Tetanus Shot and Foaling (cute pic added)

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Indy's mom

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Hi Everyone!
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My vet gave my rescue mare, Freedom, her Tetanus shot back on Jan 7th thinking she was about a month away from foaling (we have NO history on her). Here we are almost 2 months later and still no foal and no signs that it will be very soon! So now what? My vet seemed unsure but then said if the mare foals within a couple of weeks we "probably" won't need to give the foal tetanus but if it's longer then that we will give the foal a tetanus shot on the first day.

Is it risky giving the foal the shot vs. the mare. If she doesn't foal within a certain time would you give the mare another Tetanus instead? How long would the vaccine have to be in the mares system to protect the foal? Like what if she got the vaccine and then foaled 2 days later?
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So hard not knowing when this mare is due!
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Here's a pic of her looking pretty plump!
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Thank you!

~Tammy

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I am by no means an expert but I have given foals the tetanus shot because we didnt give the mare hers in time so that will not be a problem but I know that they say to give the mare the shot 30 days before she foals because it has to have time to get to the foal. Someone will correct me if I am wrong I am sure but that is how I understand it. Good luck and hope it all turns out ok.
 
My mares are vaccinated with their tetanus shot only once a year, and that is normally within a couple months after they foal, so what I do is give each newborn foal a tetanus antitoxin shot at birth. I bring it out to the barn with me when I go out to assist with the borth, and give it while they are still "down", after I have toweled them off. I do this with every birth.
 
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Ok great, thank you both!! Now what if she foals SOON, like say within a week, would you still give the foal the shot even though the mare had it in Jan?

Thanks so much!

~Tammy
 
We also give the foal a tetanus antitoxin shot within the first couple of hours. We give the shot and spray the navel and hooves with iodone spray. I also give the mare her tetnus shot at this time for the year. I also usually give her a shot of banamine for pain and discomfort. We have been doing this for 20 years and have never had a problem.

Just remember the foal gets tetanus antitoxin (which is brown in color) and the mare gets tetnus toxoid(clear in color).

Lisa
 
We prefer to give the mare hers 30 (or so) before foaling. the vaccines need to be in their system for at least 7-10 days to be effective. We give the mares her shot when she is about 300 days. The effectiveness does not end at 30 days, so if she went slightly longer we would feel covered.

In your case, I would probably just vaccinate the foal at birth.
 
All of the vets I talked to (and I talked to every vet in the Reno phone book) 3 years ago when our first mare had her foal said to give the mare the tetanus shot the foal would be protected from her. We also had no idea when or if the mare had her other shots and they all told me to give the mare the shots the foal would be protected. We did as they all said (not one would come out) and had no problems.
 
Just remember the foal gets tetanus antitoxin (which is brown in color) and the mare gets tetnus toxoid(clear in color).
This is not always the case...at least not here in Canada. The tetanus antitoxin vials I buy are clear, and very small in size compared to the ones I have seen from the US , but yet both are 1500 units.

Here is what I use...

antitoxin.jpg
antitoxin2.jpg
 
Just remember the foal gets tetanus antitoxin (which is brown in color) and the mare gets tetnus toxoid(clear in color).
This is not always the case...at least not here in Canada. The tetanus antitoxin vials I buy are clear, and very small in size compared to the ones I have seen from the US , but yet both are 1500 units.

Here is what I use...

antitoxin.jpg
antitoxin2.jpg
Ok thanks! My vet DID say it would be the Antitoxin for the foal, but I will remember to make sure!!

That will be my plan then, whenever she foals now we will give the foal the Antitoxin right away!

Thank You So Much!

~Tammy
 
Tammy,

I too give all of my foals their tetanus shot the minute they are born. Like Mona, it is one of the first things I do.
 

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