Respiratory infections are among the most common health problems in horses, causing significant welfare impact. Prevention through vaccination and biosecurity reduces the welfare toll.
Respiratory infections cause acute suffering — Strangles in particular causes significant pain from lymph node abscessation, difficulty swallowing, and systemic illness. Horses with respiratory infections cannot breathe efficiently during exercise, causing distress if worked while ill. Welfare-centred respiratory disease management prioritises prevention through vaccination, prompt recognition of early signs, appropriate isolation, and — crucially — rest during and after illness until the horse is clinically and physiologically recovered. Returning horses to work during respiratory infection causes both welfare harm and risk of long-term complications including guttural pouch empyema.