Services
Equine Vaccinations
Book initial vaccines or boosters for your horse with Carlos Urresti.
Prevention, management and health advice are a combination of veterinary practices designed to avoid disease and illness, proactively. Vaccination of healthy horses is vital for disease prevention and epidemiological control of infectious diseases.
Carlos Urresti is with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA).
Tetanus
Every horse and pony should be vaccinated against Tetanus. Tetanus is a non-infectious disease that can affect any horse or pony at any time. It is contracted from contamination of wounds (even minor ones) with bacteria (Clostridium tetani) that live in the soil. The toxin produced by the bacteria produces painful muscle spasms eventually causing paralysis and death. Vaccination is a very simple and effective way to prevent this severe and very often fatal disease.
After the initial course of two injections, booster doses are only required every two years. Foals are given an injection of tetanus anti-toxin at birth which gives short lived protection until their immune system can respond to a vaccine. Foals may then be vaccinated from 5-6 months of age. The vet may give your horse a tetanus antitoxin injection if it has a wound and is not vaccinated. This injection does not replace vaccination.
Flu (equine influenza)
Equine influenza is a highly infectious viral disease that affects the respiratory tract of horses causing a high temperature, cough, and nasal nose. Equine influenza spreads very rapidly through unvaccinated populations of horses (1-3 day incubation) and may require long periods of rest for recovery. Due to the disease’s potential to severely disrupt all equine activities, most reasonably sized equine events will insist that all horses entered are vaccinated against flu. The benefit of this is that equine influenza has now become relatively uncommon.
The recommended primary course of vaccination is:
- 1st vaccination
- 2nd vaccination 4-6 weeks after 1st
- 3rd vaccination 5-6 months after 2nd.
- Booster vaccinations against flu are needed yearly.
Strangles
This is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that spreads by direct contact between horses and ponies. It can also be spread via grooming kits, clothing, buckets, vermin and tack. The disease is common and appears to be increasing in prevalence in the UK. Infected horses normally have a high temperature, a purulent nasal discharge and swollen lymph nodes in their head and neck. Unlike flu and herpes, strangles are a bacterial infection and can be treated with antibiotics. In rare cases, lymph nodes throughout the body can become abscessed. This is called ‘bastard strangles’ and can be difficult to treat.
A vaccine is now available to help prevent strangles: Horses aged four months of age onwards receive two vaccinations given four weeks apart.
Revaccination is carried out every three months to maintain immunity.
Equine Herpes Virus (1 & 4)
In horses, herpes infection can cause one of three types of disease. The most common effect of herpes is an unwell horse or pony that has a moderate fever and a runny nose (and possibly a cough). Most horses and ponies will recover from this without complication but, like flu, it can result in your horse being unable to exercise for several weeks. Very rarely, horses that are recovering from a herpes infection can develop the neurological form of the disease. Some horses can recover from the neurological form of the disease, but unfortunately some do not and have to be put down. The third form of the disease is abortion. Herpes infection in horses is quite common and vaccination is most effective at preventing the disease when all the horses on an establishment are protected.
Vaccination is given as a primary course of two vaccinations, 4-6 weeks apart followed by a single dose every six months. Pregnant mares should be vaccinated with a single dose during each of the 5th, 7th and 9th months of pregnancy.