UPDATE BELOW: Do you vaccinate for Rabies? How often?

[Josette]

Some areas of the country are higher risk for Rabies so how often do you vaccinate? Small animals get vaccinated every 3 years but horses are yearly. I've been doing some reading regarding the vaccinated rabies titres are still high and active past one year for horses. So maybe large animals can go longer too.

Likewise, there is also the issue with adverse reactions to vaccines. I've had issues with this problem and I know others have posted reactions too. Do you inquire if the vaccine(s) are Thirmerosal free (no mercury preservative). I need to give banamine and bute when I vaccinate my horses to minimize these adverse events. They still occur but are lessened so they would be very reactive if these anti-inflammatory medications were not used.

[Chisamba]

Well, it's a legal requirement in some states for annual vaccination. You need to have the vet inoculate and you need to have a certificate. Things can be pretty awful if you dont.

My sheep guard donkey, who I inoculated myself, fell I'll. The vet, who will never touch another if my horses, was on call as my regular vet was away. She said it was rabies, killed the donkey, cut off its head and sent it to be tested because she could, because I vaccinated it myself and didnt have a rabies certificate. I knew the donkey had got into poultry feed, it had classic symptoms, nothing about it was rabies, but she had the legal right to be an arsehole because I didn't have a certificate.

The donkey did not have rabies, FYI. . But she knew it didn't have rabies, imho, because she did nothing to protect the spine for when the carcass was picked up.

My point. If your state requires inoculation, do it annually and have a certificate.

[Josette]

I don't even know how to respond to that horrible incompetence of a medical person. The words I would like to express would be graphic. Like you I'm in NJ and have the certificates for our dogs but I did not think to have for horses - although I do not give the vaccines. I'm having this discussion with my vet who had mentioned doing a titre. We did not vaccinate for rabies last year due to other vaccine reactions. I'm in the woods so raccoons are the risk factor here. I am so sorry for your donkey.....

[piedmontfields]

Yes, I vaccinate the horse annually for rabies. She is actually on a pretty thorough vax schedule due in part to our location (mid-south) and the amount of visiting horses (sales) through our barn. I am fortunate that she does not have reactions to any of the shots. I give her 1 day off in case of soreness, and then she is fine. Many horses in my barn do react quite badly to shots (esp. the warmbloods). I do split the rabies from some other spring shots. I can get my full schedule if that is useful to you.

[Josette]

Thanks PF - you are very lucky to not deal with the vaccine reactions. They are a PITA. I'm a backyard setup so my guy does not have the other horse exposure but certainly exposed to mosquitoes, ticks and wild life. Yes - I split vaccines to avoid over whelming reactions but to be able to know which vaccine may trigger the worse reaction. Vet does the spring combo vaccine but I started to skip fall vaccines. I assume you would do more fall shots regarding the Rhino Flu vaccines in a large barn.

[piedmontfields]

I know I'm lucky. Some horses really suffer. Splitting shots helps, prepping with pain relievers help, turnout helps, time off helps.

I do flu/rhino *4* times a year to meet my barn's protocol. :-0 I am not convinced this is that useful, but my horse does not react so I do it.

In spring, first round is potomac fever, strangles and rabies. Second round is flu/rhino, tetanus, WEE, EEE, West Nile. The horses that travel to Florida for competitions do VEE, too. Probably I'll start doing that one soon giving climate shifts.

In fall, we boost potomac and flu rhino.

[kande50]

I just discussed this with a MA licensed vet, and the state guidelines are that if an equine hasn't been vaccinated by a vet in the last 3 years then he's considered unvaccinated and has to be quarantined at the vet's, or at some quarantine facility at the owner's expense. Can't remember how long he has to be quarantined, but it sounded like it could be an expensive stay.

If however, the equine has been vaccinated within the last 3 years (by a vet) he can be quarantined at home.

Not sure if this is if the vet suspects rabies, or if the horse has bitten someone?

So I have the vet come and vaccinate every 3rd year, and do it myself the other two. MA is one of the states to which vaccines can be shipped, even though owner administered vaccinations are not recognized by the state.

Interestingly, someone I worked with took their cat to the vet clinic for an abscess on his face and the clinic reported it as a possible animal bite, so even though the cat had been vaccinated against rabies he still had to be quarantined at home for a month.

[heddylamar]

I have the vets administer rabies for both mares and nasal streppvax for Maia, and I do the rest per their guidance.

[Hayburner]

Chas I'm a. So sorry to hear that you had to go thru having the donk euthanized due to an idiot vet!

I do get my horses a rabies shot every year from the vet.

I do wonder why if it's not administered by a vet it's not considered vaccinated. What if you kept the bottle and the lot number to be used as verification, if that would help?

[Abby Kogler]

Owners in CA are not allowed to do Rabies vacs. Must be a vet. Horses annually. I have had horses who reacted, sore necks >;-/ Doc did them recently and said there was a new one with less reactions. Seemed right as none of mine had any reaction at all.

Cases Doc stated were from bats falling into water, coyotes drinking out of water...I grew up with seeing rabid animals every summer as a little girl and am very aware of how frightening this disease is.

I did them in MA way before they were required. Its just not ever worth it.

[kande50]

I do wonder why if it's not administered by a vet it's not considered vaccinated. What if you kept the bottle and the lot number to be used as verification, if that would help?

I asked about that too, and my vet thought it was because those who make the rules (vets?) are afraid the vaccine might not be properly handled if owners did them themselves. I'm wondering though, based on the quarantine requirements, if they're aware that horses are protected for 3 years and the only reason they want them to be vaccinated every year is in case the vaccine doesn't, for whatever reason, produce sufficient immunity one year, or some years?

[Josette]

Abby - Do you know which rabies vaccine your vet used to minimize side effects? My vet office uses Merial IMRATS for large animals which does not contain the mercury preservative I try to avoid.

[Srhorselady]

I also split my shots and have the vet do them including rabies annually. I get together with the neighbors and we all do them together and split the call charge in one/two days. We currently have cases of neuro rhino with barns quarantined in the state so that is my primary worry. We do have wildlife with rabies every summer in the vicinity here in Az. My horses don’t travel so low risk. Two of them are on daily Previcox and I haven’t had any reactions to shots in years. I think vaccinations are low cost preventatives for some very nasty diseases.

[texsuze]

Our strictly indoor cats get rabies annually, given by vet, although this year we're delaying a few months till house guests and trips are all done. One of our vets implied that if someone gets bitten/scratched by one of our cats (unlikely but possible), we'd be in a better position from a liability standpoint if the cats had their rabies up to date. I hate that line of thinking, but this is where we are as a society today.

Re: my oldster gelding (coming 28), over the years I've greatly pared down his annual vacc regime since he's in full retirement at home, closed herd. I do not give my own vaccinations. My oldster can no longer tolerate multiple vaccines at once so I space them out over several weeks. I pre-medicate 3-4 days in advance with banamine (or bute), and vet gives an additional anti-inflammatory at the time of injection. This lessens the post-vaccination reactions, but he still gets some injection site swelling and general lethargy.

The last rabies vacc he had (on the glute--NEVER again!) caused a huge area of swelling, stocking up on both hinds, hair loss at injection site, and several days of anti-inflammatory therapy.

My vet believes horses maintain high titer levels esp. with rabies, and does not feel annual rabies in equines is warranted in our area, even though it is endemic. I found this article on the topic, YMMV:

https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/do- ... accination

[Srhorselady]

BTW rabies in horses can be different than in other mammals. It can be depressed rather than manic in many/most cases. I know of vets treating horses here in Az who didn’t recognize it since the horses were so depressed and later had to go through rabies protocol themselves after it was identified.

[Chisamba]

I don't even know how to respond to that horrible incompetence of a medical person. The words I would like to express would be graphic. Like you I'm in NJ and have the certificates for our dogs but I did not think to have for horses - although I do not give the vaccines. I'm having this discussion with my vet who had mentioned doing a titre. We did not vaccinate for rabies last year due to other vaccine reactions. I'm in the woods so raccoons are the risk factor here. I am so sorry for your donkey.....

If your vet has a titre, I am sure he will provide a titre certificate.

[Canyon]

texsuze, thanks for the link to that article!

[DJR]

I vaccinate my own horses annually against rabies (I’m a vet).

[khall]

Yes I vaccinate annually. In 2004 I had a rabid fox attack two of my horses (I live in GA I also went through rabies protocol after coming into contact with the saliva from the fox) and we have had rabid animals both domestic and wild fairly frequently over the years in surrounding counties. Two of the vets I use have had rabid horses in their practice (here in GA) one was neurologic one was aggressive form. Any horse that shows neuro signs that have not been vaccinated must be suspected of having rabies.

There have been several rabid animals attacks within surrounding counties. From a bobcat to stray kitten to coyote and foxes. Rabies is not uncommon and necessary to protect our horses.

[heddylamar]

I had the vet out today to vaccinate for rabies, and asked what this practice is recommending (I just changed vets) -- every year in Maryland. The vet who I was speaking with had done blood tests on several horses recently, as had a colleague, and all were outside the acceptable level of titers. One hadn't had a rabies vaccine in 6 years, the others ranged from 1+ to 3 years. This office charges $52 for potomac + rabies v. $200 for the blood test. They only recommend the blood test if a horse reacts badly to the rabies vaccine.

[lorilu]

once a year, in the spring (actually, my "spring shots" come in June..... and "winter" shots in December....... but ....)

[LeoApp]

In NY, by law, you must do it annually and ALL vaccines need to be given by vets. There is a 3 year vaccine you can give to cats (I don't know about dogs since I never had a dog) but that one has an adjuvant that has been linked with vaccine induced sarcoma in cats. So I give the annual to my cat. And he is an indoor only cat.
Rabies is extremely rare on Long Island, probably because it's an island, but there have been instances of it in the past, mainly in raccoons.

[goldhorse]

I'm in Northern California. Both horses get an annual rabies shot with their fall vaccines. I used to do it myself but now have the vet do it so there's a record. I have heard a story about a breeding stallion that bit a vet tech and the owner couldn't provide proof that a vet had vaccinated the horse for rabies. The horse was put into quarantine and lost a good chunk of it's breeding season. I don't know if the story is true but it made me rethink things. Now, it's moot because I can't buy a rabies vaccine in California.

ETA: I wouldn't know if my horse had mixed it up with a rabid bat or skunk or raccoon. Once my horse got into it with a fox that was foaming at the mouth. We thought it was rabid but it tested positive for canine distemper.

[redsoxluvr]

I do Rabies annually, and thank you for the reminder. I did shots in Feb but did not do Rabies as my horse has an autoimmune issue
and we didn't want to overload his system at the time. Now I'll call my vet and have her come out. I am sure my horses' titers are probably
fine, but I would rather have the shot done by the DVM rather than risk exposure and the resulting drama that accompanies an exposed animal.

[Josette]

Well my vet did the Rabies vaccine yesterday afternoon in his right pectoral chest muscle. Pony was given 10cc injected Banamine at time of vaccine then gave 2 grams Bute last night. This morning all legs are swollen stocked up with heat. I just gave him oral Banamine and will leave message with vet. I don't need a founder situation as he has metabolic Cushings. He is on Pergolide and Thyro-Lo medications as well. Has anyone else had to deal with this type of a vaccine reaction besides the obvious swelling at injection site?

I'll take my risks in the future and will not use this vaccine again.

[Chisamba]

Josette I am sorry your poor horse is so challenged by the shot. I hope he is able to overcome the issues . i guess i would cold hose the legs and max out the anti inflammatories

[Josette]

Thanks Chisamba - I hand walked him earlier and now I'm going to ride at walk on trails. He is not lame at least just lots of swelling. I don't want to think what his reaction would have been without all the Banamine and Bute given. Those drugs will be continued for a few more days. Cold hosing too - considering purchase of more therapeutic leg wraps to put in freezer too.

[Imperini]

We did rabies vaccinations annually in Ontario and I never had any issue with it but the barn owner here said she's had a lot of horses have bad reactions to it similar to what you're describing.

Hope your pony recovers quickly.

[piedmontfields]

Ugh, Josette. I'm sorry it did not go better.

Besides what you're doing, more turn-out than normal can also help.

[texsuze]

Josette I feel your pain (see description of my oldster's reactions up at the top). In my experience, the rabies vaccs are the toughest on horses. If you didn't start pre-medicating pony with banamine a few days before this vaccination, I'd suggest that protocol for the next shot he's scheduled to get, in addition to banamine when he gets his shot. Be sure to let the vet know if/when you give banamine (or bute).

I've been told by vets that it's not recommended to give both banamine and bute in the same timeframe; I always chose one or the other, but confirm with your vet.

My gelding used to be able to tolerate multiple vaccinations in a single shot, but steadily over the years, he can't handle more than one at a time, spread out over several weeks. As we speak, he has been getting a banamine paste dose for the past 2 days, in anticipation of his annual WNV tomorrow. Vet will also give injectable banamine tomorrow before the vac. He'll also get his vaccination in the pectoral muscle. For us this regime keeps the swelling down to pec only, and lasts a few days.

[Ryeissa]

my horse gets a sore neck- I always give bute- its something with the shot mixture because he doesn't get sore from 7 adequan shots. (knock on wood)