Oh what fun :(

As most of you know, I'm in Florida till April with work...
In November I saved a pinto filly from being shipped to slaughter (the next night)
Long story short...
Once she got home into Ontario she was officaly named sick with Strangles...
So the barn owner (as I was away) took care of her. (cleaning the bursted abcess etc)
And Belle soon perked right up and turned into herself. a trickster!







But some time in the past little while I guess something came back. (not sure on the details as I'm not there...)
So the barn owner just got the vet out to take samples and to check her over.

she is still acting normal and everything, eating, playing and all that. her coat is nice too.

so we are now waiting on the test results to come back to see what we are dealing with...

not fun. :(

Sucks so much when something is wrong with them. I just made it through 5 months of serious illness in my big guy, only to have him start going bald mysteriously. His hair is growing back some, but he is not fully recovered from being sick for so long, and I haven't a clue if he ever will be. I can only imagine what it is like not being with your filly when she is sick. I hope all the best for your girl.

Its driving me mad not to be there with her. even if there was nothing I could do atleast I would be there to see whats going on first hand

The first test came back.

The vet had taken a nasal swab.
today the nasal swab came back as 'not actively infected with Strangles'!!!! :cowboyhound.gi


Then also today he took blood from her for a for a serum test to see whether she has in fact HAD strangles at all, or, if she has, if she is a carrier.


So more waiting which I'm very good at...

But atleast we have good news to start off with!

Best of luck. Let us know what the results are. Strangles scare the bejeezus out of me!

I went through something very similar with my then 3 year old filly. At the time I was away at school and only home on weekends. She was an auction house horse that came with a little head cold but came around healthy. The first year I took her to a few local shows and she ended up sick. Last one the end of August.

The vet said strangles right away. Swollen lymph nodes and running a slight fever, she also went down in the pasture. Took two people to get her up and moving. Test 1 came back negative. He still said that was what it was. We treated with antibiotic and pain meds, and placed her on 24 hour turn out.
She took a reaction to the antibiotic, broke out in hives all over and went off her water, became very lethargic. Trip 2 another strangles swab and blood work, treated for dehydration (IV fluids and the yellow stuff in the tube, I don't remember what it was called) and treated the reaction. Test 2 - Negative.

Trip 3 included a gutteral pouch wash *(Not cheap because it was a PEI vet) - still negative. I was completely disgusted. I left her out until the middle of November before I started putting her in nights. She eventually came around. Thank goodness. After $2500 in vet bills I was beginning to give up. To this day ( she will be 9 this year) we still have NO IDEA what happened, what caused it or what was wrong. Amazing really. There was never any trace of Strangles in any of her blood and swab work. The only remnants that there ever was a problem is she is slightly anemic and nothing we try ever alters it. It just is what it is.

I hope you have better luck getting answers for your girl! It's so frustrating being away when they get sick.

Keep your chin up. Equines are pretty amazing healers all on their own!

Well Finally heard.


Long story. and after two and a half weeks after the blood was taken I've JUST hearing the results. (and after a week of not hearing ANY word what so EVER for all I known the filly could had died.) was not impressed!

This is what the email said.
from the blood tests:
Belle HAS been exposed to Strep Equi and has low anti-bodies in her blood which means that she is not very resistant to a further case of strangles. He says that if you wish to vaccinate then you can go ahead.