Vaccination and Worming Programs

One of the most important responsibilities we have as horse owners is to keep our horses healthy. The best way to accomplish this is to implement a regular vaccination and worming program. It is best to maintain a calendar of every vaccination and worming to keep you on track of when they may be due again.

Many of the illnesses that afflict horses could have easily been prevented had the horse been vaccinated or wormed properly. I am sure you have heard the old sayings, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and "it's better to be penny-wise than pound-foolish." The time and cost of vaccines and worming medications is quite small compared to the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars that you might spend taking care of a sick horse.

Consult your veterinarian to determine what type of vaccination and wormer program is best for your horses.

Vaccinations:

The most commonly used vaccinations are: tetanus (lockjaw), rabies, influenza (flu), eastern/western encephalomyelitis (sleeping sickness), and rhinopneumonitis (Equine Herpes virus). These vaccines can be administered with a one "combination" injection, which will cut down the probability of an injection site infection/reaction since you only stick your horse with a needle once.

Horses of all ages (foal to senior) can be vaccinated against these diseases, with foals generally receiving injections between the ages of 3 to 4 months. The beginning of any vaccination program should begin with an initial injection, followed by the appropriate number of booster injections to ensure the best immunity. Keep in mind that no vaccine has 100% efficacy; however, if a horse does become ill, the effects of the illness may not be as severe since some immunity level has been reached. If you do not know the vaccination history of a new-to-you horse, it is best to treat that horse as never having been vaccinated and administer the appropriate number of vaccines and boosters.

Other vaccinations available for your horses are: Potomac Horse Fever, West Nile Virus (WNV), Strangles, Botulism, Equine Viral Arteritis (EVA), and Equine Protzoal Myelitis (EPM).

Some regional areas might require the use of one or more of these vaccines, while other areas may not. Northern and Midwestern states have a higher incidence of Potomac Horse Fever. Southern states have a longer vector season for eastern/western encephalomyelitis, which requires horses to be vaccinated every six months. West Nile Virus (WNV) is prominent throughout all regions; therefore, using this vaccine would be beneficial.

The use of other vaccines, such as strangles, Botulism, EVA are selective vaccinations that you may choose to use if you travel with your horse (strangles, Botulism) or breed your horse (EVA).

The EPM vaccination is a relatively new vaccine; however, there are conflicting reports regarding the efficacy of this vaccine and you may want to discuss this with your veterinarian.

Worming:

Like vaccinations, there are regional differences for effective parasite management. Those in the southern region may want to worm every 30 to 60 days, while the northern region may choose to worm quarterly. It is best to contact your veterinarian to discuss a worming program that works best for your horses.

There are four types of worming medications: Fenbendazole-based, Pyrantel Pamoate-based, Ivermectin-based, and Praziquantel-based. Worming products come in paste form, which are administered by mouth on a monthly or quarterly basis, or in a pelleted continuous feed-through product that is added daily at feeding time.

It is important to have an accurate understanding of how many parasites your horse may be infected with. Your veterinarian can conduct a fecal egg count from a sample of your horse's manure to determine the parasite load your horse may be carrying. You may want to have this done prior to beginning your worming program and repeat it a few months later to determine if the program is working.

Because of parasite resistance, you will need to rotate the worming products you use from one dose to the next; never use the same type of product twice. It is best to use an Ivermectin-based product in the fall since this will take care of bots.

Your worming program will be more effective if all horses are wormed on the same schedule. If this is not done, the parasite cycle will not be broken and the horses will remain infected to some degree.

Keep your horses healthy for years to come and incorporate a regular vaccination and worming program.