Minis and Vaccinations

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Cayuse

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Why do minis get the same amount (volume wise) in a vaccination as a full sized horse? I would think the dose would be adjusted down because of their small stature but it isn't. I asked my vet this and she did not have an answer. She actually wondered the same thing. Evidently the drug manufacturers indicate it is a "one size fits all" scenario when it comes to vaccinations.

Anyone have a good explanation?

My concern is that a vaccine for a full size horse would be much more likely to produce a vaccine reaction in a horse that is 1/4 the size that the drug was intended for.

I vaccinate for Rabies, eastern, western encephalitis, west Nile and tetanus and I get reactions so I am curious. I understand the benefits of vaccinations, but sometimes feel as if I am putting the horse at risk when doing them.

Thanks!
 
Medications that are dosed by weight, such as antibiotics, must reach aneffective level in the blood and tissue to perform their function. In this case, to fight infection. The bigger the animal, the more area to cover.

Vaccines are used to stimulate the animal's immune system, which is not something measured by weight.
 
To reduce the vaccination reactions, vaccines for minis are spread out. So, give EWT one day, then wait 2 weeks; give WN, wait two weeks; then give your rabies vaccine.
 
Well that makes sense to me but I question if a smaller dose of vaccine would stimulate the immune system just as well and if the regular dose would over stimulate it. I'm thinking in the "less is more" school of thought I guess.

And another thing that puzzles me is if people don't need vaccinations every year, why do horses? I have been told it is because for most vaccinations their is no way of testing to see the level of there immunity. Except for rabies. We used to pull a rabies titer on my ancient gelding and it would give some idea of where he stood with it, but I was told the test was sort of "open to interpretation" and not "exact".

I am not for or against vaccines, this is just random pondering on a cold winter night.

ETA: this was resonding to Minimor, I forgot to quote her post so it would make sense.
 
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To reduce the vaccination reactions, vaccines for minis are spread out. So, give EWT one day, then wait 2 weeks; give WN, wait two weeks; then give your rabies vaccine.
I do have them broken up but not enough I guess, we did rabies last month and then the EWT WN this past week. They were about a month apart. Next year I will break up the EWT and WN. I wanted to do that but the vet said it would be OK. Many years ago I did break them into three with the "ancient one" and loaded him with banamine at the same time.
 
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American horses are the most vaccinated in the world. Why is that? Do we have more diseases? Do we have a powerful pharmaceutical lobby? Are our veterinarian teaching universities funded by Big Pharma?

My horses rarely leave the property so I do not vaccinate. The last one I did was rabies/tetanus several years ago. One of the horses developed a severe skin condition after that. Might be a coincidence, but maybe not. We don't get vaccinations for ourselves any more and I'm not doing the horses either. My philosophy is if my horses are in good health they should be able to fight off most threats. The heavy metals in the vaccines can collect in the brain and organs. Off my soapbox.
 
I minimally vaccinate my horses. I live in the sticks and have a nearly closed herd (I did buy a new mare last fall). I only vaccinate for EW-T; Tetanus bacterium lives in the soil and sleeping sickness is insect borne, so cover the most prevalent threats, and I only vaccinate every other to every third year.
 
Well that makes sense to me but I question if a smaller dose of vaccine would stimulate the immune system just as well and if the regular dose would over stimulate it. I'm thinking in the "less is more" school of thought I guess.

And another thing that puzzles me is if people don't need vaccinations every year, why do horses? I have been told it is because for most vaccinations their is no way of testing to see the level of there immunity. Except for rabies. We used to pull a rabies titer on my ancient gelding and it would give some idea of where he stood with it, but I was told the test was sort of "open to interpretation" and not "exact".

I am not for or against vaccines, this is just random pondering on a cold winter night.

ETA: this was resonding to Minimor, I forgot to quote her post so it would make sense.
 
No, a smaller dose does not properly stimulate an immune response. People have tried giving half doses to their minis and then checked titers--and the horse did not have an acceptable level of immunity. Haven't heard of anyone trying it lately but years back some did experiment that way.
 
I have a closed herd as well, but here in the South, the most important vaccines are EWT and mine get that annually. Lots of mosquitoes here and some horses in the area have died when unvaccinated for EW, not very common but not a pleasant event. When that happens, my vet will suggest a booster if the vaccination was over 6 months old.
 
I only do the vaccinations for viruses carried by mosquitoes (plus rabies and tet) because I live in a area that is full of mosquitoes (one mile from marshlands) and they have been known to test positive for these things. They trap and test the bugs randomly.

It dawned on me last night that I have questions in the back of my mind regarding vaccinations because of an experience I had years ago. I was encouraged to give my POA the EHV vaccination because I was boarding her out at a barn that had show horses that traveled. I ended up giving her the vaccination and shortly thereafter she developed Head Shaking Syndrome. Years later I read that there was a connection observed by some between the EHV vaccination and Head Shaking Syndrome. I know it can never be proven and could be (and probably was) a coincidence, but I have always felt badly about it. She was a sweet mare and I hope a decision that I made about her care didn't end up doing more harm than good. I hadn't thought about this for years. I guess when Cappy had his reactions this year to the vaccinations it stirred up a bunch of questions (and more than a few emotions, lol)

Thanks for listening!
 
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Well I still have a mini with a stiff neck :-(. He had no stiffness yesterday but he probably still had some lingering benefits!from the banamine this weekend. The good thing is it is much better than on Saturday. He has no heat or lump/bumps in or around the injection site and no temp, so no indication of an infection. He is sore to touch though. I called the vet this morning just to update her and ask if I could give him another dose of banamine his last was on Sunday mid!day. And she said yes. I hung a hay net so he can eat at a different angle. His vaccination was given late Friday afternoon, so this is day four.

I know am being hyper-vigilant worry-wart about it all (you really can't change a leopard's spots), good thing my vet is a patient soul!
 
We vaccinate our youngsters and on the rare occasion when a new horse comes in and we aren't sure of their history......We also have a closed herd. Our basic vaccine is a 5-way and we prefer to give it in the butt muscle. (Not as many reactions than in the neck.) However, there have been a couple of mares that are difficult to do in their back side, so we surprise them in the neck muscle. I agree with many that there has been over vaccinating going on for ALL PETS AND HUMANS.

I'm not against vaccinating, but just using common sense.
 
I have a mare that doesn't like shots in her neck due to skin tests there for allergies, and now that's where she gets her allergy shots. We did vaccinations in the pectoral muscles (they get "boobs"). She didn't like the butt shot and kicked, so for safety of vet, we don't do there.
 

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