🦠 Vet Guide: Preventing Contagious Diseases in Horses | 2025 Biosecurity, Strangles & Quarantine Protocols 🐴

By Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc

Whether you manage a large boarding stable or keep horses at home, **preventing contagious disease is one of the most important parts of herd health management**. Respiratory infections like **strangles and equine influenza** can spread like wildfire—and often, by the time you notice symptoms, others have already been exposed. 🧠🐎

This 2025 guide covers smart biosecurity practices, including **quarantine protocols**, **testing for strangles**, and **how to prevent the spread of hidden infections**. 💡🧪

📋 Step One: Quarantine New Arrivals

Every new horse entering your property—whether from a show barn, auction, or private sale—should be **quarantined for at least 21 days**. 📆

During Quarantine:

• 🛏️ House the horse in a separate stall or paddock away from the herd
• 🧴 Use separate feed/water buckets and grooming supplies
• 🌡️ Take temperature twice daily to catch early signs of fever
• 🧪 Monitor for coughing, nasal discharge, or behavior changes

This simple measure catches most **respiratory infections**—especially those with short incubation periods like **influenza**. ✅

🧪 Step Two: Require a Negative Coggins Test

Before any horse enters your property, confirm they have a **current negative Coggins test** (for equine infectious anemia, or EIA). This deadly disease has no treatment and is regulated by law in most regions. 🧬📜

😷 Step Three: Watch for Strangles Carriers

**Strangles**, caused by *Streptococcus equi*, is a **highly contagious upper respiratory infection**. While clinical cases are easy to spot (fever, swollen lymph nodes, thick nasal discharge), the real danger lies in **asymptomatic carriers**. 🦠

Carrier Horses Can:

• 😐 Appear completely normal
• 😷 Shed bacteria into feed, water, and shared spaces
• 📈 Trigger outbreaks among naive horses

That’s why it’s **recommended to test all new arrivals** for strangles shedding—even if they look healthy. 🧠

🔬 How to Test for Strangles

Testing isn’t as simple as a blood draw. It requires a **nasopharyngeal wash**, where sterile fluid is flushed into the nasal cavity and collected for culture and **PCR testing**. 🧪🧼

If a horse is found to be **actively shedding**, they must be **isolated** and treated until they test negative. 🚫

🏥 Treating Strangles Carriers

Carrier horses may harbor the bacteria in hidden spaces called **guttural pouches**, located behind the throat. Treating the pouches with **penicillin flushes** is often effective. 💉

Carrier Management Includes:

• 🧪 Testing to confirm shedding
• 💉 Guttural pouch flushing with antibiotics
• 📋 Follow-up testing to ensure clearance

It’s a process—but critical to protecting your herd. 🧠

📲 Use Ask A Vet for Biosecurity Support

The Ask A Vet app helps you track, test, and plan smarter when introducing new horses or managing outbreaks:

• 📋 Log quarantine dates and temperature checks
• 📱 Ask about strangles testing or PCR interpretation
• 📸 Upload photos of nasal discharge or swollen lymph nodes
• 🔄 Get help setting up isolation protocols

Smart prevention saves time, stress, and treatment costs. 🐴📲

✅ Disease Prevention Takeaways for 2025

• 📋 Quarantine every new arrival for at least 21 days
• 🧪 Require a current negative Coggins test
• 😷 Test new horses for strangles—even if they’re asymptomatic
• 💉 Treat and retest strangles carriers before introducing to the herd
• 📱 Use Ask A Vet to manage biosecurity planning with expert support

📲 Final Thoughts from Dr Duncan Houston

Contagious disease prevention doesn’t have to be complicated—but it does have to be **consistent**. A few simple steps—quarantine, testing, and proactive management—can stop disease before it spreads. 🧠💙

Download the Ask A Vet app today to keep your barn protected from outbreaks and manage every new arrival with confidence. 🐎📱