Kitty and Nightjar saved from strangles
Ken is a pony keeper on Dartmoor, a national park with a large population of moorland ponies. He shared his recent experience about an outbreak of strangles and how with your support we were able to help him and two of his sickest ponies: “When we discovered strangles in the herd, we reached out to Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust. They got in touch with The Mare and Foal Sanctuary and Redwings to help manage the outbreak. The Mare and Foal Sanctuary team were wonderful and really went above and beyond. Two of the youngest ponies, Nightjar and Kitty, were very ill. Being able to send them to The Mare and Foal Sanctuary’s Beech Trees veterinary centre, where they could be properly looked after was incredible. Without their help we might have lost them. Thankfully, they have made a full recovery and are now strangles-free.
“Strangles is a terrible disease and is a continual worry for pony keepers like us on Dartmoor. With the proper testing that was carried out by the team we can now be confident that strangles has been eliminated from the herd, but we will always need to be alert in case it comes back.
“We’re incredibly grateful for all the help we received. Without it the situation might have been very different. We would encourage any other horse or pony owners to be responsible and take strangles seriously. You’re not alone. The help is there. You just need to ask.”
