The following information was taken from Montana Equine and is a good reminder to not forget your horses when it comes to vaccinations.
The core vaccinations for all horse are: Eastern Eqine Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, Tetanus, and rabies.
"The good news: Most of the important preventable infectious diseases of horses do NOT effectively spread from horse to horse, so barn-wide outbreaks do not occur.
The bad news: These diseases tend to be very serious, and are very often fatal, so boarding
and show barns typically want to do everything possible to ensure that none of their
boarders are stricken. While spread of these conditions from horse-to-horse is quite
unlikely, there are often significant liability implications for barn-owners if boarded horses
become affected.
Rabies:
Due to the increasing risk of Rabies infection in our region we recommend vaccination against this disease as part of the core vaccination strategy. The vaccine is given once-yearly.
Recommended for ALL horses in open barns, or travelling beyond SW Montana; Equine Influenza and Equine Herpes Virus 1 & 4
The good news: These diseases are rarely diagnosed in our region. Vaccinations are quite effective at preventing the spread of equine Influenza, as well as the respiratory and reproductive forms of equine Herpes virus.
The bad news: These are viral respiratory diseases, both of which can spread rapidly when unvaccinated horses share airspace with a sick horse. Outbreaks can occur, with large percentages of the population getting sick, requiring a lot of veterinary care as well as long-term quarantine of facilities\
There was an interesting recommendation for some horses in SW Montana but given here just for information purposes: Potomac Horse Fever (PHF)
The good news: Potomac Horse Fever is not spread from horse to horse, and only occurs with direct exposure to the insects that carry the disease. This is much more likely to happen in certain endemic areas.
The bad news: PHF infection can be acquired from hay grown in the endemic areas. Horses can develop life-threatening complications like laminitis, especially when not treated promptly.
And Streptococcus equi equi ("Strangles")
The good news: Although outbreaks occur from time to time, Strep equi is not highly prevalent in our region. It can be a serious disease, but when medical care is well-managed, the vast majority of horses make a complete recovery.
The bad news: During an outbreak, the risk of becoming infected is obviously higher. Strep equi can spread readily from horse to horse, especially when animals are kept together in close quarters or with shared waterers, wheel-barrows, personnel, etc. Vaccination can help minimize likelihood or severity of infection (depending on which vaccine product is used), although vaccine side effects are somewhat more common with either of the 2 available commercial products.
Pregnant Mares:
Vaccination with "killed Rhino" (we most often recommend "Pneumabort K") is a critical means to minimize the risk of abortion due to Rhinopneumonitis (Herpes) Virus. This should be given at the beginning of the 5th, 7th, and 9th months of gestation. There foals will need vaccinating also.
