Loch Leven Equine Practice talk us through the different vaccines that are available to help you decide what is best for your horse.
Tetanus
This vaccine should be considered compulsory. Tetanus in horses is a bacterial infection where the toxins that are produced attack the nervous system, leaving them unable to drink, eat and stand. It is usually fatal and is seriously distressing for everyone involved as the disease progresses to respiratory failure and death.
It sounds horrific and, if you have seen a horse with tetanus, you will understand that it is. The good news is it is far easier to prevent than it is to treat, so this vaccination given every 2-3 years is essential.
Flu
Equine Influenza is a virus that causes an upper respiratory tract disease. It is highly contagious and can make unvaccinated horses seriously unwell. Vaccinating your horse against flu does not guarantee that they will never catch it but just like we have learnt from the COVID-19 outbreak, vaccinated horses get much milder symptoms and are less likely to pass it on to unvaccinated or more vulnerable horses.
In order to reduce the risk of flu epidemics which stop all horse movement and shut down competitions, we need to achieve something called herd immunity. This is when 75% of the horse population is vaccinated so as horse owners, our decision to vaccinate should be based on protecting the whole population and not just our own horses.
Airborne droplets from infected horses can travel several kilometres on the wind, and the virus can also be spread by transmission of the droplets on people’s clothing and equipment. So even if your horse doesn’t leave the yard, we would strongly advise vaccinating your horse for flu.
Equine Herpes Virus (EHV)
EHV is a highly contagious airborne virus that affects horses worldwide. Although there are nine different strains, EHV-1 and EHV-4 are the most common.
EHV-1 causes respiratory disease particularly in young horses, and neurological disease in horses of all ages and breeds, and also causes pregnant mares to abort. Young foals are at particular risk and can die from the disease. EHV-4 causes respiratory disease and occasionally can cause pregnant mares to abort.
Most horses with the respiratory disease make a good recovery within a few weeks but the neurological disease is more serious. Recovery will take several months and in the more severe cases where horses are unable to stand, euthanasia may be recommended on welfare grounds.
Vaccination can reduce the risk of both the respiratory disease and miscarriage caused by EHV-1 and EVH-4. Unfortunately there is no vaccine registered to prevent the neurological disease caused by EHV-1
We would recommend that all yards with pregnant mares and youngstock vaccinate against EHV, and if you are doing a lot of travelling around the country with your horse, vaccination against EHV should also be considered.
Strangles
Strangles is a debilitating bacterial disease that horses of all ages, breed and sex can get. It is highly infectious and is usually spread through horse to horse contact and through contaminated equipment. It is not an airborne disease but can be spread through horses coughing or snorting.
Most horses recover from strangles within 3-4 weeks but multiple cases on a yard can be difficult to manage, costly for everyone and shut down the yard for several months until the all clear is given.
Strangvac is a new vaccine that has been launched this year to protect against Strangles. During the trials it protected over 94% of horses, reduced the clinical symptoms of those horses that went on to develop strangles and reduced the number of lymph node abscesses. Two injections need to be given at a four week intervals and then, in horses classed as high risk, it is recommended that boosters are given every two months.
Choosing to vaccinate against strangles is quite a commitment especially from a financial point of view. If your horse is on a large livery yard or your horse is classed as higher risk, it may be worth considering. If your yard has a gold standard biosecurity policy in place or horses are not moving on and off the yard then you may choose not to vaccinate.
So in summary, the advice from Loch Leven Equine Practice would be that everyone should vaccinate against tetanus and influenza. EHV and strangles should be considered on a case by case basis. If you have any specific questions about your own situation, please get in contact with your vet.
EquiTeam Members can access our handy Vaccine Requirements Download and if you aren’t a member yet here’s how to sign up… We look forward to seeing you inside the membership!