Autumn 2012

Equine Newsletter – Autumn 2011

Welcome to the Autumn 2011 Thrums Veterinary Group newsletter.

It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end and the dark nights will soon be drawing in. Hopefully you have all managed to get in some riding and had a successful competition season. With that in mind, here at Thrums we have decided to look forward to the forthcoming winter league competitions and next year’s events and in order to help make sure your horse will be fully prepared, we will be running a vaccination amnesty in October.

This edition, we will be taking a closer look at why getting your horse vaccinated is an important part of its health care, as well as giving you information on the forthcoming vaccination amnesty (Vaccination Back On Track).

The Importance of Vaccinations.

The two most common diseases we vaccinate against are tetanus and equine influenza:

Tetanus

Tetanus is caused by the bacteria Clostridium tetani. This bacteria forms spores that can be found in soil. The spores gain entry into the horse via areas of damaged skin, such as injuries or even puncture wounds to the foot. When a horse develops tetanus there is over stimulation of the horse’s nervous system. Initially this causes the horse to stiffen as all its muscles contract, as this worsens the respiratory muscles become paralysed and this results in death.

There is usually only limited success when attempting to treat tetanus and for the horse to have any chance of survival, the disease must be caught in the early stages. Once the horse has become recumbent the mortality rate approaches 80%. Where treatment is successful, complete recovery can take longer than a month, with the horse requiring a lot of medication and nursing care. This can make treatment quite expensive and many insurance companies won’t cover treatment of tetanus.

Equine Influenza

Equine influenza is caused by the Influenza A virus, of which there are 2 sub-types. The virus is air borne and is spread when infected horses cough allowing the virus to be inhaled by other nearby horses. Within 1 to 3 days of the virus being inhaled, the horse will cough, develop a nasal discharge, have a fever and become very dull. The infected horse will continue to spread the virus for up to 10 days. In some cases of equine influenza the horse will develop a secondary bacterial respiratory infection, which can cause a nasty pneumonia and possible permanent lung damage.

Equine influenza is highly contagious and with lots of people competing their horses and participating in riding club activities, equine influenza can be spread more easily and outbreaks tend to occur fairly regularly – This time last year (Sept 2010) cases of equine influenza were found in Cumbria, Hampshire and Lanarkshire. It is also important to be aware that vaccinated horses can still get infected with the virus (although they will only develop very mild symptoms or have no symptoms at all). It is therefore possible for a vaccinated horse to bring the virus (unknown to the owner) back to the yard causing susceptible unvaccinated horses to become infected. Horses vaccinated against equine influenza would also normally be vaccinated against tetanus at the same time. At Thrums we use ProteqFlu-Te: From 5-6months of age, 2 vaccinations 4-6 weeks apart, followed by a third vaccination 5-6 months later and then annual vaccinations which alternate yearly between ProteqFlu-Te (Flu+Tetanus) and ProteqFlu (Flu).

In the UK, ProteqFlu is the most recent equine flu vaccination to have been updated in line with the recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health, Most competitions, riding clubs and pony club, run their events under Jockey Club or FEI rules which means that any horse partaking in such events must have had the following:

Primary flu vaccination course of 2 vaccinations not less than 21 days and not more than 92 days apart. Followed by a booster vaccination not less than 150 days and not more than 215 days after the 2nd component of the primary course.

(FEI rules – booster should be within 6 months and 21 days after date of 2nd primary dose).

Then booster vaccinations at intervals of not more than a year apart. (If the horse is scheduled to take part in an FEI competition, the last booster must have been given within 6 calendar months and 21 days of arrival at the FEI event)

 This means that if your horse has ever at any point in its vaccination history, been over due its annual vaccination (even by just 1 day) the competition or event organiser has the right to send you home.

Vaccination Back On Track – OCTOBER 2011 – Get the 2nd vaccination for FREE

In conjunction with Merial, the makers of ProteqFlu and ProteqFlu-Te, we will be running a vaccination amnesty in October. The aim of this is to get horses and ponies back on track with their vaccinations. The offer is open to horses that are over 12 months of age and have not yet been vaccinated against equine influenza or are overdue a booster. To qualify for the initiative the first vaccination must be given in October and the second vaccination 4-6 weeks after the first, you will be charged for the first vaccination but not the second (a visit charge will still apply).