Definition of "strangles"
A disease of horses caused by an infection by the bacterium Streptococcus equi.
Quotations
The Vives, like the strangles, is most incident to young horses, and usually proceeds from the same causes, such as catching cold, being over-heated, or over-worked, about the time of shedding their teeth.
1816, Richard Lawrence, The complete farrier, and British sportsman, page 245