Strangles is a highly infectious bacterial disease of horses that is highly prevalent in the UK. An outbreak of strangles can potentially involve all the horses on the yard, some may become very sick and the outbreak can cause a lot of disruption to your plans along with costs associated with treatment and testing. There is a vaccine that can help reduce the clinical signs in infected horses and reduce the rate of spread on yards. This article discusses the role of the vaccine.

Strangles is caused by the bacteria Streptococcus Equi Equi and can cause mortality rates up to 10%. It is highly infectious and spreads rapidly through mucous and respiratory droplets which are easily passed on by direct contact or carried between horses by people, animals and yard equipment. Once infected some horses can go on to become carriers of the disease, which means they look outwardly normal but they transmit infection to other horses making strangles very difficult to fully eliminate.

The map to the left shows the number of reported cases of strangles in our region last year - this data is provided by equine infectious disease surveillance EIDS (https://equinesurveillance.org/) and shows that North Yorkshire has one of the highest rates of reported infections of strangles. It is worth noting that only cases that have been reported to EIDS appear on the map so the likelihood is that the numbers are far higher.

In the past few years a new type of vaccine has become available to prevent strangles in horses in the UK. This new vaccine is given into the muscle and unlike previous vaccines does not contain live strangles bacteria so does not affect any testing of horses in the future. Two vaccines are given 4 weeks apart and offer immunity for 6-12 months depending on the risk of disease.

Like with all vaccines for infectious diseases, the greatest benefit is seen when the whole herd is protected (or yard in most cases), but there are definite advantages to just doing individual horses;

• Vaccinated horses show no or much less severe signs of disease compared to unvaccinated horses
• Vaccinated horses are much less likely to spread strangles than unvaccinated horses
• Where whole yards are vaccinated the risk of a yard outbreak is significantly reduced
• If a vaccinated yard was unfortunate enough to still have an outbreak of strangles the length of the outbreak would be significantly reduced meaning the yard would be able to resume normal activity much sooner than an unvaccinated yard
• Many yards are now requiring strangles testing prior to moving onto a yard so having your horse vaccinated may avoid testing costs if moving yards

Should I vaccinate my horse for strangles?

In an ideal world all horse's would be protected against this disease, but here are the horses considered at greatest risk and therefore ones we would recommend vaccinating for Strangles:

• Horses on yards that frequently receive new horses
• Horses on yards where horses go on and off regularly for lessons, competitions, camps etc
• Horses on yards that do not have a good isolation and biosecurity protocol for new arrivals
• Horses that stay away from home in stables - competitions and camps etc from time to time
• Horses on yards with large numbers of young horses
• Equestrian business's where a disease outbreak may have a negative impact

If you are thinking of vaccinating against Strangles, during February 2025 all horses that start their primary vaccination course will receive the second dose free of charge. The first vaccine costs £68 plus call out fee (for yards with 5 or more vaccines this will be a free visit).

Strangles vaccination can be given at the same time as influenza, tetanus and herpes vaccinations.

Speak to one of our team today for further information or to book an appointment - 07747771182 by phone or whatsapp, email info@ridingsequinevets.co.uk