Vaccinations are the Foundation of a Healthy Horse

While it may not seem like it now, spring is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about your horse’s vaccinations. It may seem that purchasing and administering vaccines to one’s own horse may save time and money, but we at Merritt & Associates would like to point out the importance of working with a veterinarian to develop a protocol and schedule for your horses vaccinations, as well as allowing a veterinarian to administer the vaccines.

In the world of Internet shopping, it seems that anything we could want for our horse is available at the push of a button. However, while these products are usually easily obtained, we have no guarantee that proper quality control was enforced while handling and storing these products. When dealing with equine vaccines, proper handling and storage are paramount. At Merritt & Associates our vaccines are ordered through reputable and trustworthy companies and pharmacies, and then handled and stored according to product protocols to ensure that we are offering our clients a quality product.

The health status of the horse is also an important aspect of vaccine administration. It is important that the horse is healthy, and has no underlying illness, before being vaccinated. By having a veterinarian administer a horse’s vaccines, a complete assessment, and if necessary, a complete physical exam may be done to determine if a horse is healthy enough to be vaccinated, potentially warding off adverse vaccine reactions.

Knowing which vaccines to vaccinate a horse with is the foundation of an individual horse’s vaccine protocol, and requires a risk vs. benefit approach. A veterinarian plays a crucial role in helping owners decided which vaccines should be administered to a particular horse. For example, there are some vaccines considered “core vaccines,” which means that these vaccines should be incorporated into all horse’s vaccination schedules (barring certain exceptions) due to the relatively low risk of adverse reaction and the relatively high exposure that all horses have to these diseases, such as Tetanus, West Nile, and Rabies. Rabies is also a zooinotic disease, meaning that it can be transmitted from horse to human, and the rabies vaccine, by law, can only be administered by a veterinarian. However, aside from the core vaccines, there are many other vaccines that may or may not be important for a horse to receive, depending on each individual horse. Whether or not the horse is transported to different areas around the country, whether or not the horse is transported to different locations in the area, or whether or not the horse ever leaves the farm, are all-important variables when choosing vaccines. The same is true when considering whether the horse is stabled at home alone, in a boarding facility, is a show horse or is in close contact with horses from different places, or whether the horse is trail ridden with the same group of horses once a month. Also, pregnancy and stage of pregnancy play a role in determining which vaccines to use on a mare.

Along with determining which vaccines to use, determining a vaccination schedule for a horse is very important and has many variables. The time between a horse performing and being vaccinated, the time between vaccination and shipping, the time of year that a horse will be shipped to a different geographic region, as well as the time of year that certain diseases are most prevalent, are all variables when choosing a vaccine schedule for a particular horse. These variables need to be discussed with a veterinarian so that their insight and experience can be used to set a vaccination schedule that allows a horse to develop adequate immunity to a disease while maintaining their top performance.

Unfortunately, the administration of even the most commonly used vaccine does not come without the risk of a vaccine reaction. While some vaccines come with more of a risk than others, there is a risk of adverse reaction with administration of any vaccine. Most vaccine reactions are local, short term, and non problematic, such as a small swelling at the injection site that goes away shortly, and muscle soreness. Some are more systemic such as fever and lethargy, and some can even be life threatening, such as purpura hemorrhagica or anaphylaxis. All of these reactions are best treated under the care of a veterinarian. While some of these reactions may not become evident for several hours, or potentially a day or two, some, such as anaphylaxis can occur immediately, and the horses chance of recovery are best if a veterinarian is on hand and can administer treatment immediately. And, while the risk of these adverse reactions can never be completely eliminated, a veterinarian is best suited to access the horse and then correctly administer a particular vaccine in the correct location on the horse’s body at a time that will pose the least possible risk of causing a reaction. At Merritt & Associates we care about our clients and their horses. Having your horses properly vaccinated is one of the first and most important steps in maintaining their health. We want your horses healthy, happy, and performing at their peak level, whether that is in the show ring, or out on the trail. In an effort to provide the best care possible, each veterinarian at Merritt & Associates would be happy to develop a vaccine protocol and schedule that is best suited for the needs of each of our client’s individual horses.