Vaccinations & Cold weather Questions

I am having a bit of trouble finding this info on google, and suddenly remembered this forum! Why if anyone has the anwers it's you fine people

1) What is a safe temperature to work my horse at this winter? This is my first horse, he is very fat and out of shape, and this is Manitoba where it is (supposed to be) very very cold. I want to begin round penning him and practising join-up, but am worried he will sweat, then freeze to death when I leave the facility - How do I do this safely in -30C ? Or should I be waiting until spring and not bother putting him at risk? He is outdoor board, and a draft mix if that info helps.

2) When he was given to me, I was told he was UTD on vaccinations, and later found out he only had his West Nile in 2011. When is the best time to give him his vaccinations, and will getting them all in one vet visit cause a reaction? I know in dogs, they are often spaced out so it is less likely the dog will have an allergic reaction, etc. But he is in a very large pasture with 20+ horses, which changes constantly, and I feel that I am leaving him at risk so want to handle this asap but as safely as possible for him.

Thank you all so much in advance - I'm still brand new to everything, but getting it one topic at a time! Also for anyone who remembers Clyde's story, his feet are almost perfect now and I will post an update very soon

I can't answer the temperature question, but I do have a bit of advice on the Vaccination question.

Last year both Beau and Epona got all their vax in one visit. Beau did fine, but Epona had a mild reaction...fever, listlessness, lack of appetite, stiffness. We gave her a bit of bute that night, per the vet's advice, and she was a bit better the next day and within 48 hours she was back to her old self. It was a very mild reaction, but the vet still reccomended that when she came due for her vax next time, which was this spring, she be given them in two seperate visits two weeks apart. So that is what we had her do. This spring epona had her vax split into two visits. And she had no noticeable reaction at all!!!!!

Even though last year's initial reaction was mild, she did not reccomend Epona having them all at one time anymore. EVER.

So, it depends. Some horses can handle having them all at once...some cannot. If you find that your horse has a reaction, even a mild one, TELL YOUR VET, they may or may not want to split the vax up from then on. In either case, they need to know if your horse has ANY degree of reaction

Most horses can handle multiple vaccinations with no problems, however some horses need to be more spread out due to the over-reaction to the injections or sometimes can be pre-treated with banamine to help decrease side effects. Horses can receive all their vaccinations at once with a 5-way shot plus WNV & rabies and usually that package is given in the spring. However, the intra-nasal flu vaccination is the best for younger & more naive immune systems so typically those horses get a flu booster in the spring/fall (S/F), with a 3-way S, a WNV S, a rabies S, and a rhino shot S/F. Hope that helps!!

Agreed, just depends on the horse. Typically you give the horse the main vaccinations in spring, but any that need boosters (such as Stangles) in fall. I would recommend waiting until spring, but keep a close eye on him for any sign of illness and contact the vet right away. Most horses are fine getting all their vacs all at once, but some have reactions, so just talk to your vet and see what they say.

As for riding in cold weather, you just need to make sure that
A- your horse won't get any snow balled up in his hooves if you ride outside
B- you give EXTRA warm up and cool down time. In that weather, I wouldn't want my horse to sweat, unless you are a dedicated cool downer person, with a wool sheet and the will to walk for an hour if your horse has a full winter coat, but if you clip or your horse doesn't have much of a coat, just be super careful. I would recommend 20 minute warm-up and 30 minute cool-down if your horse just trots for 10 minutes. With that much time warming up/cooling down, it takes up most of your riding time, and to me, it is just worth it just to walk the whole time, as I don't have to put aside half an hour to cool down my horse! I wouldn't ride my horse in conditions under -17 Celsius or 1 degree Fahrenheit, but that is just coastal me where it doesn't go below 4 degrees Celsius or 40 degrees Fahrenheit during winter!

What is the barn like? Traffic in and out or closed barn? Tetanus is necessary to be kept up to date. If the barn is a closed barn, the rest (flu, etc) could wait until spring.