Risk-based Vaccines: Does Your Horse Need Them?

Since risk-based vaccines are only given to horses at higher risk, it is possible your horse may not need any of these vaccines. Or it may benefit from a few of them! It depends on the horse.

For example, if you share with your veterinarian that you plan to attend a lot of horse shows over the next six months, they may recommend the equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, and strangles vaccines since these diseases often spread at events. Similarly, your veterinarian may tell you that your horse needs the anthrax vaccine if you live in an area where spores are known to thrive in the soil. Pregnant mares during specific months of pregnancy are advised to get certain risk-based vaccines. Each horse is a unique situation when it comes to determining which risk-based vaccines to give!

Risk for contracting a disease is not always well known or easy to assess, so your veterinarian’s expertise is needed. Only give your horse the risk-based vaccines they need. Extra vaccinations can be costly and cause unnecessary stress to your horse.

How does my vet determine which ones my horse should get?

Your veterinarian will perform a risk-benefit analysis to determine if your horse should receive a particular risk-based vaccine.  A risk-benefit analysis looks at known risk factors and the benefits of vaccination to determine if giving the vaccination is the best option for that horse. Many factors are considered during this analysis and your veterinarian may ask you a lot of questions. Common questions during a risk-benefit analysis include:

• Is the horse located in an area where a particular disease is common?
• Does the farm have new horses coming on the farm regularly that may be carrying diseases?
• Do some of the horses on the farm travel regularly?
• Will the horse be traveling to other locations/states? Will the horse be in an area where a disease is prominent?
• Is the horse competing at shows?
• Will the horse be interacting with other horses? (Particularly with those from different farms)
• How old is the horse? Is the under 2? Is the horse geriatric (over 20)? (Note: If the horse is a foal or weanling, there are specific guidelines for both core and risk-based vaccines that can be found on the AAEP website.)
• Is the horse in good health? Is it immunocompromised?
• Will this horse be used for breeding or is it currently in foal (pregnant)?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, your veterinarian may suggest one or more risk-based vaccines. Your veterinarian may also have additional questions for you to consider based on current, known information about diseases in your area.

Conclusion

Risk-based vaccines are important to consider when developing your vaccination program. It can be hard to identify which ones your horse should receive, but with the help of your veterinarian, you can determine which vaccines to give and when they should be given.