All County Equine Services recommends the following vaccines for adult horses living in our practice area:

Every 12 months a horse should have a “5-way” vaccine. Our 5-way includes Tetanus, Eastern/Western Encephalitis, Influenza, and Rhinopneumonitis. We also recommend a West Nile Vaccine once a year. (For more information on West Nile Vaccination, please see the post on the importance of West Nile vaccination 9/30/05.)

In addition, adult horses should have a Flu/Rhino booster, six months from the time the 5-way was administered.

Eastern/Western Encephalitis and Tetanus are neurological diseases of horses. Eastern Encephalitis and Tetanus lead to death of the affected horse in the majority of cases, and Western Encephalitis can be fatal as well (though not as frequently as in Eastern.) In addition, EEE and WEE can be transmitted to humans! The good news is that vaccination is very effective in preventing EEE, WEE and Tetanus, so vaccinate your horse!

Flu and Rhino are respiratory diseases of horses, usually occurring in those horses kept in an environment where the horse comes in contact with a number of other horses such as racetracks and boarding facilities. While Flu and Rhino are less likely to cause death, valuable money and training time are lost in treating theses diseases. Vaccination offers some protection against Flu and Rhino, however, the vaccine does need to be given at least every six months to be effective.

West Nile disease is a neurological disease of horses, humans and other species that can easily be prevented by proper vaccination. Please see our post on West Nile vaccination for more information.