Spring Vaccinations

Since I am finally getting the horses through the aftermath of their spring vaccinations, I figured I'd talk about that today while it's fresh in my mind.

Spring vaccinations here in Arizona consist of Tetanus, West Nile and Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis. I tend to vaccinate the horses for what can kill them. These diseases can. Before anyone adds a comment regarding rumors about the West Nile Vacc. causing issues, please just go preach to a different choir about that. See my first post where I mention my Aunt's credentials. She raised champion arabs for 30 years. She has seen horses die from West Nile Virus. She never failed to vaccinate her arabs and never once lost a foal due to those vaccinations. Every last one of my veterinarians, vaccinate their mares and the mares in their care. If it's good enough for them, it's good enough for my hooved ladies. Okay, that's out of the way, let us get on with this post.

Typically, my horses come through their Fall shots okay. They might be a bit lazy, but generally they're fine. Spring shots are a little harder on them. I don't know what it is in the vaccines that tend to make them feel bad. I do know how a tetanus shot makes my arm muscle feel. For a couple of days I don't even want to raise my arm to do so much as turn a doorknob. The spring vaccinations are generally given as an all in one shot in a neck muscle. If I had a tetanus shot in my neck, I don't know that I could lift my head off my pillow for a week. Thus, I'm sure the horses are good and sore. Often, that's enough to make some minis, especially those that stress easily, go off their feed. The EEE/WEE vaccination can make them feel droopy or run a mild fever.

As I will explain in a follow up post, it is essential that your miniature horse eat and drink. Quite often the first sign you notice that your horse is feeling bad is that it shows no interest in it's food. The horse may come to the food bin at feeding time, it may even nibble, but a sick horse will not eat with it's normal gusto. Sometimes they'll nibble at their feed then go lie down. Or they'll sift through their hay as if they're looking for the one particularly juicy leaf they want and no other will do. TIP: Don't feed, water and leave. Always make sure your horse is actually eating well before you leave them.

Last year I had one horse get violently ill after her spring shots. A day at the vet, with the horse on fluids and undergoing a ton of blood work and finally a test showed a very slight elevation of the white count. She was put on anti-biotics and two hours later she started improving, within 5 hours she was eating a bit. The shot (not the vaccination) but just the tiny puncture of the shot had caused an infection that, combined with the general malaise following the vaccinations, caused her little system to shut down within 10 hours. She went down so fast that if we had not taken her to the vet when we did, she'd have been dead within hours.

You will not be able to prevent all infections. You will not be able to prevent a mild reaction from a vaccination. What you can do is prepare for the things you cannot prevent. Because minis cannot be allowed to miss meals the way larger horse breeds can, you can be prepared for the day your mini steps back from it's feed bin too soon and you can also KNOW YOUR HORSES' NORMAL BEHAVIOR.

The absolute best thing you can do is spend time just watching the habits of your horse. You will notice he likes to stand in certain places. You'll notice his standing posture. You'll notice the way in which he plays, how often and where he rests, the speed and posture of his walk, when/where and how much he urinates and passes manure. One day you may go out to his paddock and he's standing bunched up in a corner where he usually finds nothing of interest, shifting his weight from one hoof to the other. That's a different behavior all of a sudden and you should watch him more closely. He may be standing there because he's feeling bad. He could be bunched up with a stomach ache or shifting his weight because he's feeling achy.

Our vet gave the horses their vaccinations Wednesday morning. By Wednesday afternoon, I had 4 standing in their stalls rather than being outside in the breeze. 4 of them were standing with their heads low and pressed into a corner in their stalls. NOT THEIR NORMAL BEHAVIOR. They could have been just resting in the shade, however, because I watch them, I knew that ordinarily they'd be out in the paddock, plastered to the ground, basking in the sunshine for their naps. I began checking temps and "gut sounds" (a healthy horse digestive system growls and gurgles. Press your ear to the sides of his belly and you'll hear what I'm talking about.)

Early last fall I PREPARED the minis in case any of them got the flu or a bad cold over the winter by getting them used to several different feeds. Your horse must be prepared well in advance of illness. You do not want to just race to the feed store when he gets sick and buy several feeds to see if he'll eat them. Horses don't do quick feed changes well and will colic. When a horse is sick and doesn't feel like eating one thing, you can sometimes tempt him with some other delicacy, as long as you know for sure that the source of his appetite loss is not a digestive issue like colic. If he still won't eat, and you are certain that colic is not the problem, you'll need to syringe feed him.

For such an emergency you will need to use one of the "complete feeds". I use Purina Equine Senior. I can soak it to a mush, spoon it into a large syringe and carefully squirt it into a horse's cheek. Because it is a "complete" feed, it has the roughage his digestive tract needs to keep working, as well as the vitamins and minerals he needs. An added benefit to Equine Senior is that it has molasses. The added sugar keeps the animal's glucose level up.

Luckily for me, the minis were still used to eating a bit of Equine Senior mixed in with their regular feed. Thus, when EIGHT of my 10 freshly vaccinated horses said "I don't feel good... I don't wanna eat nuthin'". I gave them each a cup of Equine Senior. They said "Well, okay, I'll try to eat that. It's my favorite." Eating the Senior feed helped them have an appetite for their hay. It took them the better part of 8 hours to eat the hay it generally takes them two hours to consume, but they ate. Every 3 hours I'd give them another half cup of the Senior feed.

Thankfully, they all kept drinking, but I was prepared if they didn't. I always keep a few snack sized containers of applesauce, liquid or chewable B-12, and electrolytes on hand. The applesauce just tastes good and is sugared, it's also soothing to their throats, B-12 helps them feel better and perks them up, electrolytes help keep them drinking.

It's Saturday and finally all of them were pawing, nickering and pacing by their feed bins tonight, telling me I wasn't moving fast enough with their supper. Back to normal!