A horse vaccination program is critical to prevent spreadable diseases, such as rabies, tetanus, West Nile Virus, Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, and others. Vaccinations can be confusing to owners because there are many different ones available. How do you know which ones your horse needs? There are two categories: core vaccines and risk-based vaccines. During a veterinary check-up, it is important to get all shots up to date for your horse. A non-core horse vaccination program should tackle equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, strangles, equine viral arteritis, rotaviral diarrhea, anthrax, and botulism. Risk-based vaccines should only be given on the recommendation of your veterinarian. These are given for specific reasons, and may vary from year to year. Vaccination recommendations by your veterinarian will vary by location, the horse’s age, breed, overall condition, whether they are likely to come in contact with wildlife or other horses, as well as other risk factors. Other topics to discuss with your veterinarian include when to have them vaccinate your horse, side effects, timing of vaccines, frequency, immunity, disease risk, and more. Veterinarians and other horse care experts weigh in on this very important topic in articles by Young Rider magazine, the magazine for youth ages 8 to 15.
