A Guide to Horse Vaccinations
To ensure your horses stay healthy, there are a few vaccinations that are required to protect them from serious diseases, these can be a managable expense with good horse insurance, as they are normally covered. These vaccinations are the protective barriers your horse needs for better overall health and immunity to fight fatal diseases like tetanus, influenza, encephalomyelitis, rabies, horse fever and many others. Regular de-worming and horse vaccinations ensure that your horses are safe from such diseases and you will have many happy and healthy years to enjoy with them. A good responsible owner knows that timely vaccinations, a nutritious diet, ample clean water and regular grooming are all important to maintain a healthy horse.
It is important to remember that horse vaccinations will not protect your horse 100% from any of the diseases but will increase its immunity towards them. A vaccination is an inactive dose of the same disease causing bacteria or virus which is injected into the blood stream of the horse which then produces effective antibodies that help fight that disease. These antibodies decline with time, which is why these horse vaccinations are needed repeatedly, as advised by your local vet. A booster shot is usually given each year to replenish these antibodies.
However, with age, geographic location, exposure and the breed these vaccinations may differ and your vet is the best person to advice you on that. Different horse vaccinations are supposed to be administered at different times in a horse’s life and a few combination vaccinations are also available. Your local veterinarian is best suited to guide you through the entire process. These vaccinations not only protect your horse from the diseases but also ensure you will not spend thousands of dollars in treatments in case your horse gets fatally sick and you may not have to deal with the untimely death of a beloved equine friend.
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