Horse Vaccines in 2012: Where We Stand

Horse owners have all the resources needed to ensure a properly vaccinated horse, one researcher said.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

As winter ends and spring begins, most horse owners start thinking about vaccinations. Which ones should my horse receive? How often should he be vaccinated? Does he need any risk-based vaccines? Confused? Don’t worry. One equine veterinarian and researcher distilled the broad topic of vaccinations down at the 2012 Western Veterinary Conference, held Feb. 19-23 in Las Vegas, Nev.

"The decision to vaccinate horses should depend on risk of infection and scientific evidence that a vaccine will reduce that risk," explained Elizabeth G. Davis, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associated professor and equine section head at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Davis began by cautioning that no vaccine can–or should be expected to–prevent all disease. Rather, she explained that vaccines are designed to protect and boost the horse’s immune system in the face of challenge from an infectious pathogen. Davis discussed the ins and outs about how vaccines protect the horse (by eliciting an immune response against a familiar pathogen), how vaccine antigens are handled within the body, and the types of immune response triggered (humoral or cell-mediated) before delving into the decision making process behind choosing vaccinations.

She suggested practitioners and owners alike follow the recommendations set forth by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) in their vaccination guidelines

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:

Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.

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?
436 votes · 436 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!