3-4 weeks

The best treatment at this point is to flush the drainage site, keep the area as clean as possible, and to maintain strict isolation of the ill horse. If your horse was stabled near one who had strangles at a show or rodeo, it is reasonable to treat it with antibiotics for at least six days after exposure.

Strangles can take an unusual course with abscesses forming deep in the body. This is often termed ‘bastard strangles’ and can be very difficult to treat successfully. Affected horses may show signs of colic or abscesses might discharge internally from many sites.

Most animals fully recover from strangles in two to four weeks. Although enduring immunity against re-infection is variable, in some equids it can last for years.

Can A Horse Get Strangles More Than Once? Yes, but this is uncommon. About 75% of horses that get strangles will also develop a very strong immune response against S. equi, making them immune to reinfection for a long time, if not for the rest of their lives.

The horse won’t get strangles, but the abscess will probably have to be drained in order to heal. Though this complication is also super rare, we usually recommend that horses receive strangles vaccines at a separate visit from their other vaccinations.

Though these bacteria are genetically similar and cause upper respiratory symptoms in both species, horses with strangles cannot infect humans, and humans with strep throat cannot infect horses. “Strangles is spread via respiratory secretions from infected horses,” Easterwood said.

Scrub all surfaces with water and detergent, and rinse thoroughly. Open stall windows and barn doors and allow the stall to dry completely. This may take several days. Spraying the stall with a 10% solution of bleach before disinfectant helps to remove biofilms that can protect bacteria from disinfectants.

Treatment. Veterinarians usually recommend applying hot packs to the lower jaw. This will help the abscesses mature so they can be safely opened. Once opened, flush the inside of the abscess with dilute povidone-iodine solutions until they heal.

But many have less severe signs or none at all. Clinical signs last two to four weeks and cause death in fewer than 2% of cases, says Waller. Sometimes “metastatic” strangles develops, causing abscesses in other parts of the body, which are more likely to be fatal.