David,

I vaccinate every year for Strangles along with the other diseases and have never had a reaction.  I inject my 3 horses myself and have done so for over 10 years.  Strangles can be a nasty disease...and very contageous.  Get a competent horse vet out to give you a clean bill of health on this horse...it is worth the money, otherwise keep looking, Good Luck,

I had two young horses come down with strangles about 15 years ago and it was not a fun thing to deal with, but both did fine once the virus ran it's course. Once they do come down with it and get over it, they have a natural immunity to the virus. The first horse that came down with it had just come back from a very stressful show and had picked it up there. Then she brought it back to the barn, but the funny thing was that only one other horse came down with it. (a much milder case)  There were about 10 other horses in the barn and none of them showed any symtoms and none were vaccinated for it.  Personally I think this horse will also do fine, but as the others have said, make sure the vet gives the go ahead as far as allowing her near other horses. 

I personally don't vaccinate for it, but I also don't go to shows anymore and have not had any problems.  My fear was also about vaccine reactions, but I've heard that the vaccine they give these days is much safer then when I used to show. I would say if you plan on showing or staying overnight at strange barns, I would probably vaccinate. Especially if you have young horses. Good luck!

Strangles is usually a very snotty nose, followed by a large abcess under the jaw bone, that usually burst and drains.

I vacinate for it and still had it run through my herd last summer. I rode with a friend last summer and his horse was coming down with it and gave it to my gelding.  He brought it home and 3 of my 5 horses got it.  All have recovered just fine. But ti took 5-6 weeks before I could really put them back to serious work.

Your horse should show symptoms if she does have Strangles. Keep in mind too, that if you bring her home and she's even just got scabs on the underneath side of her jaw, when the scab drops off, the virus can still live in the ground for quite a long time. This came from our vet.

 Strangles, does not have to break open and drain. It can drain down her throat which is way more serious. I have given our horses the vaccine for strangles and we never had any reactions to it.

Just be careful, even if you go to see or ride her, you can bring the virus back home to your horses unless you wash your hands,shoes,brushes, etc. It is highly contagious. Good luck.

Another factor - some horses may get over the infective process themselves, but will remain carriers for life - shedding continually. We had two that had this, and there was no getting around it. Our very competant vet advises against vaccinating, says it's just not effective enough to warrant the risks involved in infecting an otherwise healthy horse.

On young stock particularly, you MUST be sure to get them completely over the infection. If it is not cleared up completely, it can "go underground" and cause other internal problems - the old guys used to call this "bastard strangles", and it can ruin a horse for life, with internal abcesses, lung and stomach damage, etc. If your vet gives you meds for the horse, take them completely through the dosing - and if there's still evidence of infection, get the vet out again!

another poster mentioned that the seller is either unknowing or pulling a fast one - best to not buy a sick horse, unless you are doubly sure that YOU know what's going on. Pre-sale vet inspections are used for good reason on high-dollar horses. Best of luck in your horse search.

Sorry halfpint, strangles is not Staphylococcus, but Streptococcus Equi, a gram positive bacteria that is highly sensitive to many drugs. Penicillin G is the anitbiotic of chioce for treatment, with quick results.

Yes there are many forms of streptococcus and other bacteria that can cause infections in a horse similiar to strangles.

Our vet gives the initial whopping dose of PPG and then we follow up with oral SulMet on the cases that aren't too bad. I've found the easiest way to dose the sulmet tabs is to soften them to a paste with a bit of water, then put it into a cleaned wormer applicator - sure beats them not eating it when they won't touch their feed because it tastes funny! For the big horses who take more than a wormer tube will handle, you can slice the end off a 30cc syringe, "melt" the tabs in there, and do the squoosh thing easily.

The horses that get more involved, we've always had to do the route of PPG shots twice a day. You run out of spots to stick a needle REAL quick after the first few days..... especially on a youngster. I hate that.

Thanks for that correction! You're a good egg.

 Not a fun issue to deal with! I buy horses regularly from New Holland Sales Barn, which is rampant with strangles.  In over 200 horses, it has not been a big deal!  Just a bit of inconvenience.  I sure wouldn't miss a good horse because he was on the mend. Also, many folks (me included) often give peniccilin before the symptoms come about.  If this is what happened with your horse, the chances are good no boils will burst, and he will be spared a good deal of the discomfort of the disease.  Good luck!  We have found MANY excellent horses at the auction, one being ridden by a National endurance champion, one went on to win a $28,000 stake race, most just found the right owner match and make someone happy.  I am not nearly of the opinion that another dealer/horse should be located because this one honestly explained to you that there is an issue right now. In short order the horse should be fine. Have fun!