Vaccinating Your Horse

Horses are susceptible to a variety of diseases and the wide majority of them we are not too concerned with because we vaccinate our horses. It is important to remember that just because some diseases are vaccinated against, your horse may still be able to contract them but the vaccination will lessen the effect of the disease. Vaccinations are important because you never know what may be floating through the air from a sick horse passing by in the stable or even riding down the road in a trailer.

Influenza and Rhinopneumonitis

These are respiratory diseases that are very similar to the human flu. These diseases have very similar symptoms to the flu. Your vet may recommend that your horse be vaccinated every 3 months or at least every 6 months for these diseases, depending on how often you travel with your horse and often the horse is exposed to other horses.

Tetanus

Tetanus is a bacterial disease that a horse contracts through open wounds. A horse should receive regular tetanus boosters, as the disease is easily contracted through puncture wounds and lacerations. The bacterial disease wreaks havoc on the horse’s nervous system and may cause brain damage. The prognosis is generally poor for a horse that contracts tetanus, so horse owners want to do their best to prevent it. The symptoms include extreme sensitivity to touch and spasms in the neck and jaw muscles. It is recommended that horses receive these vaccinations at least once per year.

Strangles

Strangles is a very contagious disease that spreads from horse to horse very easily. Many horses will have the virus, but show no symptoms, which makes it even harder to detect until other horses begin to show symptoms. Horses will generally have a pus discharge from the nose and abscesses form in the lymph glands. The abscess will often burst with thick yellow pus. The horse may develop a fever and go off feed. Most animals will recover, but the care for these horses can be very difficult, especially if they develop the abscesses. Horses should be on a regular vaccination program for strangles, especially breeding and performance horses. Strangles live in the ground and there are various strands that may develop. High-risk horses include broodmares, stallions and performance horses. They should be vaccinated every six months. You should also vaccinate if you are moving to a new stable and ask if they have their own version of the vaccine for their particular strand of virus.

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