What's been happening? We take a look

What's been happening? We take a look

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Strangles cases on the rise

Equine charity Bransby Horses has issued a warning urging horse owners, riders and yard managers to review biosecurity measures and watch the health of equines in their care following reports of a strangles outbreak in the East Midlands.

The charity’s veterinary advisor Jeremy Kemp-Symonds recently coauthored a research paper which defines the rate Streptococcus equi – the bacterium that causes strangles – spreads. He stated: “We’ve defined the R0 number – that’s a measure of the rate at which the infection spreads – for the first time at just over two. This means that, on average, every horse infected with strangles will infect another two, if no preventative action is taken.

“Although this may seem quite high, we now know that, with the right interventions, it is possible to break the cycle of infection using some simple measures such as strict quarantining of known and suspected cases, good biosecurity and regular temperature checks of equines, to help assess those that may be infected.

“Bransby Horses is challenged by welfare cases arriving with strangles on a regular basis, but because of our stringent biosecurity and isolation measures in our quarantine unit for new arrivals, we haven’t had a single outbreak for over 15 years.” Anyone concerned about their horse’s health should seek advice from their vet.

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Dog attacks

Owners of two horses who were attacked in separate beach incidents inside a week of each other have urged dog owners to keep their dogs on leads, stating that things could have been so much worse. On 25 January Heather Evans’ cob Harvey was subjected to a dog bite in Wallasey and then a few days later on 28 January Adrian Geurtjens and his part-bred Shire horse Max were chased for a total of 10 minutes in Anglesey. Thankfully, nobody was harmed, but Heather and Adrian put this down to the fact that their horses are so well behaved and that, with different horses, things could have been a lot worse. Both riders caught the footage on camera.

© David Messum Fine Art, Bushey Museum and Art Gallery

A fine exhibition

Lucy Kemp-Welch is known for her paintings that feature equines and landscapes but possibly most famously for her illustrations that featured in the original 1915 edition of Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty. Now, her work will go on display in an exhibition called In Her Own Voice at the RussellCotes Art Gallery and Museum in Bournemouth, which was Lucy’s home town. The exhibition will include over 60 pieces of Lucy’s work including those from national and regional museums as well as some of her private collections that have never been on public display. For more information, visit: www.russellcotes.com