Pony Disease 'Strangles' hits The New Forest

[NightHawk]

Owners of ponies in The New Forest are in for a very worrying time.

A very nasty, and highly contagious, respiratory disease called Strangles has hit the area.

This disease only affects ponies.

The following article appeared on the front page of our local newspaper which was delivered today:



WARNING - If anyone wishes to do further research about this disease, please be aware that if photos accompany the articles the facial area of the ponies can be very distressing.

[ideasguy]

Really nasty, Laurie. I know how much you love the wild ponies in your New Forest area. I hope there isn't a widespread decimation.

[NightHawk]

I know everyone concerned will be working as hard as they can to contain the disease, and get an appropriate vaccine administered before too many ponies become infected.

First we have the 'dog disease' now this    There are some really nasty viruses out there which affect us all   

Naturally I'll be keeping a close eye on the situation.  We travel around the New Forest every day as part of our daily lives, so we see the ponies everywhere all the time.

I have an emergency contact number for reporting incidents with ponies with me at all times whilst travelling around the Forest, so if I see any ponies with visible symptoms I'll let the authorites know about it.
 

[NightHawk]

More drifts have had to be cancelled as this disease continues to spread, going on longer than was expected 

Here is a BBC News article with the latest details.

One of our neighbours owns a pony which she stables nearby, but she has told me that she isn't riding into the Forest at the moment where the problem is occurring.

Wilverley and Brockenhurst, two of the most badly affected areas, are quite near to where I live so I'm being extra vigilant for any ponies in distress.

Fortunately, I haven't come across any sick ponies.