Ok so every spring we do our vaccines and we have had some issues in the past with the minis getting extremely sore and sometimes almost neurological. Sometimes they dont have any "weird" signs until 3 or 4 days after the fact. So now we are very careful to stagger when they recieve the shots and avoid patomac fever which seems to give them the worst reaction. It seems to be keeping our symptoms to a minimum, but We just gave the one mare is who is close to foaling her shots and she is acting quite bazarre. She is very neck sore, and doesnt want to leave the barn. She acts like she doesnt always know where she is putting her feet and today i went to pet her and she was startled by my hand. I walked up to her in plain day with my hand out to touch her, so i should not have suprised her. I am keeping a very close eye on her. What am I doing wrong? What vaccines do you all give? Does anyone have any issues like this? It upsets me because they I am careful to make sure that their nutrition is the best that it can be, I am meticulous about hoof and dental care, they want for absolutely nothing and I cant seem to manage to do right by them with the stupid vaccines. Thank you for your help!
Vaccines
- Thread starter katie
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luv2ridesaddleseat
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Katie, do you space them out over a couple of weeks?
pepperhill
Well-Known Member
We always give a 5 way and when we used to give West Nile we would space them out by 2 weeks. It sounds like you are giving your own shots? Are you sure you are administering them in the correct spot and at the correct angle etc? Maybe it is a placement issue. I'm NOT trying to be critical, just trying to brainstorm for you. It is unusual to have the problems you are having! Best wishes!
JourneysEnd
Well-Known Member
Have you tried changing manufactures ?
Usually it's a problem with the diluent (?) the vaccine's in.
One of the vet techs can answer better.
Carin ? Nathan ?
Usually it's a problem with the diluent (?) the vaccine's in.
One of the vet techs can answer better.
Carin ? Nathan ?
We have changed over to Prestige by Intervet and have had pretty good luck with that brand. A couple of our mares did get sore for a few days this spring, however, but most have not. Sometimes I will give a little banamine too on the first day.
nnadams
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We have only used the Fort Dodge FluVac Innov. 5 way and sometimes 6 way when Jeffers is out of the 5 way. We have never had any bad reactions from this at all. (This is only our 3rd year with minis, but we have had 12 - 20 in that time)
Does anyone else use this or know of a reason not to?
Does anyone else use this or know of a reason not to?
minimomNC
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Because we have to give them all at the same time, our wonderful, super special, fantastic vet, gives one in the neck and one on each hip. Then we give banamine as a precaution. Haven't had a sore neck in three years and only one 28" gelding had a sore hip one time. Otherwise everyone was fine.
We do do our own shots, my mother does them because needles make me weak at the knees. and we only do shots on the neck - I didnt even think that because they are smaller we should do them on the hip. gosh i feel stupid. We did give her banamine and it helped tremendously. Thank you all for responding. I have to double check who she orders the vaccines through. Also, when we do the next mare I will try the hip and banamine right away and see if we have better luck. Thank you all!
Minimor
Well-Known Member
You really should be okay giving the vaccines in the neck--that's the only place we ever give them, and we haven't had those sorts of problems. We've been giving the FD combo shot for WNV + E/W/T and have had great results with it. The year we used the Merial vaccine for WNV we had a real problem with lumps at the injection site, but the horses didn't have any issues with sore necks that year.
This year we're using the Merial again, simply because by using the Merial WNV and the FD Equiloid for E/W/T we saved $600 compared to what we'd have spent on the FD combo shot. I just gave our 4 yearlings their first vaccines this past Saturday, and by that evening we had 2 very sad little boys. The smallest 2 were very depressed and lethargic. By Sunday morning they were brighter but you could tell they did have sore necks--they could still put their heads down to eat, but they quite obviously did not want to turn their heads at all. By Sunday night they were much improved and today they're pretty much back to normal. I'm quite sure the Merial vaccine is the culprit--and I hope that when they get their second set of shots it won't bother them as much. I also hope that the rest of the herd won't have any problem with reactions when we do them in the next couple weeks. I don't like using the Merial but this year just couldn't justify spending 50% more to have the combo shot, and after all, Merial is supposed to be a good vaccine. (Before anyone suggests using Prevenile, please be advised that our vet clinics around here do not carry that one--most have only the combo shot, and this one clinic also had the Merial to offer.)
Prior to this year the only time we ever had a horse with a stiff neck was one Morgan gelding, back in 1998--his first shot really made him sore, his booster not so much, and then the following spring his annual booster didn't bother him at all.
Katie, I'm just curious--what needle size do you usually use to give your vaccines?
This year we're using the Merial again, simply because by using the Merial WNV and the FD Equiloid for E/W/T we saved $600 compared to what we'd have spent on the FD combo shot. I just gave our 4 yearlings their first vaccines this past Saturday, and by that evening we had 2 very sad little boys. The smallest 2 were very depressed and lethargic. By Sunday morning they were brighter but you could tell they did have sore necks--they could still put their heads down to eat, but they quite obviously did not want to turn their heads at all. By Sunday night they were much improved and today they're pretty much back to normal. I'm quite sure the Merial vaccine is the culprit--and I hope that when they get their second set of shots it won't bother them as much. I also hope that the rest of the herd won't have any problem with reactions when we do them in the next couple weeks. I don't like using the Merial but this year just couldn't justify spending 50% more to have the combo shot, and after all, Merial is supposed to be a good vaccine. (Before anyone suggests using Prevenile, please be advised that our vet clinics around here do not carry that one--most have only the combo shot, and this one clinic also had the Merial to offer.)
Prior to this year the only time we ever had a horse with a stiff neck was one Morgan gelding, back in 1998--his first shot really made him sore, his booster not so much, and then the following spring his annual booster didn't bother him at all.
Katie, I'm just curious--what needle size do you usually use to give your vaccines?
bevann
Well-Known Member
It may be the brand you are using.We do our own shots and after having 50% bad reactions from FT Dodge last year we switched to Intervet vaccines.Different carrier for the actual medicine.Not one problem out of 16 horses.We use 20 guage 1 inch needles and do both neck and butt shots.I am convinced the brand does make a difference.good luck-it is no fun to see your babies hurting.
Versatility Farm & Training
Well-Known Member
I don't think your problem is the vaccines or how your giving them, but maybe how they are handled. Vaccines can go bad quick. They need to be kept cool. If they are shipped to you anything over than over night... chances are they are going to get warm. If they arrive and sit in the sun while you are at work, they can go bad. If they arrive and are warm, send them back and ask for replacements. Never order vaccines after Wednesday, because you don't want them sitting in a shipping warehouse over a weekend. Also, are you making sure you are not hitting a blood stream? It is very important to put the vaccine in muscle and not into the blood stream. Stick the needle in, pull back on the plunger and you should only get what looks like air, no blood, then push the vaccine in.
I give a 6 way- (EWV/rhino/flu/tet), potomac, and west nile, and I do them all in 1 day. I give 1 on each side of the neck, and if the horse is good, one in the rump, if they are not good then one side fo the neck gets 2. They don't have any reactions. To prevent them from getting sore, I excersize them, or at least make sure they get turned out afterwards, and none of them get sore. I also use 20 gage 1" needles.
If a horse had never had any vaccines before I might space them out over a few days.
I give a 6 way- (EWV/rhino/flu/tet), potomac, and west nile, and I do them all in 1 day. I give 1 on each side of the neck, and if the horse is good, one in the rump, if they are not good then one side fo the neck gets 2. They don't have any reactions. To prevent them from getting sore, I excersize them, or at least make sure they get turned out afterwards, and none of them get sore. I also use 20 gage 1" needles.
If a horse had never had any vaccines before I might space them out over a few days.
