Vaccinations

Regular vaccination of horses, ponies and donkeys is an important part of their primary care to prevent some serious and potentially life-threatening diseases.

Equine Influenza

Equine influenza is a highly contagious viral infection that affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts of horses. Although it is endemic within the horse population, the virus continually mutates, leading to occasional outbreaks or epidemics. To keep your horse protected, vaccine manufacturers regularly update their vaccines to target the strains currently circulating in the UK.

The flu virus is airborne and spreads rapidly through groups of horses, either by direct contact with an infected horse or indirectly via particles in the environment. For this reason, it is crucial to isolate any horse suspected of having equine influenza to prevent further transmission.

Vaccination against Equine Influenza

Vaccinating against flu is highly recommended and is, in fact, mandatory if your horse is going on to any racecourses. The Jockey Club, international equestrian federation (FEI), competition bodies (such as BS,BD,BE etc.) and many show societies, Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs produce vaccination protocols to follow for equine influenza. These all vary and it is therefore important that you check the requirements for your particular society/body. Different vaccination companies also have different vaccination protocols so it can get very confusing to work out when each vaccination is required.

The most common equine influenza vaccination protocol (from January 2024) is:

• Initial primary vaccination course which involves two injections no less than 21 days and not more than 60 days apart.
• A first booster is then required at not less than 120 days and not more than 180 days after the second injection of the primary course.
• Subsequent boosters are then required at intervals of not more than 365 days apart, although following the equine influenza outbreak in 2019, many regulatory bodies and competition centres require that horses have 6 monthly boosters, to reduce the risk of transmission at large events.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your horse’s vaccinations are kept up-to-date and that they meet the requirements of the relevant regulatory body/authority.

Tetanus

Tetanus is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, an anaerobic organism which means it does not need oxygen. It can survive in the environment – such as in soil and manure – for long periods. Tetanus is not contagious so it cannot be transmitted directly from horse to horse.

The bacteria enter the body through wounds, with puncture wounds and foot penetrating wounds posing the greatest risk. However, horses can also develop tetanus if they ingest contaminated soil or manure, especially if they have gastric ulcers.

Once inside the body, the toxin produced by the bacteria attacks the nervous system, specifically targeting the nerves that control muscle movement.

Vaccination against tetanus

The prevention of tetanus is easy by vaccinating your horse with tetanus toxoid. The protocol of vaccination consists on a primary course of two injections four to six weeks apart from each other.

After the primary course, the horse needs a booster vaccination within one year, then every other year for full protection

Equine Herpes Virus

Equine Herpes Virus (EHV) is a highly contagious airborne disease. It spreads through direct horse-to-horse contact, such as horses touching noses, and via aerosol droplets produced by coughing or snorting, which can travel up to 5 meters. This allows the virus to spread rapidly through groups of horses. Indirect transmission can also occur through shared equipment like tack, feed bowls, or via people’s hands and clothing.

There are five main strains of EHV, with EHV-1 and EHV-4 being the most common worldwide. EHV-1 can cause respiratory illness, abortion, and neurological disease, while EHV-4 typically leads to mild respiratory symptoms and, less commonly, abortion.

Vaccination against EHV

A vaccine is available in the UK and is primarily used in pregnant mares to help prevent abortion. There is also a vaccine licensed to help reduce respiratory disease. There is not a vaccine for the prevention of the neurological form of EHV. While neither vaccine is licensed specifically to limit the spread of EHV, both could potentially help with this. As with any vaccination program, the more horses that are vaccinated, the less disease there will be. This supports the case for extending EHV vaccination beyond the broodmare population.

The cornerstone of preventing and controlling outbreaks of EHV is strict biosecurity. This involves measures designed to prevent contact between infected or potentially infected horses and those that have not been exposed.

Other vaccinations

In some cases, we may recommend vaccinating against other diseases such as EVA and Rotavirus. We are happy to advise when these might be required.