My horse contracted strangles at my boarding facility!?

Question

He is a 5 yr old gelding and his guttural pouches are affected. The vet bill could be costly. Do you think the owner of the boarding facility should absorb the vet costs? I can't afford it and it was their fault my horse got sick because they brought 3 new ponies in that were apparently infected.

Answer 1

ask the owner of the facility if they will pay for it. if they don't, you're gonna have to pay for it, because its not like the owner of the barn is obligated to pay for it. if you have insurance then the vet bill won't be so high. but if you don't it will probably be very high. you should get insurance like soon if you don't have it. like asap.

hope i helped, hope your horse is okay. =)

Answer 2

Well I'm weighing in here from my usual category, law and ethics.. :)

It all depends on what you signed, but I have to tell you most stables now have some pretty good paperwork covering their butts and you're probably on the hook.  Reason?  Most people in boarding situations will get the vaccines to cover all possible diseases because of horses coming in and out.

You can sue them, but I seriously doubt you'd win a penny.  How were they supposed to know the new ones were infected, were they obviously showing signs and still exposed to the general population, or did it show up after they moved in?  If that's the case, how would they have prevented it?

If they were obviously dripping snot and infected, why didn't the rest of you (boarders) make a stink and say get those horses the h**l out of here?

See where I'm going with this?  Hard to prove fault.  Not picking at you just showing you what you're up against.

Answer 3

I would make the boarding facility pay half the cost of treatment. Yes, your horse got Strongyles at where you board but it isn't their fault that the ponies where or are infected.

*****Here's is a link about Strongyles...

http://www.zoologix.com/horse/Datasheets...

Answer 4

Sorry your horse got sick, I hope he is feeling better soon!

Unfortunately, unless the boarding stable was negligent, you're out of luck.  Basically, they would have to had known the new horses were ill when they brought them in.

When you board, you are taking a risk of exposing your horse to this sort of thing.  Sort of like if you send your child to school, and he comes home with pink-eye. Its not the schools fault, its just what happens when you have a lot of kids (or animals) in one place. If you don't want to expose your horse to diseases, you need to keep him at home and never bring him into contact with another horse.

By the way, you should be aware that vaccinating your horse for strangles is no guarantee that he will not get it. Like the flu, there are many different strains.

Answer 5

i can't answer about the vet bills..

but your horse needs to be separated for 30 days, minimum and you cannot touch other horses after touching your own.  you need to clean with bleach and Lysol and be VERY careful about it spreading.

at my facility we're currently dealing with strangles, and every horse that catches it restarts our quarantine..

so we're a week and a few days down, but if another horse catches it tomorrow we begin 30 days from there.

good luck!

and BE CLEAN!

Answer 6

I agree with something posted earlier.

Most stables have it very clear and written in contracts what they require and don't require a horse to be vaccinated for at their facility. Some vaccinations like strangles are often optional. If your stable's owner hires all normal veterinarian care it's clearly in your records that this boarder requires horses entering to have strangles shots, and your horse suddenly caught something he was supposed to have been vaccinated against, you might hold a shot, particularly if you've had vet records that he's been vaccinated.

If a vaccination for strangles is not included in the contract, than you really don't have much luck.

Answer 7

Ok I had a bad case of strangles at my barn this year out of my 25 horses 18 got strangles once they get the selling under there throught latch you should NOT give them antibiotics the first one we had get strangles we gave antibiotics and she got b*****d stangles which are internal abcesses and she died so if your horse is already swelled DO NOT GIVE ANTIBIOTICS i know this is the first thing you think you need to do but it is the wrong thing to do trust me it costed me my best prospect and she was only 4 yrs old

What i did for the horses that the abcesses blew out on wash wash it with the water hose for 5 minutes and then get a surenge and fill it with water and enough badadine that it looked like week tea and squirted it up in the hole i did this 4 to 5 times a day and the strangles were gone in 2 weeks but it is still contageous for 6 weeks so keep your horse quarintined for at least 6 weeks

Answer 8

Did you have the horse vaccinated for strangles? When you take on the responsibility of owning a horse you take on the responsibility of health care also. I cannot see where the barn owner is at fault. Horses that look healthy can be carriers of it and be shedding it out and you wouldn't even know it until your animal has gotten sick .....hence the reason for vaccines to help prevent it.

In common with other respiratory diseases, such as canine cough and feline respiratory disease, immunity is short lived and incomplete. In fact 25% of horses infected with strangles do not appear to develop immunity. This makes it very difficult for a vaccine to provide complete protection and it is not claimed that the vaccine is an absolute preventative. However, field experience has shown that vaccination can control the disease by reducing the degree of clinical disease and reducing the number of horses affected.