foals shots

ok need help again. Cant find my notes about when and what shots foals need after receiving the tetanus at birth. aand when should be wormed. also I saw post on here that some put OFF on theeir minis. Can u spray on mew foals. mosquitoes are horrible here in Maine.

also while talking about shots what do u all use for ur mini mares and stallions 5 way or 6 way?

Thanks for ur help. Has been awhile since had new baby. she is doing very well. loves it outside. she is a cutie~

Some questions first.......When was the mom last vaccinated? And was the mom wormed just after birth?...(we worm mom with ivermectin immediately upon foaling).

Depending on when the mom was last vaccinated/wormed depends on when it's best to do it to the foal. The foal will have received some benefit of that from the mare's milk.

If you're not sure, worm the foal with Safeguard or Panacur initially anytime between 2 to 4 months, then start them on Ivermectin by 6 months.

Vaccinate the foal at about 4 to 6 months with what your vet recommends as a good basic start.....(We use Prestige 5)....and then any additional

vaccinations should be given a week or so later to give their systems a break.....plus you're going to have to give them a booster again for all, so it's good to spread all of that out.

Another reason to spread all this stuff out is that it falls around the time you'll be weaning and your foal will be experiencing stress already. The worming and shots will add to it...

mom hasnt not had her shots yet for this year, ding them this week. but she s wormed right after the foal was born.

mom will have 5 way or 6 way, rabies and west nile

Don't mean to butt in .......pardon the pun......BUT, please spread the shots out a few days from each other.

It's hard on their systems to be slammed with all that at once, IMO.

(I do think you're being a good "mom", btw.)

Our vet and our farm use a different protocol now.

all the vaccinations have been moved back on the foals - they get their first vaccine at no less then 4 months. Previously they were started at 3 months w/ Rabies (RV) at 4 months. The vaccine they get first is the EWT. Then 1 month later, if they are going to get it, they get a Flu/Rhino shot. Then, again, 1 month later (8 wks after 1st vaccine), they get the EWT. Then 1 month later, Flu/Rhino. After they are 6 months of age, they get an RV. But it isn't done at the same time as any other vaccination. Then they get the last dose of first one and then the other of the vaccines. All of the vets I have dealt with and/or spoken to have made recommendations not to give any vaccines w/i two weeks either way of weaning.

I don't know when they generally get the other vaccines they can get - such as PHF, Botulism, EPM, Strangles. I don't give those at all here. I no longer give West Nile either - but it was usually given as a separate vaccine by our vet at the same time as the EWT. I don't think I've ever given a 5 or more way vaccine to any of our ponies - just too much at one time...

The first 7 years I was here, while doing ride outs/volunteer work with our mobile horse vet - we saw a lot of reactions/sick horses to the 4, 5 & 6 way vaccines - both given by the vet and by the owner who may have purchased and given them themselves - but I can't say why that may have been the case and it may not have always been for the same reasons. Some had fevers and other reactions that were treated with fever reducing and anti-inflammatory. Some had abcesses were drained and then horses were put on antibiotics.

In 2011, I had the first ever reaction to an RV and it was pretty severe. The mare had a very swollen neck - had problems moving her head, eating/drinking and swallowing. We were just about to put her on IVs for fluid and nutrients, when she finally started eating/and drinking. I don't think she moved out of one spot for a full week - I carried her feed & water directly to her and cleaned up behind her - she'd already been separated from the group in the paddock she'd been in. The vet swore up and down it wasn't from the RV, since it was given more than 14 days before the reaction showed up - but it was on the same side/area that the RV had been given in... She had to have a 2nd round of antibiotics, too.

In Feb 2013, 60 days after getting an RV an 2 weeks after getting her WNEWT, Bit was off. She was started on antibiotics but her colt died in utero just 6 weeks before he was due she did pass him but was a VERY SICK pony for a while. It is not known if it was due to the vaccines, but I wonder... The body of the colt was necropsied and it wasn't Flu/Rhino related. He did have a full body coat and fully developed lungs/heart.

In October 2014 - 11 of the 15 ponies that received RVs had moderate to severe reactions. This was while we were doing our pack up and move, working full time. thankfully, we had friends and neighbors step in to help - those ponies were hot packed on their necks, chests and forelegs 2x daily along with all of them getting anti-inflammatory and antibiotics. The two that had trouble lifting there heads and moving - were separated (painfully) and handled the same way as the case in 2011...

In 2015, I "missed" most of our RVs on ponies, the youngsters only got 1 vaccine (EWT) and 1 booster, adults got only 1 EWT (instead of 2x year) and now in 2016, we've only given RV to babies (different company make) in the rump, and ponies younger than 15 yrs of age. Our current crop of 3 foals aren't old enough yet to have their EWT or RV.

Worming - mare is wormed with Ivermectin the day she foals.

The foal is wormed with Panacur liquid at 30 days of age based on weight (can pick them up and step on a scale to get weight). 30 days later they get Strongid. 30 days later they get ivermectin. Then Ivermectin every 30 days until 6 months of age at which time they are put on the same schedule as the adults - who get wormed every 60 days.

Every so often, we do fecals and we may do extra worming on some (panacure powerpack usually) and skip a couple of wormings on others. Generally, mine get Ivermectin 3x/yr; Strongid - double dosed - 2x/yr and Panacur 1x/yr. However, there are studies out in our area stating that "worms" have become immune to both drugs in Panacur and Strongid... So????

Thanks for the info. i printed it all so i can start my note again!!

Just wanted to add.....We don't vaccinate in the neck.....just the butt muscle.

Reason? If there's ever a reaction to the shot site, the horse can still bend their neck to eat and drink. And when doing it in the butt muscle any

reaction can drain. (We also prefer using Prestige and not another, to avoid reactions.)

The ONLY time we do neck muscle shots is when a horse needs antibiotics over a number of days and we don't want to keep stabbing them in the same places.