Good info on the website here: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/animal-health-diagnostic-center/laboratories/serology-immunology/lyme-disease#:~:text=Cornell’s%20Lyme%20Multiplex%20assay%20provides,the%20NYS%20Veterinary%20Diagnostic%20Laboratory.
With their test you will know whether there is a current infection, chronic infection, or just past exposure. Well worth it.
I am in Lyme central, in MA. There is nothing you can do here to prevent your horse from contracting lyme management wise. Not even keeping them stalled 24/7 is effective. I’m with Simkie - for the last five years, I have been battling a chronic case of Lyme with one of my horses. It is awful. Not only is the treatment expensive, it is really hard on this horse – and on management. Every year he goes off his feed once he is medicated. He won’t eat it topdressed, so we have to feed it via a syringe. He is a good horse, but he hates this method of delivery and is miserable the whole time. He had a bad – very bad – reaction to oxytet this fall. That single vet visit cost me over $2k in one sitting and he didn’t even get the full dose of oxytet before he crashed.
Yes, we also have erhlichia and anaplasmosis - which I dealt with this fall in him as well. But my experience with these diseases is that they make the horse acutely sick for a few days, and then they are better. Lyme is chronic in most cases, just my experience.
I’d rather try the vaccine - even if it helps for a few months, that’s better than nothing. I already spend so much money on vet bills surrounding Lyme, what’s another $100? Especially if it saves me $2k in the fall?
I found myself wanting to quote half a dozen posts because yes, yes, yes- if you are in an endemic area like New England, your horses will certainly test for some Lyme antibodies. Like others have said, the Cornell multiplex is the way to go for maximum info to help you decide what to do- OspC (active/early infection) might get treated in a horse who is acting symptomatic, OspF (chronic) probably won’t get treated. I’ve had 4 Morgans treated over the years: protocol for an acute/active infection was 5 days IV tetracycline with at least 30 days oral doxy. For one mare in her mid-20s, she lost so much muscle tone/topline through infection and treatment that she basically retired, though was no longer so uncomfortable in terms of symptoms. With the others, they continued on in work with no notable impact.
Using the dog vaccine doesn’t feel pointless to me, as I haven’t had an active infection since vaccination. That said, you are right that you need to do it more than once. Our vet’s protocol is 3 doses on initial vaccination, then recommended every 6 months after. Spring round before ticks emerge, which is getting harder as winters warm, even in Vermont, because ticks aren’t reliably killed off over the winter any more. Note that vaccinated horses will show elevated OspA on Cornell’s multiplex.
The vaccine is pretty much my only preventative measure- I don’t see any topical sprays or spot treatments work in a meaningful way. I wish there was an oral treatment for people and horses like there is for dogs. The dog preventative IS effective in killing them upon being bitten.
And unfortunately, as someone else pointed out, the dog Lyme vaccine won’t protect against other nasty tick borne diseases. One of my mares was a little off her feed this fall and scared me to death presenting with a 106*F fever. That’s not a typo, 106*F was her actual temp read on multiple thermometers. I truly didn’t know they could survive that. She was treated aggressively for anaplasmosis. I’ve never seen a horse feel so bad, but she recovered beautifully- other than developing a real aversion to syringing (had to crush and syringe in antibiotics for a couple of weeks because she didn’t want to eat anything but hay while she was so sick). Hard to blame her, it was a tough couple of weeks.
There has been quite a bit of progress on dealing with Lyme since my horse had it in 2010. Iti isn’t any less scary though. There are some nice trails we rode for years, but we abandoned one. Every dog was coming back with dozens of ticks. What a project, finding every last one on half a dozen English-style Labrador retrievers. The rest of the trails weren’t as bad.
Lyme can be diagnosed so much faster and better now that the Cornell test is available. The usual protocol had been to do the Snap test for positive/negative. If it was positive the vet pulled the blood test. I’m glad our vet started doxy the same day… I don’t remember where it was sent but it took days to receive results. It had ranges, sort of like low/medium/high, no chronic. My horse was in the medium range. Oral doxy was the only drug used back then. I remember it was about $425 for the 6 week supply in 2010. I’ve always felt that 6 weeks was better than 4. The ones that survive the longest are the strongest. If the BO’s MD was correct and they burrow into tissues and re-emerge, is that what makes it chronic?
I had an itchy spot on my back one day that I couldn’t see. It felt like a tick feels on the horse but I couldn’t pull anything off. Called the primary care office and the phone rep told me to call back if I developed symptoms. It didn’t sit well with my physician. At least we have those walk-in quick- care medical facilities these days.
I live in swampy coastal ME and my horse lives out nearly 24/7 in a field in the summer, so I get it. And I’m in no way saying Lyme isn’t bad- I saw dogs die from Lyme nephritis more than once when I worked in small animal medicine. Just my feelings personally on the vaccine. I wish someone would develop a horse one, that we would have better data on, and maybe also vaccines for more of the tick diseases…
There actually is an equine Lyme vaccine. BI got EquiLyme approved in Germany in 2015 according to this paper:
The study linked previously examined response to BI, Merck and Merial canine vaccine in equines, in four different trials.
Those of us using the canine vaccine aren’t just flying blind. Would more research be better? Of course. Does what we do know support using the canine vaccine in horses, in certain circumstances, like when more conservative measures aren’t effective at preventing Lyme infection? Welp, what else do we have? 
I live in CT, land of the ticks- and treat at least twice a year for Lyme - Usually shows up Jan and July
Does anyone else here buy a tray of 25 doses and administer themselves? I give all of my own vaccines except rabies and lyme because I thought I couldn’t purchase lyme. However, my vet is now charging $60/dose for the lyme vaccine and I have multiple horses to vaccinate 2x a year…I found an online supplier to buy a tray of 25 for $350. Anyone else do so?
I have not yet, but am planning on it. What supplier are you eyeballing? The best price on the Merial Recombitek I’ve found is ~500 for 20 doses.
I was looking at the Merial Nobivac Lyme.
Wait, I’m reading that the Recombitek is the one most used in horses. I found 20 doses for $549 at Santa Cruz…where do you see it for $500?
According to the study I linked above, it’s actually the Merck Novibac product that generates the largest immune response:
“Of the three vaccines tested, Nobivac® Lyme produced the most notable antibody response in horses.”
However:
“Consequently, vaccination with whole-bacterin Lyme vaccines can interfere with the ability to diagnose both acute and chronic infections, unlike vaccination with the OspA-based Recombitek® Lyme vaccine.”
Which might be why you’re seeing preference for the Merial product (where?)
Among the studies I’ve read it seems the Recombitek was used more…I don’t know which one the vets are currently using - does anyone know? I’m afraid if I ask vets, I’ll get the lecture about not vaccinating my own horses (even though the ONLY time I’ve ever had a horse have a reaction, it was to a vaccine the vet gave).
Which studies?
I’ve linked the research studies I’ve found, and other than what’s copy/pasted above, there doesn’t look to be preference.
I did call a few of the clinics in my area today, including my own. My own vet is using the Zoetis lyme vaccine. It is the: “First and only chimeric recombinant Lyme vaccine that helps provide broad-spectrum coverage against OspA, found in the tick, and 7 types of OspC found in the dog.” So, I imagine that it would interfere greatly with diagnostics of acute/chronic infections. Apparently my vet isn’t concerned with that.
The other two clinics that I called still use the Recombitek.
I can get either the Recombitek or the Nobivac, with the Nobivac being cheaper. And, I wonder if my horses already got the Zoetis one last fall when I had the vet do it…
Anyone else have any thoughts/information?
Afaik the Zoetis vaccine has no published study in equines. Perhaps there’s some unpublished or pre print data circulating among vets.
This pertains to the Novibac:
“Consequently, vaccination with whole-bacterin Lyme vaccines can interfere with the ability to diagnose both acute and chronic infections, unlike vaccination with the OspA-based Recombitek® Lyme vaccine.”
If you’re going to choose your own vaccine here, I’d really recommend reading the literature that is out there.
From what I understand about the Zoetis vaccine, it is also a whole-bacterin vaccine. I cannot find any more recent studies comparing the efficacy of the various different brands (this one is 2017). Has anyone else come across any more recent studies?
No, that’s kind of the point. There’s not much out there studying the canine vaccine in equines. The Cornell paper was pretty seminal in proving the concept that it generates an immune response.
You could ask your vet for the data behind their use of Zoetis. It would be interesting what their reasoning is, and if they have any unpublished study supporting that decision.
I just emailed the owner of the practice and asked if he is aware of any more recent research.
Today I did call the equine hospital in my area that was the first to pioneer the use of the lyme vaccine in horses - they are still using the Recombitek. In fact, all of the practices (4 total) that I called are still using Recombitek except my own vet. So, I am curious as to what his response will be…
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
