What is the guttural pouch in a horse?
The guttural pouches are unique to a small number of animal species, including the horse. They are sacs of air that expand from the Eustachian tube, with one on each side of the horse’s head. They are positioned beneath the ear and each guttural pouch cavity in an adult horse can hold as much as a coffee mug.
How long can a horse be a carrier for strangles?
It is unknown how long a horse may remain a carrier, although trials have shown the bacteria can survive for more than five years.
How do you treat guttural pouch mycosis?
The preferred method to treat severe guttural pouch mycosis is to surgically insert a coil or balloon into the affected blood vessel to quickly cut off the blood supply. Typically, once the blood supply has been removed, the fungus regresses.
How do you prevent guttural pouch mycosis?
With no definitive cause identified, veterinarians can only speculate how to lessen the chances your horse will develop guttural pouch mycosis: Keep stalls clean and dry. Be sure to clean out the corners of the horse’s stall where molds and fungi might accumulate.
What to do if your horse is a carrier of strangles?
Steps to follow if you suspect strangles: Isolate the horse that is showing signs of strangles and any other horses that have had direct contact with that horse. Also isolate those which have/may have had indirect contact with the horse. Call your vet out for advice and to examine the horse showing signs.
Can strangles go away on its own?
Unlike with strep throat in people, strangles typically doesn’t require treatment so much as quarantine and vigilant cleaning of the surrounding environment to prevent its spread to other horses. It usually subsides on its own.
Can you take an abandoned horse?
If a tethered horse is abandoned on private land for a period of time that has led to the horse being at risk of, or suffering, unnecessary suffering, then the authorities can act. If a tethered horse is left to fly graze on private land, the landowner can take action.
