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 MaMa Hen
Posts: 12223
  
Location: Louisiana | I have read articles stating that it is not necessary to vaccinate horses annually, if they have been vaccinated for a few years. Since having the vet pull coggins and give all "annual" vaccinations costs me close to $100 per horse, I decided not to vaccinate mine this year, except the new ones, whose history I do not know. How often do you vaccinate? (We're not talking about broodmares or foals; we're talking about mature horses who have been vaccinated yearly for several years.) |
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
 
Location: Texas | I think I've skipped in the past, but now there's a least one event a year where I need a health certificate for and I haul a lot so we tend to vaccinate yearly.
You can always pull coggins and do shots later to split your bill up. |
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 Coyote Country Queen
Posts: 5666
| I vaccinate everything yearly. I have broodmares, young ones, performance horses that are being hauled, and retirees. My biggest concern is my broodmares and keeping them healthy. Since all of our horses come in contact with each other, they are all vaccinated. I buy vaccines online so I shop around for the best deal, and we do all of the vaccinations ourselves. |
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 Regular
Posts: 92
Location: here there and everywhere! | I also do yearly on my younger horse who is 8 year old (only owned him for 2.5 years) only because he travels more than my other guy. My 2nd horse is 30yrs old and I only do tetnus every year and rabies every other year |
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 I"m Jealous!
Posts: 1737
Location: Benton City, WA | You have to be a bit skeptical reading those articles because most of the people who are arguing that horses don't need annual vaccination are just inferring that from studies being done in cats and dogs. Obviously horses are NOT just large dogs, and we are vaccinating them for totally different diseases. In dogs and cats, we are now vaccinating for certain diseases every 3 years, but some still require annual vaccination.
My horses do get vaccinated annually, especially if they are hauling and especially for WEST NILE. When I worked at an equine hospital in Idaho, we saw several horses die from West Nile that had been vaccinated just the previous year, but had skipped the vaccine that spring.
I think the important thing to consider here is risk vs. benefit...if your horse has had serious bad reactions in the past (ie anaphylaxis) , it may be more risky for that animal. If your horse never has issues with vaccines, you are better off doing them yearly, rather than risking infection with a potentially fatal disease.
JMHO
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I do. Everyone....every year. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| look at what you are doing with your horse ... If you don't haul then you probably only need things like West Nile (spread by mosquitoes that live everywhere in the USA) and rabies - you won't need strangles (etc)
Like another poster said, have them pull coggins later and it will help split the cost up too.
I personally vaccinate yearly in the early spring both of my horses, including strangles. I also haul around the country so I need to make sure that my main mare isn't bringing home something to my coming 3 y.o.
ETA - this year they got the full panel - West Nile, prestige 5 way (includes eastern and western sleeping sickness, Rhino (ehv1 &4), influenza, and tetnus), Rabies, and strangles
Edited by lindseylou2290 2014-04-02 8:37 AM
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 Best of the Badlands
Location: You never know where I will show up...... | Our horses we are hauling, and young horses in training are vaccinated for EHV, influenza, sleeping sickness and WNV annually.
I only vaccinate our broodmares for sleeping sickness, tetanus, and West Nile Virus.
We have a closed broodmare herd, if we didn't I would vaccinate them for everything as well. |
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Expert
Posts: 1956
Location: Ky | Every horse, every year. If taking care of them properly is an issue then thin the herd to a manageable number. |
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MaMa Hen
Posts: 12223
Location: Louisiana | Just for the record, for those who don't know me, this is the first time in my adult life (I'm 60), that I have not vaccinated everything on the place (which has usually been several more horses than the 5 I have now). It just seems, from what I've read, that it is not only a waste of money, but potentially harmful to the horse to be vaccinated year after year. My retired boy Tex is 23, and I bought him at age 5. EVERY year, he has been vaccinated, and every year, he gets sick after the vaccinations. Not "call the vet" sick, but he definitely doesn't feel good for a few days. If he doesn't really benefit from vaccinating, I don't want to put him through it. So I was just wondering if others had chosen not to vaccinate yearly and what your thoughts were on it. What I read said that horses build up immunity and don't require annual vaccinations to be protected from diseases. Don't assume that I can't afford to take care of my horses, simply because I mentioned that I would be saving a lot of money.  That wasn't my only reason for not vaccinating. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1479
Location: rabbit run | CYA Ranch - 2014-04-01 7:38 PM I do. Everyone....every year.
Me too. And will continue to do so.
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | I vaccinate yearly in the spring. Sometimes I will booster in the fall if there is something going on (strangles outbreak, high incidence of mosquito born diseases etc). |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 830
Location: Paradise , tx | Yeap, every year.
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Good Ole Boys just Fine with Me
Posts: 2869
Location: SE Missouri | I have went several years where I didn't vaccinate annually and I live in mosquitoville.. I didn't have problems. My horses live outside 247 pasture (not cooped up in stalls or small confined paddocks), good grain, good hay. It's a little hard for me to believe we have successfully destroyed the immune systems of our horses so much that they need vaccinations 2x a year.. My broodmare gets her rhino shot but she's by herself and I question that also.. (She aborted the year I was religious about the shot, the year before she didn't get the shots and I have a very nice filly)
Last three years everything was vaccinated in the spring. I will probably vaccinate everything for everything this year as well.. I have three young horses and with the stress of training And new hauling I will err on the side of caution.. If everything was mature and I had a light hauling schedule with no overnight, I probably would skip this year to be honest.. I do EWT FluRhino WestNile Rabies and strangles. And it's ridiculously expensive and I spend more on vet bills than I did medical expenses for myself. Multiple times more. I'm glad it's that ratio vrs me needing medical treatment but dang.. |
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 Arriving at the last minute!
Posts: 5148
Location: Kansas | Nope never vaccinate. I have had more issues with vaccinated horses and a horse can fight illness as long as they are healthy and have a strong immunes system as well as you and your household pets. I haul all over the country and take pets all over and I had broodmares and foals and never worried about it. It is a healthy thing to get an illness and then you have a natural immunity. For instance West Nile. Most people if they had a horse tested would find it alreay had west nile at some point and now they have a natural immunity. Its like getting the flu in a healthy animal. The ones that die are the ones that are stressed, sickly, a weakened immune system. So if you vaccinate you are doing so needlessly and actually doing your horse more harm than good. I am an all natural guru and have listened and studied a ton on the ill effects of vaccines. Since I train and ride outside horses I sometimes have to vaccinate at a customers request. I guarentee you the ones vaccinated have the most problems and illnesses. They just seem to have a messed up system. I always say if you just don't believe this then at least learn about taking proper precautions when you do vaccinate. Always give probiotics ( the good kind with billions of CFU) and boost the immune system while you do so with some immune building herbs etc. Especially west nile. Last year I gave a mare the west nile for a customer that has insurance on the horse and it had problems for six weeks after. Swollen legs, body condition went down hill, she had allergy issues galore!!! I know that the Dr Deapolo (SP?) has info on vaccines to do if you think you have to and also www.headskaking.com tells a little about over vaccination. My 3 yr old I own has never had a vaccination and I was going to maybe do a tetanus ( I should that one) and if they are young and the skunks are about a rabies. But rabies only needs done about every 3 to 5 yrs and tetanus a booster if they get a bad cut. I have super healthy horses and I went to OKC and AZ and many horse around were sick all of mine are healthy! |
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 Veteran
Posts: 129
Location: South | I vaccinate everyone every spring. I would agree that it is expensive, but better than the alterative of catching something. I also haul alot, not very far, but to many local shows every weekend. You may look at buy your vaccines online (valleyvet.com). This is what I did, saved me about 50% on vaccinations. I also waited a few weeks after coggins & teeth floating to do this that way it wasn't as hard on the wallet. JMO
I also want to add, that my neighbors have several horses and don't do anything (vaccinate, coggins, nothing). I want to protect mine from that as well.
Edited by trobertson 2014-04-02 8:58 AM
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Expert
Posts: 2457
| Grits - 2014-04-01 8:56 PM
Just for the record, for those who don't know me, this is the first time in my adult life (I'm 60), that I have not vaccinated everything on the place (which has usually been several more horses than the 5 I have now). It just seems, from what I've read, that it is not only a waste of money, but potentially harmful to the horse to be vaccinated year after year. My retired boy Tex is 23, and I bought him at age 5. EVERY year, he has been vaccinated, and every year, he gets sick after the vaccinations. Not "call the vet" sick, but he definitely doesn't feel good for a few days. If he doesn't really benefit from vaccinating, I don't want to put him through it. So I was just wondering if others had chosen not to vaccinate yearly and what your thoughts were on it. What I read said that horses build up immunity and don't require annual vaccinations to be protected from diseases. Don't assume that I can't afford to take care of my horses, simply because I mentioned that I would be saving a lot of money. That wasn't my only reason for not vaccinating.
I'm not being mean - but - google search and learn what "herd immunity" is.
This is why I will continue to vaccinate mine every year. I don't want to rely on others to vaccinate and take care of their animals so hopefully mine don't get something - like EHV or Flu which are spread by touching things/animals/ stuff. I vaccinate for insect born diseases because I work for a research institute where I see what these buggers carry and what it can do to animals and people - I want to prevent as much as possible.
Just because an animal gets "sick" doesn't mean the vaccine is BAD. It means that animals immune system WORKED and is building antibodies so if they encounter that disease they are primed correctly to fight it. That is a GOOD thing.
ETA - So priming the system yearly will help the animal fight whatever it may encounter.
JMO.
Edited by lindseylou2290 2014-04-02 8:49 AM
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12708
| I would like to see the science of why a human gets a tetnus shot every 10 years and a horse every year. Or why dogs and cats can get a rabies booster every 3 but horses need one every year. Or how immunities are built, how they are retained, or lost. Yes, I'm sure there is a lot of chemistry involved. But I bet there's a way to put it all in laymans terms.
My first vet explained a lot of these things to me. Her medically trained opinion, based on an educated understanding of equine chemistry, was that previously immunized broodmares passed on immunities to their foals that lasted well into the yearling year. And that by the time those immunities were falling, the young horses natural immunities were increasing as needed. Her opinion was to immunize no earlier than 12 months. And that after three years of immunizing a horse MOST immunities were strong enough to last a horses life time, with rabies and tetnus boosters needed every 3 to 5 years.
I immunize at about a year of age, then when the youngster is nearing training age. I also immunize my traveling/competition horses yearly. I don't like it, but it is required to go to some facilities. I immunize any pasture butts every 3 years, along with the broods that have had yearlies at least three times.
I agree with Amy L. that if we keep our horses gut healthy, their immune system will be stronger. They will build and retain immunities as needed, with minimal chemical boosters. Healthy gut = healthy immunities.
Maybe someday we will find a way to easily and reasonably cheaply run titers on immunities and vaccinate only if needed, much the same as how deworming is moving toward fecal test, then deworming only minimally. |
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MaMa Hen
Posts: 12223
Location: Louisiana | Thanks to everyone for the input!  |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I just watched a youtube clip and the lady is not a fan of vaccinating but she said why not just do one vaccine at a time every month and feed a supplement that will help build the horses' immune system and detox the hard metals. I thought that that is a good compromise and am going to do that this year. |
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