REGARDING the article in last week's Times, when

strangles was first noticed amongst the foals, the

Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society (DLPS) sought

advice from a local equine vet. He confirmed that the

only practical policy when dealing with moorland

ponies was to let the infection run its course. The vet

advised that the majority of the ponies would recover

but a number might die because strangles is a

dangerous infection with a recognised mortality rate.

We were further advised that the use of antibiotics

would be of doubtful help and might even be

counter-productive by only temporarily suppressing

the symptoms and delaying the naturally occurring

rupture of the abscesses that restrict breathing and

swallowing.

Strangles occurs regularly amongst Dartmoor's pony

herds because it is the most common bacterial

infection of horses, is highly contagious and any

immunity gained from previous outbreaks is limited

and relatively shortlived. It is likely that some

perfectly healthy mares are in fact carriers of the

infection.

The symptoms are severe and distressing to see, and

foals and old or debilitated ponies are most at risk.

The Whitchurch ponies are in good bodily condition

but the foals had no immunity or resistance to the

infection.

The ponies on Whitchurch Down do not roam far nor

generally mix with other moorland herds and this

helps to keep an outbreak in one area. If infected

ponies had been removed it would have risked

spreading strangles to other places as well as causing

stress to already sick animals. By the time strangles-

infected foals had been seen on Whitchurch Down the

infection was already widespread in the immediate

area through the shared grazing and water troughs.

The pony-owning commoners and DLPS have closely

monitored the ponies, ready to humanely destroy any

that appeared beyond recovery. However, there is

only a thin line of distinction between a very sick foal

about to turn the corner towards recovery and one too

ill to survive.

Marion Saunders

Chairman

Dartmoor Livestock Protection Society