Equine Vaccination
Tetanus - Equivac T
Tetanus is a fatal disease cause by the bacterium Clostria tetani which is found in the environment. Signs of tetanus are usually anxiety, stiffness, lockjaw, cramps and convulsions which lead to death. Tetanus is most often contracted after a wound of some sort including foot abscesses, although the injury may not always be obvious.
Vaccination Schedule: 2 doses of tetanus toxoid vaccination 4-6 weeks apart, then a booster 1 year later. For full protection it is recommended to give a booster vaccination every 12 months for maximal protection. Can start from 12 weeks of age but please contact us if your foal is born to a mare that wasn’t vaccinated during pregnancy.
Tetanus Antitoxin (Equivac TAT): can be given for temporary protection following an injury to protect the horse until the vaccine starts to work. If a foal is born to a mare that has an unknown tetanus vaccine history a TAT can be given at birth.
Strangles - Equivac 2 in 1 (with Tetanus) or Equivac S
Strangles is a bacterial disease, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus equi. Strangles is a highly contagious disease of horses and donkeys and primarily affects the upper respiratory tract. Initial signs are lethargy, creamy nasal discharge, swelling in the neck behind the jaw due to abscess formation in the lymph nodes and later on, pneumonia. This disease is extremely debilitating and often fatal.
Vaccination schedule: 3 doses of vaccine 14 days apart (no less than 2 weeks between each), then a booster annually. In high risk situations (horses regularly travelling and mixing with lots of other horses), a booster every 6 months is recommended.
Can be vaccinated from 3 months of age. Pregnant mares should be vaccinated 4-6 weeks prior to foaling to ensure a strong immunity is passed on to the foal in the first milk (colostrum). This is the case with most vaccinations.
Hendra – Equivac HeV
Hendra Virus is a disease that horse’s contract from contact with excrement from bats. To date it has only been recorded in horses in Northern New South Wales and throughout Queensland. However, the virus has been found in fruit bats nationwide so there is no reason to expect that we won’t see it in other states.
Hendra not only affects horses, but it can also be passed onto humans, when it is often fatal. Symptoms include a fever, laboured breathing, frothy or blood-stained nasal discharge, neurological changes such as loss of vision, muscle twitching or loss of balance, or colic symptoms. In people it presents as a flu-like illness than can develop into pneumonia or encephalitis.
Vaccination Schedule: The vaccine is available for all horses, although its use in pregnant horses hasn’t been established. It must be given by a veterinarian. All horses must be microchipped and are then entered into a database that generates a vaccination certificate. We only order the vaccine in as required so need at least 1 weeks notice.
- 2 injections given 3-6 weeks apart initially (no more than 6 weeks apart), 6 month booster (within 5 weeks after due date) then annually after that (again no later than 5 weeks after due date).
- Young horses from 4 months of age
Herpes Virus Type 1 and Type 4– Duvaxyn EHV1,4
Can cause respiratory disease in any horses and abortion in pregnant mares, rarely causes neurological signs or death of newborn foals. Vaccination does not completely stop a horse getting the disease but reduces clinical signs and amounts of virus shed as well as reducing the likelihood of abortions.
Recommended for at risk horses (those interacting with other horses a lot such as travelling or competing horses) and all pregnant mares. Give us a call if you have any questions about Herpes Virus. We have to order this vaccine in.
Vaccination Schedule: Two doses 4-6 weeks apart and then every 6-12 months. Pregnant mares at 5,7 and 9 months of pregnancy. Can use from 5 months of age.
Rotavirus (Duvaxyn R) and Salmonella (Equivac EST)
Both can cause severe diarrhoea in foals. Salmonella can also cause septicaemia and polyarthritis in foals.
Salmonella: Pregnant mare – 2 doses, 1 month apart. 1st dose no later than 10 weeks prior to foaling, second dose no later than 6 weeks prior to foaling then annual booster ongoing given 6 weeks prior to foaling.
Rotavirus: Breeding mares at 8th, 9th and 10th months of pregnancy. Annual booster 1 month prior to foaling for each subsequent pregnancy.