How to Properly Disinfect Your Stable to Protect Your Horse From Strangles

Strangles is one of the most contagious and disruptive equine diseases, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi. It can spread rapidly through shared water sources, contaminated surfaces, and direct horse-to-horse contact. Fortunately, with the right biosecurity measures and effective disinfection practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of an outbreak in your yard.

Cleaning vs Disinfecting: What’s the Difference?

Understanding the distinction between cleaning and disinfecting is crucial for effective biosecurity:

Cleaning involves removing dirt, organic material (such as horse poo), and debris from your horse’s stable.  Cleaning will make the stable look and feel better, but it doesn’t kill bacteria or viruses. Disinfecting, on the other hand, involves applying a disinfectant (such as Equine Bio Genie’s veterinary-grade disinfectant) to kill microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, and fungi that remain after cleaning.

Why Stable Disinfection Matters

The strangles bacteria can survive in the environment for extended periods—up to six weeks in water and on surfaces under the right conditions. This makes yard spaces like stables, grooming areas, and water troughs high-risk zones for transmission. Regular and thorough disinfection is essential to break the chain of infection and protect your horse’s health. 

Choosing the Right Disinfectant

There are many general disinfectants on the market, but did you know that these often don’t kill horse-specific viruses and bacteria, and in addition, can be toxic to horses, humans and the environment?

At Equine Bio Genie we have created a veterinary-grade disinfectant that is: 

• Proven to be effective against Strangles: Achieves a 4-log kill rate, meaning it eliminates 99.99% of the bacteria. 
• Broad-spectrum: Also effective against EHV-1, Equine flu, Aspergillus spores, ringworm, and more. 
• Safe and eco-friendly: Biodegradable, non-toxic, and leaves no harmful residues—safe for both horses and humans. 
• Ready to use: No dilution required, making it convenient for daily use. 
• Non-Corrosive: Our equine disinfectant is suitable for use on all surfaces, including walls, floors, doors, lorries and equipment. 

Step-by-Step Stable Disinfection Guide

Our disinfectant not only kills equine-specific viruses and bacteria but it is safe to use around horses and humans. You can even spray it on your horse’s bedding, hay, water and feed buckets without having to rinse it off.  Follow these quick and easy steps to disinfect your stable and protect your horse from strangles:

1. Remove Organic Matter: Although our products work even in the presence of organic matter, if you have time, we recommend removing organic matter such as manure.
2. Apply Equine Bio Genie Disinfectant: Using a handheld or larger sprayer, apply the Equine Bio Genie disinfectant to all surfaces, including the walls, doors, water troughs and feed buckets
3. No Need to Rinse: As our disinfectant leaves no dangerous residue, you don’t need to leave it to dry or rinse it off. Once you have sprayed your stable your horse can go straight back in. 
4. Repeat Regularly: Establish a routine disinfection schedule, especially during outbreaks or when introducing new horses to the yard.  We recommend disinfecting your stable every week as well as using other biosecurity measures daily.

Additional Biosecurity Measures

• Disinfect Equipment: Regularly clean and disinfect tack, grooming tools, and feed buckets, especially if they are shared between horses. Our All Purpose Spray is ideal for this. 
• Hand Hygiene: Wash your hands thoroughly between handling different horses to prevent cross-contamination. You can use our disinfectants to do this.
• Control Horse Movement: Limit horse-to-horse contact, particularly during events or when new horses arrive at the facility. 
• Disinfect Transport Vehicles: Clean and disinfect trailers and lorries before and after use using our disinfectant products.
• Treat Water Sources: Use our strangles-killing water treatment in all shared water troughs to eliminate the bacteria and prevent its spread. 

Protecting Your Horse

Implementing these disinfection and biosecurity practices is crucial in safeguarding your horse against strangles and other equine diseases. By maintaining a clean and hygienic environment, you reduce the risk of infection and promote overall equine health.

For more information on Equine Bio Genie's disinfectant products and services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our team.