Strangles is one of the most common and welfare-significant infectious diseases of horses worldwide, causing painful abscesses, respiratory compromise, and potentially fatal complications. Prevention, early detection, and appropriate management are essential.
Strangles causes genuine, significant suffering in affected horses. The formation of large, painful abscesses in the jaw and throat region causes difficulty eating, difficulty swallowing, and in severe cases partial airway obstruction that creates respiratory distress with every breath. Fever accompanying acute infection causes malaise, reduced appetite, and reluctance to move. Horses are stoic, and the degree of their discomfort may be underestimated by inexperienced observers. Appropriate pain management with NSAIDs significantly improves welfare during the acute phase. The complications of strangles — particularly bastard strangles with internal abscess formation and purpura haemorrhagica — create additional severe welfare harms and can be fatal. The risk of these complications makes active monitoring and appropriate veterinary involvement essential rather than optional. From a population welfare perspective, preventing spread through appropriate isolation protocols and carrier testing protects multiple horses from a disease that causes real and sometimes severe suffering.