Will you take the ‘Temperature Check Challenge’?
04 April 2022 Horse care, Strangles
We’re urging horse owners and keepers to take part in this year’s Strangles Awareness Week (SAW) – which aims to educate people about the dangers of the highly contagious equine disease strangles, and help to prevent an outbreak.
Leading equine welfare charities, vets, researchers and higher education institutions from around the world have come together to organise the week, which is now in its third year and taking place between 2nd – 8th May.
This year, owners are being asked to take the ‘Temperature Check Challenge’ by taking their horse’s resting temperature each day and inputting the reading into a free online checker which will help them get to know their horse’s normal range – something that fluctuates by a fraction of a degree through the day according to a range of factors.
People taking the challenge will also be entered into a free prize draw and contribute to a database of temperatures that will help to understand what a normal healthy range is in horses.
A high temperature is an early warning sign that your horse may have been infected with strangles – and will become infectious to other horses – so getting to know what your horse’s ‘normal’ temperature is could prevent an outbreak. Strangles is the most commonly diagnosed equine disease worldwide with around 600 cases reported in the UK every year and it’s hoped that it will be recognised as an equine disease of international risk by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) this year. Symptoms of the contagious respiratory illness range from laboured breathing, difficulty eating and depression, to a high fever, thick nasal discharge and painful abscesses. In severe cases strangles can pose a risk to the horse’s life.
If you’re a horse owner, yard manager, vet or equine professional and would like to join a list of ambassadors to help promote the SAW through social media, please sign up here or email campaigns@redwings.co.uk
