I just farm sat at a barn with strangles. I found out the night they left. I work at other barns and have my horse at a barn with many horses, I obviously don’t want to spread it.
Obviously washing my clothes, myself and was going to to bleach my boots. Is that enough? Should I take my car through the car wash? Do I need to but new boots or am I worrying too much? I haven’t touched any of the horses. I just threw hay.
The last thing I need is taking strangles anywhere!
Bleach or Lysol (would be my preference) the boots, leave them sitting for a few mins, you don’t need new ones. Your car should be fine, but if you wanted to vacuum it out, couldn’t hurt.
Put about an inch of a disinfectant like Lysol in a large, flat container, like one of those disposable foil baking pans, then either step in it wearing the boots or put the boots in it. Wait 2 minutes then step out/ remove the boots and let them dry. That’s standard protocol exiting a quarantine barn well as entering the USA in certain cases and from certain countries, they do it right in the Customs and Immigration Hall, some countries do it as you exit their country. Wipe the uppers down with a disinfectant wipe or cloth dipped in it and spray the inside.
Dont use bleach unless you are going to pitch them out anyway, it can change the color, create splotches and weaken the stitching. I’d throw some Lysol in the laundry too, maybe wipe down your car drivers seat and floor mat but doubt you need to wash the exterior. Direct sunlight is a good disinfectant for hard surfaces.
If you wore gloves, honestly, I’d just toss them. Likewise any of your grooming tools you might have used on their horses, if any.
No idea what to say to these people who left out the detail the barn you were sitting was hosting strangles. You should be OK with the above precautions, the buggers like a warm, moist environment and don’t survive long out of it.
When I am practicing biosecurity, I have chlorhexadine solution in a spray bottle that I use to spray the bottom of my boots. This is what my vet does for her routine between-farm activity.
Thank you guys. I’m getting some lysol and taking my car through the wash. I probably won’t wear my boots out the barn for awhile, I’ll find another old pair or something.
I’m definitely annoyed. Not worth the pay I got to be worried about strangles. I have a young horse with mystery issues as is, I don’t need him to get strangles. Even more concerning is I take care of some very old horses at another barn which was known to this person. Ugh!
We have a strangles case in our barn. One of the horses in pasture. Managing it in a herd is difficult, so they leave him where he is, since other horses are already exposed.
But it caused me to look up whether strangles needs to be reported and quarantined – I believed it did, but found it is not on CA reportable disease list. I also read that the bacteria does not stay in the ground or live outside water/mucus membranes for very long.
I was familiar with all the “clean handling” techniques for strangles in a barn, but it seems like it might not be necessary if the strangles horses are not co-located with healthy horses? One could leave the strangles barn, take a shower, and 24 hours later be free of any bacteria.
Thoughts?
Some are carriers and asymptomatic so if there’s one showing symptoms, there’s a chance there’s more. The basic precautions are very inexpensive and only take a few minutes so there’s really no reason not to spend a couple of minutes to err on the side of safety before leaving a barn known to have a strangles case on the property.
Going to play it safe and disinfect boots and all. I think I’m fine since I didn’t touch any horses, but better to be safe .
Its not just touching the horses - it’s feed buckets, water troughs… anything the horse touches!
I didn’t even touch any buckets. Just threw hay. I did have to touch two gates but not the one the strangles horse was. Either way, I’m taking precautions not to spread!
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