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  Discussion on Poultices
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Posted on Monday, Mar 6, 2000 - 5:17 pm:

Posted message earlier in alternative medicine but as yet have not gotten reply. I surely would like to know what one can use as a poultice for a mare with strangles. The vet opened the area and told me to just let her be no medicine or anything. I have a hard time doing that when I see all that puss and blood getting caught up in her winter hair. I have been just taking a clean rag and the warmest water I can and holding it on the area. She seems to like that a lot. Today she just came over and laid her head down on the rag in my hand. Am I doing the wrong thing? I did cut all the long hair under her jaw off so it wouldn't get anymore matted than it was and to also give me better access to the infected area.

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 7, 2000 - 1:05 pm:

I really know nothing about strangles - it only came to South Africa last year for the first time through some foreign horse that wasn't quarantined properly - my horses got it mildly and only my miniature got it quite nastily and needed lots of attention, steaming, etc. I heard that penicillin is not working so well overseas, but it still works here luckily, so the horses got over it quickly.

Reading the posts on strangles overseas, and reading my veterinary books, it seems to be the most terrible disease. I cannot understand why your vet told you to just "let her be". I really can't understand that.

I'm sure there are good articles on strangles on this site - I haven't read them as I have had no need to, thank God - but my books say that abscesses must not be opened until they are pointing or mature, but when they are ripe [yuk], they should be incised to afford drainage, and then should be washed out with mild antiseptic or saline lotion.

I use a marvellous natural antiseptic, made from calendula, which makes a good wash [since you are obviously interested in alternative medicines]; you can also wash out with lavender water. Both would be nice in warm water, and soothing for her I should think. Surely the abscesses/wounds have to be kept clean?

I hope Dr. O will suggest something here.

Best of luck, Alexa

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 7, 2000 - 2:09 pm:

Thanks a lot for your reply. My vet is good but tends to go with the old school of thought on many things. I will check into the the things you wrote about. To be honest I haven't heard of any of them but will find out all I can. I have been putting an antiseptic (novasan) in the water. This is my first experience with strangles and I hope my last as most of our horses have been born here on our olace their exposure has been limited. I do intend to use the new nasal vaccine on my colts as soon as they are old enough. Again thank you for your response.

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 14, 2000 - 12:37 pm:

Alexa
Never heard anything from Dr. O., mare has cleared up with the use of novasan. She really hates missing her soaks now that I don't have to do it. She eve appeared to enjoy it when I would use the syringe with warm solutin and flush out the whole the vet had made in her jaw. Thank you again for your reply.

Jan

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 14, 2000 - 1:18 pm:

I'm so glad I could help a little with moral support. I know how it feels, it is difficult not to have help with things that worry us. I hope your nice mare is 100% now and that with your use of the vaccine in future, you never have strangles again because it is the most dreadful disease. I also hope we never have it here again!

Alexa

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2000 - 9:00 am:

Hi Alexa,
Hope you get in here again. I have a question I wanted to ask you. Several years ago a young man was here from Africa, I am not sure where. He was telling us about a disease that affected mostly the younger horses. He thought the carrier was the zebra, just a certain type of zebra the ones with the smaller stripes, I think. It also had something to do with a mosiquito. He was working with a vet here and hoping to find a vaccine that would protect the young ones. Do you know anything about this? It has been on my mind for a long time and I hoped there has been a vaccine found. I keep thinking of all the young ones he said that were lost to this disease. I know this may be something that is not even in your area of the country but thought I'd give it a try. He also said if a horse survived they never were affected again.

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2000 - 2:24 pm:

Hi,

I think the disease the young man was talking about must have been African Horse Sickness. This is a terrible acute or sub-acute virus infection which is endemic in Africa, and also in the Middle East and Asia since about 1960. It even jumps the Mediterranean Sea to Spain sporadically.

It was always known that this virus is spread by a night-flying biting insect, and it is pretty well established now that the insect is the culucoides midge, a tiny biting fly.

There are 9 known strains of virus, which is present in blood tissues and internal organs; immunity against one strain will not necessarily protect against others. There is horse sickness fever, pulmonary, cardiac and mixed. The last three usually result in the death of the horse, and a terrible death.

There is a vaccination against this now which must be given in late Spring. There are 2 injections, the second given 3 weeks after the first. A few horses react badly to the injections. It is advisable to only walk and trot in the first, third, fourth and sixth weeks and do nothing in the second and fifth weeks. Horses must not sweat. However, competitive showjumpers ignore this now and ride through the vaccinations. This has resulted in some deaths of horses as their hearts give out.
A lot of us, really concerned about our horses, actually give them a 6 weeks holiday or, at the most, take them for quiet walks so as to cause no stress on the heart.

The disease starts in late summer – February is the usual month which brings the midges and the problems, but due to the torrential rains this year, the midges have only made an appearance now and the vets are really worried as they have arrived in their millions. It is very important to use fly oils, fly sprays, etc. Horses must be stabled in unlit stables from at least an hour before sunset until at least two hours after sunrise. The norm is to put them out at 09h00 and bring them in at 16h00. By 17h00, I have clouds of midges in the garden this year – it is impossible to happily stand and dream whilst watering the roses, as one is bitten half to death! I am also worried as I have never had midges in the stables or house before, never, but I have had them dancing on the computer screen, burning themselves to death on my bedside lamp, and clogging the outlets of the automatic fly spray dispenser at the stables.

Even vaccinated horses can be infected, but they usually only get the disease mildly – not always, as I know of 2 horses in their early teens, vaccinated over many years, who died last year. Young horses without the protection are most affected, of course. Locally bred horses such as the Nooitgedacht and the Boerperd [farmer’s horse] seem to be stronger and are perhaps, not always, so severely affected as the imported horses, thoroughbreds, arabs, warmbloods, etc. If a horse survives horse sickness, they are known as “salted horses” and were always thought to be immune. This has been queried lately.

The Cape has periods of being free of horse sickness, which was very good for our competitive riders who could take their horses there for some months for quarantine purposes, then ship them to Switzerland or America for a further period, then they could travel the circuits. However, last year or the year before, I forget which, the virus hit the Cape as well, apart from a tiny area, so this has caused problems for riders who want to take their top horses overseas.

I don't think zebras are anything to do with the disease, but I imagine they can contract it because all equines are at risk - horses, ponies, mules, donkeys - but donkeys rarely get the virus.

Cheers,
Alexa
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