A national week of action encouraging people to speak out and challenge the stigma of the UK’s most prevalent equine disease is returning next week.
Strangles Awareness Week 2021 will take place from 3-9 May with the aim to provide horse owners, yard managers, vets and equine professionals with a platform to share their own stories and promote support for those affected by the disease.
Strangles is a highly infectious disease that affects horses, ponies, donkeys and mules, mainly in the lymph nodes of the head and neck. Symptoms include fever, inappetence, depression, swellings around the head and neck, nasal discharge and open abscesses, whereas chronic carriers may not show any symptoms at all, but can spread the infection to other equines.
Bransby Horses is proud to be supporting the annual campaign alongside other leading equine organisations including Strangles Awareness Week organisers, Redwings Horse Sanctuary. Andie McPherson, Redwings’ Campaigns Manager, said: “When people hear of a Strangles outbreak in their area, we want the first reaction to be one of support, not judgement. Strangles can happen to any horse yet sadly there is still so much stigma attached to it which stops people speaking out and allows the disease to continue to spread.
“Using the platform of Strangles Awareness Week, we hope as many people as possible will share our free practical information about Strangles and feel empowered to talk about their experiences, so we can then start to shift attitudes and hopefully see less horses, owners and businesses facing the misery of dealing with an outbreak.”
Throughout 3-9 May, Bransby Horses will be sharing some of the work we do to tackle this preventable disease across our social media channels, drawing on personal experiences and hearing from our experts.
The public, horse owners, yards and equine professionals can show their support for Strangles Awareness Week on social media using the hashtags #SAW2021 #SpeakOutOnStrangles #Strangles and by utilising the free resources made available by Redwings Horse Sanctuary on their website.
Together, we can beat strangles.
