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Shots or No Shots??

8K views 36 replies 20 participants last post by  mammakatja 
#1 ·
I live next to a small pond and I was just wondering if I should get my horse's shots this year or not?? We can't really afford it, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Do any of your horses get shots?? Please let me know!
 
#2 ·
What are your risk factors? How much does your horse interact with others? There are some shots you should have but there are others that depending upon your risk factors are a big waste of $$. EWEE plus tetnus is a bare minimum with a heavy mosquito population and it's only going to run $6-7 is you give it yourself.
 
#5 ·
I have a couple I haul for trail rides, so I shoot for everything, INCLUDING rabies. People don't tend to think of rabies and horses, but they can get it (friend had a horse contract rabies when I was younger after being bitten on the nose) & as I have always lived in areas where rabies can be a problem, I always vaccinate for it.
 
#6 ·
I agree with getting rabbies, ewee, and Tetnus. Depending on your situation would determine if you feel you need the extra flash in the pan but, IMO over vaccinating is more likely to do more harm than it's going to prevent the contraction of anything.

Good luck to you!
 
#7 ·
Minimum 5-way plus west nile. Strangles also for our "campers."
I give them myself. I believe some manufacture now has west nile in a combo...but don't quote me on that.
 
#8 ·
It is far more expensive to treat an easily preventable disease than to give the shots.
You dont have to give them all their shots at once. At the minimum a 5 way and Rabies. here only a vet can obtain rabies vaccines.
All my horses get their annual 5 way, rabies, and West Nile. I do not however give any of my pregnant mares any boosters during their pregnancy. Just their annuals and then again about a month before they foal. Shalom
 
#11 ·
.

OP,

In Colorado Rabies Vaccine can be administered by the owner, one place I looked it is 18.00 and 1.50 for the syringe, but double check to see if the law has changed

The 5 way is 23.00, come in a syringe

Add shipping and you have maybe 55.00. Cheap Insurance for a Horses Health :wink:

Of course you must be very familiar on where and how to give your Horse the Shots :wink:

.
 
#16 ·
A 3 way vaccine and rabies was recommended to me by an equine vet, I had been giving a 4 way & no rabies. He explained the reasoning, too long to type out here. I am in the interior of BC Canada. I administer the vaccines myself and the total for 2 horses is @ $90.
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#17 ·
A 3 way vaccine and rabies was recommended to me by an equine vet, I had been giving a 4 way & no rabies. He explained the reasoning, too long to type out here. I am in the interior of BC Canada. I administer the vaccines myself and the total for 2 horses is @ $90.
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sorry to hijack yet again.. but hopefully other people are learning from this too! were you able to get the vaccines online or did you purchase from your vet?
 
#18 ·
I vac all of mine for Flu, Rabies, Tetanus and West Nile. I'll do Coggins closer to when I intend to take any of them off the farm. As you stated before, better safe than sorry. Get your horse vaccinated.
 
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#20 ·
I buy my vaccines from Valley Vet Supply, including Rabies, as we are allowed to administer them ourselves here in WI as long as your town allows it, but most states don't, and Rabies must be given by a vet. It is a fraction of the cost for me to give them myself vs have the call fee for farm visit, mileage, and inflated vaccine prices from a vet, and they are the exact same vaccines. Valley Vet Supply has a list of the states they won't sell rabies vaccines to, you just need to look it up. I'm on the over-vaccination bandwagon, I only vaccinate for rabies, Tet, and WNV right now (because frankly 1 is 100% fatal, and the other 2 quite deadly as well, we live in a mosquito infested area, so better safe than sorry). If I know I will be in contact with other horses, or hauling somewhere, I will give Flu, Rhino, SS, otherwise my horses (at this moment in time) do not get those because there is minimal chance they will contract it.

Most boarding facilities will make you have vaccines for communicable diseases (flu, rhino, ss, strangles) otherwise vaccines like WNV, tet, and rabies while highly recommended, are usually at the owners discretion.
 
#21 ·
SnowCowgirl...I would find out what is required and get them vaccinated as soon as possible. It can take awhile to build up immunity after the shots are given.
Some vaccines may require a second dose. Your vet has that info. We keep our horses up to date and it has been many years since we started from scratch, so to speak.
 
#22 ·
Here is the recommended core vaccines per the American Association of Equine Practitioners:

Core Vaccination Guidelines - AAEP

What's funny is most of the most important vaccines (for the most fatal diseases) aren't passed directly from horse-to-horse. They are diseases passed from other animals or are in the environment. Like rabies, tetanus, west nile, eastern and western, those are all in the horse's environment and don't come from contact with other horses. So for that reason (and the fatality factor) it makes sense to give those vaccines. ANY horse could contract those diseases, even if the are the only horse for miles around.

My wonderful vet passed away, so I did shots myself this year. I purchased them from Valley Vet and hit all the core vaccines in two injections.

I purchased this 5-way

West Nile Innovator + VEWT (W. Nile + 3-way S.Sickness + Tet) Pfizer (Vaccines - West Nile Virus)

Plus rabies
Rabvac 3 Boehringer Ingelheim (Vaccines - Rabies)

The rabies comes in a vial and I did all 3 horses plus the barn cat for $18 plus syringes (which are only like 34 cents a piece). So for my piece of mine, it was worth it to do the rabies. The horses did not get any reactions from the rabies vaccine nor did the cat. It was easy peasy. I'm glad I did it. :)

I did have two horses get slight swellings from the 5-way but my one gelding gets that every year, no matter if the vet gives it or myself.

So I'm happy with what I purchased and how it worked out giving it myself.
 
#24 ·
Yes, the shots that you order from the catalogs are the same as the vets give. I like ordering from Valley Vet, but there are many places that sell them.

If you give them yourself (or your mom does) do a little research (Google is great) on the correct way to give them and were to place them. They need to go deep into muscle without hitting bones or veins. There is also a risk of complications anytime you give vaccines yourself (even fatal) so you also need to be aware of that and willing to take that risk.

But it's not hard to do yourself. I just gave each horse a little grain and gave them their shots. Only one horse even felt it and he just stepped away from the pressure. I've watched my vet do it a zillion times and as long as you are careful about putting it in a correct area, I don't think it takes a rocket scientist. :) It's all about if you are comfortable doing it or not.
 
#25 ·
you can do the vaccines yourself but if something happens ie a horse comes down with symptoms associated with one disease or another the vaccines you did yourself will not stand up. The state wants your vets signature on a medical record before they will believe that the vaccines were done.

I vaccinate for ewt/wn and rabies. Thats mostly because I have seen too many horses have their heads chopped off or brains removed to be tested for west nile, rabies, or EEE. Its cheaper no matter what to vaccinate than to have the vet remove your horses head/brain. Its a heck of a lot cheaper than a 1000 dollar a shot post rabies exposure series at the ER.
 
#26 ·
In this area many feed stores also sell vaccines (not rabies). I buy them locally, keep them in a cooler until I get home to the refrigerator and give as soon as possible.
 
#27 ·
Ask a vet for what vaccinations would be best to be given in your area. Sometimes it varies.

We do vaccinate all but two horses, I've only given a basic 5-way for the past many years though.

My dearly loved mare is allergic to any and every vaccination that we've tried. She has had reactions from her face swelling up like a balloon and inhibiting her ability to breathe to her muscles in the area that the shot was given being so sore that we literally have to force her to eat or drink, and in one case tube her due to colic because she wasn't drinking. She handles the basic $4 tet shot and she did fair well with her Prodigy vac when pregnant.

So for the past ten years we have not vaccinated her - she is 26 years old and still here :wink: Her colt is the same way and so he does not get vaccinated either, he is now 8. I know of two farms that do not give any vaccinations and they have been around for years. Personal preference I suppose but I think that a tetanus vaccine is the absolute minimum and is a must for ALL animals.
 
#28 ·
There is a triangle of muscle in the middle of the neck, this is generally where you should give the vaccines. If there are quite a few vaccines to be given you can use other muscle groups.











Please google and watch videos on youtube on how to give injections and do so safely. There are techniques which will reduce your risk of poking yourself, how to place the injection (IM is injected at 90* from muscle, meaning straight in and not at an angle for example) and you need to know what to do with the needles afterwards, as it is illegal to dispose of sharps in the regular trash.
 
#29 ·
You also have to be careful how the shots are handled, both before and after you get them. A lot of do it yourself shots are mishandled temperature wise, and end up being useless or even dangerous. Also be very careful when giving shots you do not hit an artery or vein, pull back the plunger to check for blood before injecting. I have my vet do it. They check over the general health of the horse at the same time and check for teeth issues as well. Just honestly generally safer to have a vet do it unless you know for sure how the vaccinations were handled before and after you got them, and are quite experienced at giving them yourself.
 
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