Horse Vaccination Protocol - In Depth
What is vaccine overload?
It’s time for us, as proactive horse owners, to rethink all
of our traditional ideas on equine vaccinations. If vaccines needed to be
given annually (or more often), people would still be getting vaccinated every
year for all of those diseases that we were vaccinated for as kids.
Almost all of our horse vaccines last a minimum of 7
years, most last a lifetime. Many horse owners continue to
vaccinate their horses too frequently because they believe that vaccines are
innocuous (do no harm). Many horses are vaccinated yearly (or more often)
for diseases that they are never exposed to or already have immunity to.
Vaccinations in horses are being recommended much more
frequently than the same vaccine in their human counterpart. Human and
horse immune systems function in exactly the same fashion. Humans are
only vaccinated as babies and children but some farms vaccinate their horses 6
plus times a year for a horse’s entire life.
What are common vaccine reactions?
Because most people and veterinarians have been taught that
vaccine reactions occur within 48 hours after the vaccine is given, many
vaccination reactions go unreported. Often horses have vaccine reactions
that go totally unnoticed or occur up to 30 days after the administration of the
vaccine so these symptoms are not generally thought of as being linked.
Even the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners)
warns:
“It should be recognized that: Administration of multiple vaccines at the
same time may increase the risk of adverse reactions. Safety and
efficacy data are not available regarding the concurrent use of multiple
vaccines. Adverse reactions are not always predictable and are
inherent risks of vaccination. Therefore, it is recommended that horses not be
vaccinated in the 2 weeks prior to shows, performance events, sales or domestic
shipment. Some veterinarians may elect not to vaccinate horses within 3 weeks
of international shipment.
After
receiving a vaccine(s) intramuscularly, some horses experience local muscular
swelling and soreness or transient, self-limiting signs including fever,
anorexia and lethargy. Severe reactions at sites of injection can be
particularly troublesome, requiring prolonged treatment and convalescence.
Systemic adverse reactions (such as urticaria, purpura hemorrhagica or
anaphylaxis) can also occur. Other systemic adverse reactions have been
anecdotally reported”.
Only vaccinate a healthy horse?
The label insert for every vaccine warns against
vaccinating horses that are unhealthy.
No horse should ever be vaccinated that has any of the
following:
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Heaves
- Cushings
- Equine Protozoal Encephalomyelitis (EPM)
- Hypothyroidism
- Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (EPSM
or PPSM)
- Insulin Resistance
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Any disease not listed here
Or any type of:
- Infection
- Skin disease
- Hives
- White Line Disease
- Scratches
- Respiratory Tract Infection
- Diarrhea
- Eye problems
- Allergies or allergic reactions
Should I rethink annual vaccines?
Most veterinarians recommend what they learned in school (the
vaccination schedule developed by the drug companies that manufacture the
vaccines). Veterinarians seldom want to be controversial and go against
regular western medical training and it is beneficial for them because they are
also making a profit by administering the vaccines. Many veterinary
clinics make up to 50% of their income by administering “annual vaccinations”.
How do I know if my horse needs to be vaccinated?
Many holistic veterinarians tout antibody titers as the way to
know if your horse is in need of any vaccines. Antibody titers measure
the amount of antibodies that are circulating around the blood stream at any
given time to a particular disease. These titer tests are wonderful and
give us great information as long as the horses’ antibody levels are elevated.
The problem with titer tests is that they only measure what is
called humoral (liquid) immunity, they can’t measure your horses’ cellular
immunity. Humoral immunity is when the animal is exposed to a certain
disease for the first time and it produces antibodies to that disease.
Humoral immunity and circulating antibodies will only last for a short while
without any reoccurring exposure to that disease.
The body also, at the same time that it produces the humoral
immunity, will produce cellular immunity. Cellular immunity consists of a
certain type of white blood cell that can differentiate into other cells when
needed. These cells, when stimulated by exposure to a pathogen (germ),
can then make antibodies. This type of immunity is almost always
life-long. Unfortunately, there is no way to measure cellular
immunity. Therefore, if you run a titer and the numbers are low, it is
quite likely that you’re horse is still immune to that disease, but you have no
way of knowing. If you have ever run a vaccine titer on your horse and it was protective, your horse has life long immunity to that disease.
How can I tell if there is an outbreak in my area?
You can go on the internet and search for the
incidence of certain diseases on the website of your state veterinary board or
the Center for Disease Control. Remember that just because a certain
number of cases have been reported in your state, it doesn’t necessarily mean
that those animals became sick or even needed to be treated. We are
trying to look at all of the information with an open mind and then make a
decision based on common sense, not fear. We may need to “read between
the lines” some, to make the most informed decisions when it comes to the
delicate health of our beloved horses.
Can I just use common sense?
A common sense vaccine protocol would be to treat our horses
like we were treated as kids. We were given three or four vaccines at
certain strategically timed intervals and then we were covered, for life!
Foals are not born immune-competent, which means they do
not have the ability to mount a normal immune response until sometime after 6
months of age. This is why a mare will pass antibodies to the foal in the
colostrum(first milk). This is the only immunity that the foal posses for
the first half-year or so of life. Because that foal can’t make its own
antibodies, if you vaccinate it prior to immunocompitence you force the foal to
use up the antibodies that were passed to it in the colostrum. Adequate
colostrum intake is essential. If vaccines are administered to foals too
early they interfere with colostral antibodies.
We believe that horses should be vaccinated for the first time
one month after weaning (not before 7 months). The foals’ immune system
doesn’t mature enough to produce antibodies until after 6 months of age.
The second vaccination should be given 30-45 days after the first and the last
vaccination should be given one year after the second.
That’s it, except for tetanus. Tetanus should be given at
the same interval initially, but we feel that a horse should be given a dose of
tetanus toxoid after each deep cut or puncture wound, only if it has
been more than one year since the last tetanus vaccine. If tetanus
antibodies last 10 years in humans they will last 10 years in our horses.
So, if you prefer to vaccinate routinely against tetanus then you should not do
it any more often than once a decade.
We have separated the commonly given vaccines out into three categories:
1: Core
Vaccines- those vaccines that can help to prevent diseases that could
kill your horse, (should only be given when the disease is present in the
area that your horse lives or travels to in a significantly prevalent level to
justify risking the negative side effects that could be caused by the vaccine)
2: Non-Core
Vaccines- those vaccines that are given to try to prevent diseases that
are only a nuisance to our horses, (we don’t recommend these due to the fact
that they will compromise the immune system)
3: Yet
to be proven vaccines- these diseases are rarely fatal.
Because these vaccines result in immune compromise, they can predispose your horse to the
disease that you are trying to prevent. (vaccines that we believe
should never be given.)
Core Vaccines:
- Rabies
- Tetanus
- Potomac Horse Fever - rarely fatal, but can
cause laminitis
- Eastern (EEE), Western (WEE) and Venezuelan
Encephalomyelities (VEE)
There were no cases of WEE and VEE reported in
the US in 2009 and very few cases of EEE reported. You will also notice
that the cases of EEE that were reported were in a very localized region of the
country.
The map below is courtesy of the CDC.
Non-Core Vaccines:
- Rhinopneumonitis
- Influenza
- Strangles
- Pneumobort K
Unproven Vaccines:
- West Nile Virus
- Equine Protozoal Encephalomyelitis
Why is mercury banned in human vaccines but NOT in equine vaccines?
Even though mercury has been banned in human
vaccines (except flu), most horse owners have no idea that all killed
virus vaccines are preserved with Thimerosal (mercury). All vaccines contain
an adjuvant which is used to stimulate the immune system. If the immune
system has been previously stimulated (by the last vaccine that hasn’t worn off
yet) the next time you stimulate it you can actually tear it down.
Vaccines frequently
given to horses that contain mercury (Thimerosal™) as a preservative are:
- West Nile
- West Nile + Venezuelan
- Eastern or Western Encephalomyelitis + Tetanus
- Strangles
- Equine Protozoal Encephalomyelitis
- Rhino/Flu, Potomac Horse Fever
- Pneumabort
- Western Encephalomyelitis + Tetanus
- Equine Influenza
- Rabies
- Equine Rotavirus
- Salmonella
- Clostridium Botulinum
- Tetanus
How can mercury affect my horse?
Mercury is the most potent Neurotoxin known to mankind.
The immune system is primarily composed of nerve tissue. Therefore, one
of the first things to be compromised by excessive vaccinations (over
vaccination or Vaccinosis*) is the immune system. Most all (95%) of the
neurologic disorders that I have seen in my practice were predisposed by some
form of vaccination. Vaccinations weaken the immune system, due to the
neurotoxic effects of the mercury and the adjuvant, then the neurologic disease
can take a-hold and cause symptoms. The growth rate of tumors such as
sarcoids and melanomas can be greatly sped up by decreasing the ability of the
immune system to function properly. (*Vaccinosis-a collective condition
of negative side effects that are caused by difficult to detect reactions to
vaccines).
Should I vaccinate a pregnant mare?
It is a common practice for veterinarians to
recommend that pregnant mares be given a Pneumobort K vaccine at 5, 7, and 9
months of gestation. They will often also recommend that owners give
their horse a five, seven or eight-way vaccine one month prior to giving birth. The
five-way consists of Tenatus, Rhinopneumonitis, Influenza, Eastern &
Western Encephalomyelitis (Sleeping Sickness). The seven way adds in strangles and rabies. West Nile is the eighth addition.
Any mare that is not
immune comprised will include these antibodies in the colostrum without us
giving her a "booster" a month prior to giving birth. It's her
job.
What they won’t tell you is that a horse can abort from a
rhinopneumonitis infection only ONCE in their entire life. A mare
can only abort the very first time that she is infected with the virus and only
if she is pregnant at the time. Once she has been infected, whether she
is pregnant at the time or not, she will build antibodies to the infection and
can NEVER abort from this disease again.
So it makes sense
to not vaccinate any pregnant mares with Pneumobort K. If the mare
has already been exposed prior to the pregnancy she will never abort. If
she hasn’t been previously exposed she will abort once and only once.
Also, the multi-way vaccinations are preserved
with Thimerosal (mercury), the interesting fact about mercury is that it is one
of the heavy metals that can and will cross the placental
barrier. So, the mercury that you are giving to your mare, she is sharing
with her foal. If a mare has a good healthy immune system she will have a
life-long immunity to all of the diseases that are present in a five way
vaccine. She will pass these antibodies onto her foal through the colostrum.
What is a healthy protocol?
It is very difficult today, with all the stresses that our
horses are subjected to, to keep their immune systems healthy and strong.
It is our goal at DePaolo Equine Concepts to help give you the information that
you need to keep your horse healthy in the stressful world that they live in
now. It is very difficult to maintain a good healthy immune system when
it is constantly being bombarded with stimulants, heavy metals and unnecessary
medications.
It is not our intent to talk you into not vaccinating your
horse. It is, however, our intent to give you another view point from a
classically trained veterinarian, with just as much schooling as your regular
vet.