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| THE VET'S NOTEBOOK |
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Vaccinations and Your Horse's Health
by Dr. Neil Gray, DVM |
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While most people realize that their horse needs vaccines on a regular basis, few know what vaccines are, how they work, or how often they should be given. Most clients simply want me to give their horse its "shots." However, it is important to understand how vaccines work and why they are vital to your horse's health.
Vaccines are designed to create a response from the horse's immune system so that, in the event of exposure to a disease, the horse will be able to fight off the invading organisms. The body creates antibodies against these organisms from either exposure during sickness, or by exposure to a vaccine.
Vaccines can be made in several different ways. Some are made up of dead organisms and others consist of only portions of an organism that have been altered, so that they are no longer capable of causing disease (a process called attenuation). Tetanus vaccine is made from modified tetanus toxin (produced by the bacteria Clostridium tetani) so that during infection by this bacteria, the toxin produced is neutralized and cannot harm the horse.
Antibodies produced from a vaccine are stored by the body for use against invasion by the organism which causes the disease. The cells that produce antibodies are programmed with a memory, so that they can react more quickly when they are exposed to the disease. Typically, the first exposure to a vaccine produces only a limited, short-term response by the body. This initial response takes one to two weeks after the vaccination and lasts only a few weeks to a few months. Because of this, most vaccines require a booster shot three to four weeks after the initial vaccination. The booster shot then causes a stronger, longer-lasting response from the horse's immune system.
Because this response diminishes over time, most vaccines require at least yearly booster shots to ensure an effective level of immunity. Some diseases, such as Influenza (flu) and Rhinopneumonitis (Rhino), require more frequent booster shots because protection from each vaccination is short-lived, and the viruses that cause these diseases change rapidly as they try to evade the horse's immune system.
Your horse should receive routine vaccinations for Tetanus, Influenza, Eastern and Western Encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness) and Rhinopneumonitis. It is less common to vaccinate for Strangles (a bacterial disease caused by Streptococcus equi), although with the availability of newer, safer, more effective vaccines, more people now include Strangles in their routine vaccination schedule. A vaccine for Potomac Horse Fever has been available and probably has been responsible for limiting the spread of this disease in our horse population. Horses are also susceptible to rabies and, in areas of high risk, rabies vaccine is used extensively.
There are other vaccines available, but are not commonly used in this portion of the country. However, horses traveling to other countries may require additional vaccinations. For example, the horses that went to Korea for the 1988 Olympics were given Japanese Encephalitis vaccine!
I hope this overview has answered some questions you may have had about vaccinations and encourages you to make sure that your horse's shots are up to date.
© 1999 by Dr. Neil Gray. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission.
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