Equine Vaccine Q&A

What are the advantages of having a veterinarian vaccinate my horse?

It is recommended to have a veterinarian vaccinate your horse, instead of doing it yourself, for several reasons.

• Vaccines must be procured from reliable sources that can verify proper storage. Poor quality, contamination, and storage at the wrong temperature can reduce efficacy and increase risks of adverse reactions.
• It is critical to ensure proper dosing to maximize immunity and protect against vaccine failure.
• Some competitions require vaccines to be administered and documented by a licensed veterinarian.
• Adverse reactions can be unpredictable. Although severe reactions are rare, prompt treatment is often required.
• Many manufacturers guarantee support, including coverage of treatment costs, only if the vaccine was administered by a veterinarian.
• Veterinarians usually perform physical examinations to ensure the horse is healthy enough for vaccination. If your horse has a mild fever, for example, vaccination should be postponed. These visits are also good opportunities to ask questions and assess your horse’s overall health.

When should I consider spacing out vaccinations?

It is important to properly vaccinate your horse, but it may be inadvisable to hit them with everything at once.

Many horses are unfazed by receiving several vaccines at the same time. This includes multi-way (multivalent) vaccines that protect against more than one pathogen. Horses with histories of adverse reactions or those that are immunocompromised may benefit from time between vaccinations.

Administering multiple vaccines at once may increase the risk of adverse reactions. Veterinarians may recommend a three to four week interval between immunizations (another important reason to plan around travel and competitions). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) may be recommended prior to vaccination, but this should be discussed with your veterinarian to ensure that medications will not affect the vaccine’s efficacy or result in health concerns