Strangles is considered an important equine contagious bacterial caused by Streptococcus equi. This study planned to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-S. equi antibodies in horses located in Mosul city, Iraq for the first time. The sera were collected from 184 animals (156 horses and 28 donkeys), and then they were screened by using indirect ELISA (iELISA) to effectively check the seroconverted animals. The results of this study showed that the total prevalence rate of strangles in horses was 12%, (0.0% in donkeys) and the seroprevalence rate in animals less than 3 years old was 20%, while in animals of ages 3 years and more, it was 7% (P< 0.05). The seroprevalence rate in racing and horses with respiratory signs was significantly higher than ones with Draught and apparently normal conditions (P< 0.05). Any significant relationship was not found between seropositive animals and sex, and among racing horses (P< 0.05). To close, the presence of anti-S. equi antibodies in the examined horses might require more attention to reduce the incidence of the disease in horse breeding centers found in the study zone.

The contribution of equines in sustaining the livelihoods of many people, particularly in developing countries is evident. However, their socioeconomic importance is often overlooked and consequently they are given poor husbandry practices which substantially threaten their welfare. The occurrence of wounds is among other health threads which stem from such poor practices. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on 420 randomly selected equine from September to December 2022 with the objective to determine the prevalence of equine wounds and identifying influencing factors associated with the prevalence. Binary logistic regression was used for determining the prevalence of wounds in different parameters. Odds ratios (OR) were used to determine the degree of association between the different risk factors and the wound. The overall prevalence of equine wound was 39.0% from which 53.5% and 23.9% of wound prevalence were detected in horses and donkeys, respectively. The prevalence of wound differed significantly between different sex groups where males (50.7%) were highly affected than females (26.6%). The agro-ecological zone was found to have a significant influence on the occurrence of wounds where equines in the mountains and the foothills (46.6%) and (44.9%) respectively had higher record than those in the lowlands (26.9%). The distribution of wounds differed significantly between different body regions and more records were obtained at the back (50.0%) and the least on the legs (11.6%). The observed wound categories differed significantly, and more records were on abrasion (40.9%) and the least on incision (9.1%). It is concluded that wounds represent serious welfare problem in equines in the study area.