WEST NILE VACC

[ddeeva]

ANyone have input on minis & west nile vaccinations?

 

[barnbum]

My vet says he feels the WNV are as important as rabies; we give them. I'm not willing to take the chance.

 

[georgiegirl]

ANyone have input on minis & west nile vaccinations?

I wouldnt be without them.

I have my vet give the once a year Prevenile shot.

I live in an area that has lots of water and ponds. The mosquitoes are rampant. The next door neighbors lost 2 horses to WNV. I am not about to take a chance with my horses.

If they get sick or die from WNV it is a horrible death and the disease is VERY hard to treat.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

WN vaccines are some of the safest, nonreactive vaccines you can get. The ONLY downside I know of is cost, and even then, $25/yr is hard to beat for such great protection against such a deadly disease.

 

[Minimor]

We absolutely won't let our horses go without the WNV vaccine. We had a mare very ill with WNV the first year it was here--vaccines weren't available here until it was too late to bother (by the time the vaccine was available, horses were getting their first shot but didn't have immunity until a couple weeks after their 2nd shot, and they were coming down sick with it before they even got their 2nd shot)--and a gelding with a minor illness from it. Having seen how it affected our mare, I don't ever want to see it again and so we vaccinate.

 

[Shari]

I have seen first hand what West Nile can do, a friend refused to give her horses any vaccines. Lets just say it isn't pretty.

So all my horses get their WNV vaccine every year. I am not going to take a chance with my fur kids.

 

[~Lisa~]

I would never not give WNV- and the vaccine has come so far over the past few years the Ft Dodge vaccine is almost obsolete (not sure how to spell that)

The Prevnile was cheap (cost me 200 bucks) I had 10 doses shipped to me and vaccinated everyone myself - one shot protection for the whole year and no boosters needed easy as pie!

 

[SaddleTrail]

Someone needs to post what vaccines are needed for the newbies like me. Maybe keep it as a sticky so we can just go straight to it?

 

[midnight star stables]

I do know of many that loathe this vaccination and won't give it. I think it depends on who you talk to.

 

[Carolyn R]

I was just typing exactly what Lisa said about Previnile, I see she beat me to it.

"Someone needs to post what vaccines are needed for the newbies like me. Maybe keep it as a sticky so we can just go straight to it? "

This will vary from region to region, here in Eastern Pa the basic shots are West Nile (Previnile brand for me), 5-way (and yes, you actually look for a shot called "5-way" and can be found on the internet under equine vaccines for flu or tetnus) and rabies.

 

[midnight star stables]

Someone needs to post what vaccines are needed for the newbies like me. Maybe keep it as a sticky so we can just go straight to it?

I'd ask your vet, as it changes for each area. One that I'd say is essential is the Rabies vaccination. Other popular ones for this area include rhino/flu, tetanus, west nile, EEE/EEW, and also strangles.

 

[Genie]

In our area, Southwestern Ontario, our vet suggests the W.N. vaccination is not warranted.

We vaccinate for tetanus and rabies, only.

We have been in the miniature horse business for 20 years, and lifetime with saddle horses and ponies, and have never had a west nile incident.

We do not like the things we see on the web with regard to West Nile vaccinations, but I am sure there are areas of the country which "demand" the vaccination be given due to the infestation of mosquitos, like Northern Ontario, for instance.

 

[bevann]

I have given the West Nile vaccine since it was first available.NO BAD REACTIONS EVER. Our state is very small and our former(now retired)state vet knew ona first name basis, almost everybody with any kind of equine.He did a seminar with awful videos about West Nile and TOLD all of us to vaccinate.I personally have talked to the vet where Prevenile is manufactured about 20 miles from my farm.I really picked her brain.I also used all Intervet vaccines this year with no bad reactions of any kind.Horse ages have ranged from under 1 year to over 22 years.My advice is to vaccinate with Prevenile.I have been breeding Minis for over 20 years and have tried to learn as much as I can to improve their quality of life.

 

[Equuisize]

We do our horses, each year, but this spring our vet said that

most likely in the next 5 years that it will not be amongst

the recommended vaccinations.

We live in Western Washington, near the ocean, and she

said, in our area, it has not turned into the problem that was

forecast.

If she is still saying that in 5 years we'll probably stop so

as not to be putting anything into them they do not need.

 

[georgiegirl]

We do our horses, each year, but this spring our vet said thatmost likely in the next 5 years that it will not be amongst

the recommended vaccinations.

We live in Western Washington, near the ocean, and she

said, in our area, it has not turned into the problem that was

forecast.

If she is still saying that in 5 years we'll probably stop so

as not to be putting anything into them they do not need.

If you research WNV, I think you will find that once it is in an area, it will never go away.

IMHO I see no reason why not to spend $30, per year, max to protect your precious horses from this terrible disease.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

This is one of the biggest problems with vaccines.... people think because the problem is under control that they don't need to worry. The reason WN is so rare is BECAUSE of vaccines. As soon as people stop, the disease comes riiiight back. Its here, forever. Stop vaccinating and you'll see it first hand.

Its been seen in the past few years... people stop vaccinating in areas that are completely under control and then all of a sudden they have a new outbreak. Its not a new outbreak, it was just hidden before.