With Strangles Awareness Week starting today (6th May 2024), our horse insurance team decided to find out more about this annual event and how it is helping to keep our horses safe from this very contagious, infectious disease.
What is Strangles?
Strangles is an extremely contagious illness that affects the horse’s upper respiratory tract. It is the most common equine infectious disease in the UK and worldwide. Strangles is caused by a bacteria called Streptococcus equi, it is not a virus. Strangles outbreaks can involve many or even all horses on a yard becoming ill. Any horse can get strangles, whatever their age, breed, health or value.
What is Strangles Awareness Week?
Strangles Awareness Week (SAW), takes place annually in May. It is a collaboration of leading equine welfare organisations, and is headed up by Redwings Horse Sanctuary. SAW has announced a host of celebrity support for this year’s week of action against the infectious disease and there's an incredible opportunity to win a horse and rider prize bundle worth over £6,000.
Event riders William Fox-Pitt and Lucinda Green, dressage rider Richard Davison and our very own SEIB brand ambassador, Riding with Rhi, are working with the SAW collaboration to help inspire horse owners to adopt practical, routine steps that offer their horses effective protection against Strangles.
This year, SAW, is calling on the equestrian community to give their horses the BEST protection from Strangles by:
- Boosting immunity by vaccinating against Strangles – The vaccination program involves 3 vaccinations approximately 2 weeks apart followed by booster vaccinations every 6-12 months.
- Educate yourself and others – There are many online resources to stay up to date with the latest strangles research. A good place to start finding out more is the Redwings Horse Sanctuary website
- Separate new horses – Keep any horses new to a yard in a separate isolation area as advised by a veterinary professional.
- Temperature check routinely – make taking your horse's temperature part of your routine.
To find out more about the preventative actions you can take to protect your horse and others from strangles please watch this video:
Preventing & managing infectious diseases on livery yards - FREE webinar
Here at SEIB, as part of our commitment to provide topical and educational content to the equestrian industry, we've teamed up with Redwings Horse Sanctuary, LiveryList and Ivesley Equestrian to talk about how yard owners can prevent and manage equine infectious diseases on their yards.
The webinar will take place at 19:30 on Wednesday 15th May.
For further information on this and to sign up please click here.
About SEIB
SEIB have been arranging insurance for horses for 60 years. This experience allows us to tailor policies to suit your circumstances and ensure that you and your horses are covered should the worst happen.
