Strangles outbreak at leading show centre
A strangles outbreak has forced a show centre in Staffordshire to cancel all competitions.
Kingswood Equestrian, near Wolverhampton, which hosts affiliated and unaffiliated dressage and showjumping competions, will remain closed for shows until at least the end of the month.
Strangles, a bacterial infection of the equine lymph gland, which results in a restriction of the horse’s airway, is highly infectious spreading through direct contact with infected mucus.
“We have 6 horses which are categorised as being in the ‘red’ group and they are completely isolated,” owner Robert Lickley told H&H.
“We are confident that the outbreak doesn’t pose any risk to the show centre because it is a couple of hundred of metres away.
“However, we thought it was better to be upfront and we wanted to do the right thing.”
There are more than 30 horses based at Kingswood but Rob is satisfied that the outbreak is now contained. As well as isolating different groups of horses the center has used a thermal fogging disinfectant machine to make sure that it has a “clean area”.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.