Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Strangles \Stran"gles\, n.
   A disease in horses and swine, in which the upper part of the
   throat, or groups of lymphatic glands elsewhere, swells.

Source : WordNet®

strangles
     n : an acute bacterial disease of horses characterized by
         inflammation of the mucous membranes [syn: {equine
         distemper}]