Kentucky takes precaution on strangles

Three horses at the Highpointe Training Center in La Grange, Ky., have tested positive for the bacterium that can cause strangles, but none of the horses has shown any outward sign of the disease.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture quarantined a 40-horse barn and isolated the affected horses from other horses. But Rusty Ford, the Kentucky state veterinarian offices manager of equine programs, said the horses had shown no symptoms of strangles other than elevated temperatures, which by Monday afternoon had returned to normal.

Weve not seen any clinical evidence or outward symptoms of strangles, Ford said.

Strangles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause such symptoms as thick nasal discharge and abscesses in the lymph nodes.