Tattersalls funding to back Animal Health Trust strangles study

Tattersalls has provided a funding boost to research being conducted into strangles by the Animal Health Trust (AHT).

The most commonly diagnosed infectious disease of horses in the world, highly contagious strangles outbreaks are thought to occur more than 600 times in Britain every year.

Now Animal Health Trust scientists are to benefit from a three-year funding grant from Tattersalls, which has been earmarked for the launch of a new international strangles surveillance scheme, allowing for the ongoing assessment of its welfare impact and highlighting of trends over time and in different geographical areas.

Through samples collected it will also help the AHT scientists to conduct whole genome sequencing of Streptococcus equi, the bacteria responsible for causing strangles, which will assist in future vaccine efficacy to prevent the disease taking hold in the first instance.

Kevin Clements, director of fundraising and marketing at the AHT, said: "We are delighted that Tattersalls have agreed to help fund our strangles research programme.

"As a charity, we are reliant on the generous support from organisations like Tattersalls to help us to continue our important work. With the ever increasing movement of horses across the world, research into a disease like this couldn’t be more important.”

Gavin Davies, director of bloodstock sales at Tattersalls, added: "At our sales in the UK and Ireland, we catalogue around 14,000 thoroughbred horses each year and are acutely aware how distressing an infectious outbreak can be to horse owners, breeders and trainers.

"The work of the scientists at the AHT will help ensure that future generations of horses, globally, have the best chance of being protected from this disease in the future."

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