Vaccinations an Investment in Equine Health

When watching your wallet, it’s also important to remember that trimming many veterinary expenses may cost you more in the end.

“Horses can be very expensive animals to own and maintain,” said April Knudson, DVM, manage

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

When watching your wallet, it’s also important to remember that trimming many veterinary expenses may cost you more in the end.

"Horses can be very expensive animals to own and maintain," said April Knudson, DVM, manager, Merial Veterinary Services. "So it’s no surprise that, even in a relatively strong economy, horse owners look for the most inexpensive ways to care for their animals. However, the urge to trim costs becomes even stronger in a weak economy. When that happens, horse owners must be extremely careful not to cut back on important equine health care staples–like vaccinations, for example."

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) recommends that all horses be vaccinated against core diseases, including tetanus, Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis (EEE/WEE), West Nile virus (WNV) and rabies. Other vaccinations might be recommended by a veterinarian based on individual risk if traveling or the disease is a problem for the area. This could include equine influenza and Potomac horse fever (PHF).

"Annual vaccinations–both for core and additional disease concerns–have long been a staple of equine health care and are the best way to help prevent potentially deadly equine diseases and keep horses healthy," Knudson said. "Even though there is some cost up front, vaccinations are the most cost-effective way to control veterinary expenses related to disease treatment later on down the road

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

How much time do you usually spend grooming your horse?
433 votes · 433 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!