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February 2nd Bridle Bunch
Vaccines
Rabies
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ You can get it passed from horses to people Your horse could die from it but it is very preventable 4-H members at high risk ➢ Bit in mouth = access to more saliva It is a requirement from the American Association of Equine Practitioners for all horses Vaccine is not expensive but is not compared to the cost of treatment.
Responsibility Foals may be vaccinated at 4 months of age with a booster 3-4 weeks later. The rabies shot is given in two initial doses four weeks apart followed by yearly boosters.
Annual
Tetanus
❖ Tetanus is caused by toxin producing bacteria present in the intestinal tract of many animals and found in abundance in the sail where horses live; Its spores can exist for years.
Symptoms include muscle stiffness and rigidly, flared nostrils, hypersensitivity, the legs stiffly held in a locked position as the disease progresses, muscles in the jaw and face stiffen, preventing the animal from eating and drinking.
❖ ❖ ❖ More than 80% of affected horses die.
Luckily, this disease is not contagious.
In addition, areas where the horses are located have high levels of the bacterial spores.
❖ All horses should be immunized annually against tetanus. Additional boosters for mares and foals may be recommended by your veterinarian.
❖ Available vaccines are inexpensive, safe, and provide good protection.
Equine Influenza
❖ This respiratory disease can often affect large numbers of horses, but is usually not fatal.
❖ Influenza is one of the most common respiratory diseases in the equine.The risk of influenza is higher for younger horses than older horses.
❖ the virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted by air from equine to equine over distances as far as 30 yards, for example, by storting or coughing.
❖ Signs to watch for are similar to those in a human cold, i.e., dry cough, nasal discharge, fever, depression, and loss of appetite. ❖ therefore, duration of production is short-lived and revaccination is recommended. Since the virus can mutate frequently, vaccinations should contain the most recent strains.
❖ However, animals that travel or are exposed to other equines should be regularly immunized against influenza.
Rhinopneumonitis
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ Caused by a herpesvirus (similar to the human common cold), this disease, like influenza, is rarely fatal, but can cause the horse to be very sick for a prolonged period of time.
Two distinct viruses, equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4), cause two different diseases, are both of sa which are known as rhinopneumonitis. Both cause respiratory tract problems, and EHV-1 may also cause abortion, foal death, and paralysis.
Infected horse may be feverish and lethargic, and my lose appetite and experience nasal discharge and a cough. Rhinopneumonitis is spread by aerosol and by direct contact with secretions, utensils, or drinking water.
Virus may be present Adults should be vaccinated 1-4 times per year depending upon risk factors.
Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ WEE has been noted throughout North America, while EEE appears in the east and southeast. Sleeping sickness is most often transmitted by mosquitos, after the insects have acquired the virus from birds and rodents. Humans also are susceptible when bitten by an infected mosquitoes, but direct horse-to-horse or horse-to-human transmission is very rare.
Symptoms vary widely, but all result from the degeneration of the brain. Early signs include fever depression and appetite loss. Later, a horse might stagger when it walks, and paralysis develops in later stages.
About 50 percent of horses infected with WEE die, and the death rate is 70 to 90 percent of animals infected with EEE.
All horses need an EEE and WEE vaccine at least annually. The best time to vaccinate is spring, before the mosquitoes become active.