Murrell Equine Veterinary Surgery

06/05/2025

Don't forget...

The 5th - 11th of May 2025 represents this year’s Strangles Awareness week!

What is Strangles?

Did you know that the first person to document Strangles was in 1251?!

It is frequently diagnosed worldwide, and in 1888 the bacteria Streptococcus-equi (Strep-equi) was identified as the main bacteria causing the disease.

Not sure what symptoms to look for? Common signs of Strangles can include:

- A fever above 38°c
- Purulent nasal discharge
-Swelling of the lymph nodes in the head and neck
-Abscessation around the head and neck
-Lethargy
-Loss of appetite
-Cough
-Ocular (eye) discharge

These clinical signs often become visible between 3 and 21 days after initial exposure. We commonly see their different severities of symptoms when considering the horses general health, signalment or previous exposure.

Strangles is NOT an airborne disease, despite what people think! The spread can be from nose touching, sharing water or food buckets, from a carrier horse to general items around the yard that may have been touched by us humans who have been in contact with a carrier or a known infected horse.

How best can we manage?

Well as we all know, Strangles has and will always be around, and the best way to manage is with excellent yard management along with taking sound advice from your Equine vet.

If you are worried your horse may be showing signs of Strangles the FIRST step is to call the practice for advice on how to manage your horse. We take your horses health as the number one priority, as well as looking at how best to manage the rest of the yard in a safe and stress-free way.

Never fear, strangles support is here!

20/03/2025

Murrell equine understand that concerns have been raised within the Equine community regarding notification of Strangles cases in the South East Essex region.

Strangles has always been an endemic challenge in our area — one that is typically managed well through vigilant biosecurity and responsible horse care. However, we understand that outbreaks can still occur.

Rest assured, we are here to support you!

Please reach out to us as we can offer sound advice on best practice on your yard, and what clinical signs to look out for.

If you are considering Strangles vaccinations, we can provide all the information you need!

03/01/2025

Murrell Equine wish you all a very happy 2025!

17/05/2024

21/03/2024

Are you concerned your horse is lame? Unsure where to start?

Murrell Equine carry out 90% of Lameness Investigations at the convenience of the clients yard.

There won’t be a need for you to hire transport. You can reduce additional expenses with the costs of travel and livery fees. Avoiding the added stress of taking extra time off work.

With having the Lameness Investigation carried out at your yard, you will be able to discuss with the Vet throughout the appointment and to raise any concerns you may have and to discuss treatment.

So if you have noticed any of the following ~

• Discomfort.
• Changes in behaviour.
• Movement and gait.
• Doesn’t feel quite right under saddle.
• Intermittent signs of Lameness.

Please contact the office on 01245 400484 if you have any questions and they will be able to assist you further.

24/12/2022

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, prosperous, and peaceful 2023!
Best wishes from the Murrell Equine team!

14/10/2022

There seems to be an abundance of acorns this year.
This is in response to the drought as the oak trees have gone into survival mode - perhaps even more than a normal year. Even though there may be an abundance of pasture in your field, so horses may take a liking to acorns, so please read this article by the BHS and keep your horses safe.

If eaten, acorns, leaves and branches from oak trees pose a risk of poisoning to horses. Fortunately, acorn poisoning is rare in horses, but it does have years where an increase is seen, potentially due to the increased crop of acorns. So, it is important to know what we can do for our horses to min...

19/09/2022

Such attention to detail - even the headscarf given to the Queen by the The Fell Pony Society to celebrate their 100 year anniversary featuring HM The Queen’s own Fell Pony Emma was placed on Emma’s back - such a touching tribute!

The headscarf 🇬🇧💔

08/09/2022

RIP her majesty the Queen

19/08/2022

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

28/01/2022

Find out about how the BHS has been involved in the proposed Highway Code changes in our latest safety blog: https://bit.ly/33Z88vJ

13/01/2022

Please read and share! Do not feed other peoples horses.

⚠BE HORSE AWARE – PLEASE DO NOT FEED OTHER PEOPLE’S HORSES ⚠

At this time of year with the rain, frost and snow, fields can have less grass and more mud so it may be tempting to feed other people’s horses.

But if there isn’t much grass in the field, please look out for signs that extra food is being given. This includes:
• Hay scraps left on the ground from where hay has been provided earlier in the day / evening
• Horses congregating around gates at a certain time, anticipating being brought in to a stable or waiting to be fed
• Haynets hung up around the field area
• Feed buckets in the field

Although frequently motivated by kindness, feeding unknown horses can result in horrifying unintended consequences by making the horse extremely ill - in some cases horses have died.

If you do have concerns about horses having no food or grass and/or horses looking thin, monitor the situation for a few days, looking out for the above signs of care being provided.

If concerns remain, we urge members of the public NOT to take their own action. Instead contact our Horse Care and Welfare team on 02476 840517 or [email protected] who will be able to provide the necessary support.

For more information visit https://www.bhs.org.uk/our-work/welfare/our-campaigns/be-horse-aware