By the next morning, Diva began showing signs of being really sick. She had a gnarly deep hacking cough and a green snotty dripping nose. Lucky for us, the vet was already scheduled to come the next day.
By Friday, we received the horrible news. The news brought us to our knees in disbelief! The outcome was unforeseeable and hard to grasp! Diva was diagnosed with Strangles. We were baffled!
Strangles is a very contagious bacterial disease caused by Streptococcus Equi. It is characterized by the swelling of the lymph nodes and the formation of abscesses mostly in the head and neck areas. It’s gross.
Then, at the beginning of April, the unthinkable happened. Dually, our stoic, gorgeous, kind draft horse began acting lethargic. Then, the runny nose came. We thought, “no way can he have it! We’ve done everything right! How did he get it so many weeks after the others??”
Coincidently at the same time, Goose was having signs of a urinary tract infection or something similar because he was having trouble emptying his bladder. His urine and blood samples were normal. Our vet was scheduled to come out to examine him closer, so we added Dually to the list to be seen.
A few days later, we received more devastating news. They were both positive for Strangles. The vet suspected that Dually was exposed when Taco was here, held the bacteria, and was now being effected by it. Strangles is an ancient and weird sickness.
Days turned to weeks. Dually and Goose were showing very little improvement. Diva and Taco were still testing positive, even though they were very much not visibly sick. We did blood tests and nasal swabs on our other horses, which showed they were exposed, but would not get it. We began to realize our case was not normal.
While he was there, his bladder problem seemed to resolve itself. We thank the heavy round of antibiotics!
Dually was diagnosed with a strain of Strangles nicknamed Bastard Strangles. He not only has the usual abscesses with this sickness, but he also has them in his liver and possibly encapsulated in his sinuses. On top of that, he might have IMM (Immune Mediated Myositis). Sadly, we still do not know if Dually is going to make it. His appetite remains low. His case is now being studied by doctors and students at UC Davis. They have never seen one like this before.
Typically Strangles cases last 3-4 weeks. Our outcome is super rare. Vets across the country have requested our horses blood for medical trials.
We are now desperate…for prayers, thoughts, and frankly, money. Vet visits, nasal swab tests, bleach, medical supplies, trailer hauls, overnight stays, antibiotics, IV fluids…we’ve spent over $20,000 since February and anticipate, at least, another $10,000 in expenses.
So friends, we ask for help. Would you send us something? Words, thoughts, money…they are all powerful in this healing journey.
We have a few ways you can donate: Venmo (@spirithorseacnapa), Cash, Check, or through the Facebook Fundraiser (Click HERE).
Thank you. We could not make it through this season without your encouragement and your help. We will keep you posted on our journey.