Strangles spreads quickly because barns share water, handlers, and tack—and the first signs can look like “just a cold.” The difference is how fast fever and throatlatch lymph node swelling show up and how easily secretions move from horse to horse. This guide gives you the practical side: the early signs owners actually see, the first 24-hour isolation steps that limit spread, barn biosecurity that works in the real world, when and how testing clears quarantine, and where va