Horse owners are being urged by vets to vaccinate their horses against strangles to provide the BEST protection against the disease.
The move follows the launch of practical guidance on preventing a strangles outbreak in the run-up to Strangles Awareness Week (SAW) held 6-12 May 2024, to provide the BEST protection against the disease:
- Boost immunity by vaccinating against strangles
- Educate yourself and others
- Separate new horses
- Temperature check routinely
Redwings and the British Horse Society have also put together a detailed document for those who want to learn more about preventing strangles, called the Strategy to Eradicate and Prevent Strangles (STEPS).
Jonathan Cleaver, co-owner of Ivesley Equestrian, who experienced a strangles outbreak on his yard in 2023, comments: “The strangles vaccine is another layer to add to the biosecurity defences around our yard and allows us to be more flexible around movement, sharing transport and quarantine. We see it as a massive step forward!”
Rachel Harrison-Osborne BVM&S MRCVS, equine field support manager at Dechra, a Strangles Awareness Week collaborating partner, adds: “Vaccination against strangles is a vital tool in disease prevention. It is advisable that the equestrian industry follows the BEST guidance highlighted by Strangles Awareness Week in a bid to protect horses from this devastating disease that not only has horrific equine welfare implications but can also cause major economic loss to the equestrian industry.”
For further information on Strangles Awareness Week go to Redwings | Strangles Awareness Week. For information on the strangles vaccine contact your vet.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.