Standing Together Against Strangles: Join Us for Strangles Awareness Week 2026
This week we’re once again joining forces with equine charities, vets, researchers and industry partners to protect horses from the equine infection strangles. We’re proud to be an official partner of Strangles Awareness Week (SAW), a global campaign sharing clear, evidence-based messages.
What is Strangles?
Strangles is a highly contagious bacterial infection in horses caused by Streptococcus equi. It primarily affects lymph nodes around the head, leading to swelling and abscesses that can hinder breathing and swallowing. The disease spreads through direct contact between infected horses or indirect contact such as on clothing, equipment, hands or shared water troughs. Maintaining good biosecurity practices is crucial to limit its spread.
SAW 2026 runs from 4–10 May. Throughout this week we’ll be sharing practical tips, expert advice and real-life experiences on our social media platforms, all designed to help you keep your horse, yard and wider equine community infection free.
Preventing strangles is very close to our hearts at The Mare and Foal Sanctuary. 11 years have passed since strangles swept through our Honeysuckle rehabilitation yard in Newton Abbot, claiming the lives of four ponies and leaving many more seriously ill. The outbreak was emotional and exhausting and it changed our Sanctuary forever. Back in 2015, we faced seven relentless months of infection control, heart-breaking losses and round-the-clock care. Our team split the yard into red, amber and green zones, introduced strict disinfection and PPE, and did everything possible to protect our herd. Even so, around two thirds of our equines were infected. The experience left a deep emotional mark on staff and volunteers, but it also drove major improvements in our quarantine facilities, testing and biosecurity.
That is why preventing strangles will always be a core part of our welfare work. If we love our horses, ponies and foals, we must do everything in our power to protect them from this brutal but preventable disease.
As SAW Ambassadors, we’re helping to promote the BEST steps that can stop the spread of disease:
- B – Boost immunity by vaccinating
- E – Engage with trusted information
- S – Separate unfamiliar horses
- T – Temperature check routinely
To help show how easily infection can spread when it’s invisible to the eye, we’ve created a short film using pink powder to represent strangles bacteria. You can watch how quickly the ‘infection’ moves between people, equipment and spaces – exactly how real-life strangles spreads on yards every day.
Strangles can happen to anyone. There is no shame in talking about it and open conversations can save lives. If we love our horses, ponies and foals, we must do everything in our power to protect them.
Please follow Strangles Awareness Week on social media, share our posts with friends, family and anyone who spends time near horses, and help us send these vital messages far and wide.