If they show signs of rabies during quarantine after exposure, they probably have rabies and I agree they should be euthanized right away. Not something I want to see a horse suffer through. Again, if they get it they die, so best to vaccinate for it.
Oh exactly, my point being that without a clear record of vaccination for rabies that suspected exposure alone is a high doom event.
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Absolutely
I believe that @poltroonās point is that horses should be vaccinated for rabies, not that they should be quarantined and/or euthanized if they show signs of having rabies. Thatās a given, and a sign that they have not been properly managed.
Horses should be vaccinated, and not on the whim of a BO or horse owner . The vaccine is effective. If you (g) have a lone horse in your backyard and choose not to vaccinate, you take your chances with your horse and your family if you arenāt concerned enough to have the vet out to vaccinate.
If horses are housed together or in contact over a fence, then vaccination of all is the only responsible choice.
If one horse has rabies, every horse and human in contact with that horse will be treated (people) and quarantined (horses), vaccinated or not. That is why veterinarians recommend that people vaccinate their horses against this 100% fatal disease.
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Wow. In decades of horse ownership in multiple states, Iāve never heard of anyone not vaccinating for rabies. Why, with a fatal disease, take a chance when there is a well-tolerated vaccine available?
ETA: Iāve never gotten over my childhood trauma from Old Yeller. No way in hell any animal of mine wonāt be vaccinated.
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Well I am old, and have seen changes in my area.
We were afraid of āSwamp Feverā pre-Coggins. Of course when testing started there were some asymptomatic horses found and euthanized. So there was a strong concern that our āhealthyā horse would test positive. Fortunately, as carriers were removed from the population, the number of positives dropped. Most horse owners dont sweat the Coggins test now and would be shocked at hearing of a positive test. Once the test was available, every show I knew of required it and virtually every boarding stable.
Rabies shot was not required, and I think not available for horses 40 years ago! At that time there had been no non-bat rabies documented in CT for something like 50 years. Then there was an outbreak of rabies in racoons (Rumor was that some guys went south and trapped some raccoons to restock their hunting area and at least one was incubating rabies) Then rabies shots were recommended for horses with turnout, and eventually it became another requirement for boarding and shows (and Cornell documents it on the Coggins form)
Did have a neighboring dairy farmer in NYS have his heifers quarantined after a run in with a rabid skunk. Fortunately, he saw the sick skunk and realized the possibilities and did not touch the cattle. Would have been a big problem if it was the milking herd!
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HITS Del Mar requires negative Coggins to enter their shows.
Their 2024-2025 Equine Health Entry Requirements say:
NEGATIVE COGGINS DATED WITHIN TWELVE MONTHS
Valid within (365 days) of the ending date of each show. This includes horses that originate from the state where the event is being held. All horses entering the Show Grounds must have a Negative Coggins on file. Coggins must reflect the horseās SHOW NAME.
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Youād be surprised how many people donāt have their vet out for normal 1-2x a year vaccines AND donāt vaccinate for rabies even in areas where itās endemic and they really, really need to be vaccinating. They DIY the other core vaccines (and sometimes even more than that) because they can
To my knowledge, and I try to find out every couple of years, thereās no requirement that only a vet can administer a rabies vac. BUT, thereās no state that recognizes a horse as vaccinated if a vet doesnāt have it on his books. Thatās the difference.
So, itās really āit must be administered by a vet to be legally recognizedā
A few states allow a rabies vac to be shipped in to a non-DVM, and people use that avenue to vaccinate for their own peace of mind, but if thereās ever a rabies exposure concern, those horses are legally not vaccinated. I know a few who have 'too many horses" to afford to have their vet do all the rabies vaccinations :\ so they DIY
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I thought that DIY vaccinations were a thing of the past, at least by educated horse owners.
The welfare of the horse and the concern about the spread of disease should wake up the people who are lagging behind in this area.
Itās not as if the understanding of the possibility of adverse reactions and the importance of the proper handling of vaccines hasnāt been known for many years.
Itās too bad that DIY people are unaware of the importance of having their vet handle the vaccination of their horses, and quite shocking that people responsible for the care of other peoples horses are not educated regarding the importance of which vaccinations are needed and that as a best practice, a veterinarian should administer them.
I suppose that DIY vaccination is better than no vaccination at all, but that is substandard care and horses deserve better.
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Believe it or not, proper vaccine handling and administration is common knowledge, especially to people that have actually been vet techs. Thereās no majikal fridge that the vet keeps them in. Sure, itās good to have your vet administer so that the drug company will pay for treatment of any adverse reaction, but barring that, thousands of people are educated enough to know how to handle vaccines and how to vaccinate. Lots of vets even gasp leave vaccines for owners to administer themselves so they can be split up. DIYers are not uneducated, in fact they may be more educated than the average owner.
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Buying vaccines from Tractor Supply means you have absolutely no idea how they were managed between them being delivered, and you buying them. Was it August 1 in Florida and the employee opening up the store found that the refrigerator had been off all night and didnāt bat an eye about the potential ramifications? Did they pay attention to how cool the vaccines were when they were delivered? No, itās not as sensitive as 8 hours of a fridge not working while it was closed, and in an air-conditioned building, but you get the point (I hope lol)
Because they vet knows the vaccines were properly handled to that point, AND make it very clear how to manage the syringe(s) until itās time to administer it. The actual needle stick is rarely the issue
Unfortunately, it seems you havenāt read many of the threads around DIY vaccinations. They see ā5-wayā and have no idea whatās different from this 5-way and that 5-way, only āis it a good one to give?ā and āhow often do you vaccinate?ā and āwhat vaccines do I need to giveā and āhow do I give the vaccine?ā because they are very, very clearly not nearly as educated on this topic as they should be
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No one spoke of a āmajical fridgeā.
The possibility of an adverse reaction should be known, especially by people who care about their horses and the horse population in general. Veterinary documentation is important and their presence on hand to deal with anaphylaxis.
Be a DIYer if you choose. Many of us were in the past, however, most people donāt choose to go that route anymore, itās an unnecessary risk.
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Maybe this is the disconnect. I know the difference, and the other owners I know that DIY know the difference. We also donāt buy vaccines at TSC. 
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It is absolutely known, and reported to the vet if/when it happens, so the vet can prescribe a course of treatment, or see the horse if necessary.
Iām not talking about every back woods redneck horse owner, Iām talking about people that have decades of horse experience, including working for multiple vets (who trained them in handling and administration of vaccines).
An anaphylactic reaction doesnāt wait for a call to a vet to āprescribe a course of treatmentā.
It is an emergency requiring instant action, just as it is in humans. Any vet tech or decades long experienced horse owner knows this.
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This seems to be the case for HITS shows in other states, but not in CA. I showed multiple times at HITS Del Mar this year, and as recently as last weekend. Never had a Coggins. Nor have I ever needed one to show at Thermal, Galway Downs or LAEC. After growing up on the East Coast where we hardly left the barn without one, this took some getting used to!
From the Biosecurity form that was required for Del Mar entries this year:
- COGGINS: Coggins is only required from horses arriving from out of the state of California.
Failure to submit the required documentation will result in horses not being permitted on the showgrounds.
Any questions regarding biosecurity protocols should be submitted to DelMarHealth@HITSShows.com
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Vaccines and whoever administers them will always be up for debate. The thing is that things go smoothly until they donāt. Vaccine companies are going to listen or address a problem when itās administered by a vet. And given the lamenting about the loss of good available vet care country wide. Pretty sure semi annual exams and vaccines are the bread and butter of an ambulatory practice. Carry on with the rest
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Hereās the thing: my vet does not have the TIME to come to my farm three separate times to split my horseās 3 fall vaccines. Yes, Iām a āspecialā case because I was a tech for a long time and have an excellent relationship with my vet. She prefers to leave me vaccines for my horses rather than drive the hour each way 3 weeks in a row to do it herself. Her doing that prevents her from going to a few other urgent calls. If I insisted on her giving them, she absolutely would, but why would I do that when I know how busy the practice is? Vaccines and annual exams are not the bread and butter of this practice. Iām not saying this is the case everywhere, but itās the case with my vet and my horses.
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Great. You do you.
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I do and I will continue to.
My argument is that blanket statements like
are false and insulting.
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