Welfare management of upper respiratory conditions in horses including equine herpesvirus, strangles, and inflammatory airway disease, covering outbreak management, isolation welfare, and treatment approaches.
Upper respiratory disease in horses creates welfare challenges both from the disease itself and from the management response it necessitates. Strangles causes weeks of pain and malaise; EHV-1 neurological form can cause paralysis requiring intensive nursing care or euthanasia; inflammatory airway conditions cause chronic exercise-induced discomfort. Isolation protocols, while epidemiologically necessary, cause psychological welfare harm in social animals — isolated horses benefit from careful management including maintained visual contact with companions, enrichment, and regular human interaction during the isolation period. The welfare of horses during respiratory disease depends on appropriate veterinary diagnosis, effective pain management, nutritional support during illness, and careful rehabilitation back to normal activity after recovery.