The Meeschhaff is a horse stable in northern Luxembourg, owned by Tania Sutor-Welfring and her husband. The couple offers riding lessons, rents out individual boxes, but their stable is mainly known for its therapy work. Their stable is the only one of its kind in the Grand Duchy, which is why the couple often takes in horses in need of recovery after a severe injury. However, this is currently not possible as the Meeschhaff has been under quarantine since the end of August due to strangles, an infection affecting horses.
Horses can neither leave nor enter the stable at the moment. In addition to injured animals not being able to benefit from the stable's unique offer of therapy, the couple also has to deal with substantial financial losses. However, both of them stress that it was the right decision not to spread the infection to other stables. Strangles is highly contagious and affects the animals' upper respiratory tract. The disease is caused by bacteria and only affects equines, i.e. horses, donkeys, or zebras.
While humans cannot contract the infection, they can spread it, for instance through their clothing. The horse's nasal discharge or pus from draining lymph nodes are the main carriers of the bacteria. Ill and healthy animals have to be strictly separated and cannot share any material. For this reason, the Meeschhaff immediately put up a separate area after the first horses had tested positive for strangles. In addition, the owners placed mats imbued with disinfectant at every entry and exit to the "red areas" where ill horses are kept. Owners of ill horses are not allowed past a certain point or have to change their clothes.
Veterinarian Michael Renck is specialised in the treatment of large animals and guided the couple from the start on how to handle the disease. Strangles has been around for as long as horses have been. It is estimated that 10% of all horses are so-called "carrier animals". Luxembourg counted a total of 4,600 horses in 2018.
This would imply that approximately 460 animals are chronic carriers of the disease, i.e. they constantly carry strangles without getting sick themselves. The illness can break out at any point and infect other horses.
This is one of the reasons why there are outbreaks of the disease time and time again. The Meeschhaff was affected this year, but according to the owners, all of the horses are doing well. Some are asymptomatic, while others were more severely affected. The animals have to be monitored constantly for symptoms which include a runny nose, cough, fever, or lymph nodes. In severe cases, the disease can also lead to the formation of abscissa, which can burst and leave the animals with deep scars.
15-year old Milo had to deal with this rather severe course of the infection. He had a high fever and had to remain in the stable for five weeks. He has recovered in the meantime and can slowly return to a more normal routine again. Just like humans, horses also need some time to regain their strength after such a long time-out. One day after the RTL team's visit to the stable, Milo received a negative test result and is thus officially completely healthy again. Three horses are currently still infected but show no symptoms.
The owners admitted that these were long weeks for the staff, the horses' owners, and of course the animals themselves. However, with lots of discipline, they were able to overcome the illness. Restrictive measures, which everyone knows all too well from our own lives by now.
