Vaccinating preg. mares

[triplethorsefarm]

Hello Everyone

Once again I am asking the LB forum members for advice. I seem to be unable to get a consistent answer on the proper way to vaccinate preg. mares. I am finding that people vaccinate differently, just like people feed differently.

When do you give your yearly vaccines (5way) and when/or do you give the 5,7, and 9 rhino shot? I have talked to a few large farms that have had fatal results with the 5, 7, and 9 month shot, so I am trying to gain a better understanding.

Another question....if you had a preg. mare and did not know her vaccine history would you immediately give the 5 way with the booster 4 weeks lateror wait until spring when you give your annual vaccines?

Thanks in advance for sharing

 

[eagles ring farm]

What we have done under the instructions of our vet

is we always have given 5-7-9 mo rhino without a problem

from them so we will continue to do so.......

If a mare is due early in the season before the possibility of mosquito's

in the area she has suggested only tetnas as a prefoaling shot (30 days prior to due date) then after the foal is born give 3way wnv & rabies

In the event mare is due after possibility of mosquito's then we would

give 4 way & wnv (30 days prior to due date)

but wait till after foaling for rabies

Just what our vet recommended and we have done

We have 2 mares due in april so will probably just give tetnas prefoaling to them

our others due in May we would do regular spring shots prefoaling

I finally got it straight from our vet as it seemed al over the place till I found out

other shots were not needed as it was too early in the season

 

[barnbum]

This was always a tough one for me when breeding. I'm glad I don't have to wrestle with this any more.

The rhino vaccine is a "harsh" shot, as one of the vets says. My mares reacted horribly to it. No, they did not abort--just had terrible soreness for 2-3 days afterwards. If we gave it in the neck--they couldn't bend down to eat, in the hip--they could hardly walk. Horrid.

So, I switched to just one shot the second time around, and by the third pregnancies, I stopped it all together. One vet said if you're not going to do them all, it's not worth doing any. Plus, she had just come from a meeting where it was suggested the best way is to go 1-3-5-7 months!!

But, because I am a closed farm, and have been for years, she thought I'd be safe skipping them all. So I did. I allowed no one to come here from a horse farm, and I didn't visit any. I know, I'm weird, but I don't take chances. I held my breath; it worked out.

Like I said, I'm very glad I don't have to make these tough decisions any more.

 

[Zora]

We don't vaccinate our horses for anything. I personally wouldn't vaccinate a mare in foal either.

 

[wildoak]

I have always vaccinated 30 days prior to foaling and used to do everything then. Armed with some research, I have stopped doing rabies until after foaling but will still do the 6 way and wnv. Your seasonal timing will depend partly on where you live. Being so far south, bug/mosquito season can be almost year-round for us.

I have not done any rhino vaccine this year, for the first time. I have a mare due in January, and it really just slipped up on me. I don't always do all three vaccines - my understanding has always been that it just doesn't last that long, hence the reason for givng three or even four shots. If that's the case I would think two would still give protection just for a shorter time. I did have much better luck with the Intervet shot - when I could get it - than I did with Pneumabort (Ft Dodge) as far as local soreness.

Jan