Vets are being encouraged to get behind the ‘Temp Check Challenge’ as part of Strangles Awareness Week this May.
Strangles Awareness Week takes place eight weeks today (1st-7th May) and aims to make regular temperature checking a habit to minimise the scale and impact of a Strangles outbreak, which can be financially and emotionally costly.
The free pack for vets includes ten thermometers as part of The Big Thermometer Giveaway in the first week of April, five ‘Ask Me About Strangles’ pin badges, artwork and post text for websites and social media, and flyers to boost engagement with their clients. Sign up here for your pack and follow the Strangles Awareness Week Facebook page.
The key feature of the campaign – now in its fourth year - is the ‘Temp Check Challenge’. The Challenge encourages owners to take their horse’s resting temperature each day during the week and input it into a free online checker. Not only does it incentivise them to gain confidence in the procedure and make temperature checking a part of their routine - especially for horses mixing or moving to yards - it consciously promotes the importance of pyrexia as a non-specific symptom that horse owners have long overlooked as a health indicator that they can objectively monitor. In the case of Strangles, horses typically develop fever 2-3 days before becoming infectious so it is a basic biosecurity measure that could minimise the size and cost of an outbreak, whether screening or quarantine exists on a yard already.
Andie McPherson, Campaigns Manager at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, said: “The Temp Check Challenge caught the attention of vets in 2022 when 69 vet practices supported the campaign. When we met and spoke to vets at conferences last year, they told us that their practices would support a big thermometer giveaway through their social media channels to raise awareness and prepare owners for the Challenge.
“Feedback from owners who took part last year was that it raised confidence and surprised them how easy it is to do.
“We already have 87 practices signed up this year alongside top prizes contributed by celebrity riders for horse owners who take up the Challenge but we are looking for many more to help us spread the word and maximise the numbers of owners taking part.
“We're proud to already have support from EVA, CVS Equine, VetPartners, XLVets Equine, a community of independently owned veterinary practices, and many other prominent names advocating for disease prevention and equine health. We welcome practices large and small to get on board and use the week to send their own messages about why temperature checking and disease awareness are so important.”
There have been over 30 outbreaks of Strangles reported via the Surveillance of Equine Strangles project already this year and as we hit eventing season post Covid pandemic there are concerns that owners may be underprepared for the unwanted costs of infectious disease.
Andie added: “It’s so easy for vets to support the campaign and help us make this vital skill a part of every horse owner's armoury against infectious disease and for better horse health.”
For more information about Strangles Awareness Week 2023 please visit our Facebook page or website.