respiratory disease.
 
#3 ·
I have to correct that, I'm sorry:-(

Horses can get strangles again and to be sure, I Googled it. There were several hits but I'll just post one:

Strangles (also known as horse distemper)

Where it says in part:
"Most horses will develop immunity to strangles after infection, with that immunity lasting at least five years. However, the idea that "once a horse has had strangles, it never will get it again" is incorrect, as immunity to the disease will decrease through time."

This is a .edu site therefore credible information:) The entire article is a good read:)
 
#9 ·
#4 ·
Although very rare, less than 1%, horses can be reinfected with strangles. Most horses who have had strangles never become infected again so it is likely your horse has some other illness. If you think he may be one of the ones who can be reinfected with strangles give your vet a call and have him come check.
 
#6 ·
My horse has had a snotty nose all this time so I don't think he is being reinfected but the lymphnodes in his throat latch are swollen, somedays more than others. about 3 years ago I had blood work done to rule out allergies and this related to that but everything came back negative. So now my new vet has been out several times and she seems to think this is just an uncommon strangles case. I would love to have more tests done but money is very tight so that is why I was hoping someone might have had a similar situation. Thanks for the responses:)
 
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