Does anyone have experience with serious problems with the Rhino vaccine? I have 30 horses. I give the 6 month Rhino shot to my competition horses. The stay at home horses get it annually. I have a 6 year old Oldenburg mare that started competing this year and she got her 1st rhino shot of her life in January. It made her very sick. High fever, some neck swelling, loss of appetite, severe lethargy. I had to pull her from the next show. She seemed to get over it but I noticed that her behavior was just awful all winter. She’s a dead quiet Oldenburg who goes around like a nice hunter. And all of a sudden she’s running away like a freight train for unknown reasons at various and nonsensical times. I did not match this up in my mind with the vaccine. She started to really improve over the summer. I put her on ReguMate hoping to mitigate the weird behavior.
She was finally back on the level and finishing events in the 20’s
And then it was time for another Rhino. I timed it 2 weeks before the show. It was one week overdue at that time (so not early). Vet put it in her pectoral muscle. This time she spiked a fever, had lethargy and her legs stocked up with pitting edema. She was totally miserable unless on banamine. By the time the show came around she wasn’t quite perfect. I took her anyway. She lost her mind. It was 95 degrees and she managed to run away with me in the dressage test after a 45 minute warm up where I was just trying to wear her down. (I was that obnoxious person in warm up just galloping around - so sorry, I didn’t have brakes). At the time, I blamed it on the fact that she spit out most of her ReguMate that morning. But it doesn’t really add up. I’ve forgotten that before.
The vet who gave her the shot says she will give me a letter now and as long as I follow the protocol (check temp for the week ahead), I can avoid giving it to her and still be legal to show.
But this doesn’t solve the behavior. I discussed it with another vet who said she could be suffering from something called Trigeminal Neuritis and prescribed Prednisolone. We’re in the 11th day of that and I think… (knock on wood)… that she’s improving. The weird triggers that would set her off are not setting her off this week… I’m still afraid to chuck another entry fee in the trash. But I’m hopeful.
Just looking here for any similar experiences. The vet said that he knows horses that are just impossible for months after that shot.
Same manufacturer of both vaccines? With two of my guys I have to separate vaccines by a month. But I suspect it is the tetanus shot culprit
I haven’t personally had a horse with a reaction, but did you try a different vaccine manufacturer the second time around? And was it Rhino only, or the flu/rhino combo? (I’m guessing the former as you just said “rhino.” 
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I’ve heard of people having more issues/reactions with Zoetis (formerly Ft. Dodge) vaccines than the other brands, and the vet I used only used non-Zoetis brands.
I just had an older horse of mine react to vaccines for the first time ever (not wanting to move or eat). I had a different vet do them than I’ve always used, and he mentioned that different manufacturers use different carriers and formulations. Dumb me, I thought a vaccine was a vaccine. Vet did a 6-in-1 plus strangles plus rabies, and he thought it was probably the strangles on that caused the reaction. I’ll have to ask what manufacturer it was…
I’ve found the combo vaccines (e.g., 6-in-1) to be the most problematic in terms of reactions - it just seems like a lot to introduce in one go. I always spread them out over 3 or 4 doses (flu/rhino, Potomac/rabies, sleeping sickness/tetanus, WNV, botulism - all depending on season) and only one shot every two or three days to account for any reactions - that way I can account for which one was the issue. I buy my own vaccines but for the others at my barn, my vet will gladly draw up the ones he doesn’t give on that day for the owner to administer later on.
I’ve also never done an IM strangles vaccine as its had a sketchy history in terms of efficacy and also has caused some really bad reactions.
I can’t say for sure the vaccine is the cause of her change in behavior but anything is possible. My mare has to get the IN version otherwise she gets a high fever and swollen lymph nodes. Maybe give that a try next time? I would do some investigation into the possibility of ulcers as well.
I love that idea of breaking up over time. I’ll bet the vet will do that.
And I totally get you on Strangles. I avoid that one altogether after horrific experience.
For the record - the vaccine brands were Zoetis earlier this year and BI Vetera Gold most recently
I am going to be pretty mad at myself if ulcers are also involved. Thank you very much for the suggestion. Horses are humbling.
Vetera Gold is a good vaccine in my opinion but is way more than just a rhino vaccine so it’s hard to say which part of it if any caused the reaction. Also, anything that stresses a horse even a tiny bit for a short period of time can cause ulcers. It would be nothing you did or didn’t do that caused it.
Hi, vet busting in with a lesson no one asked for but I think is important. It’s great to separate vaccines. I do it for my own horse. However, vaccines should be separated by 2-3 weeks, not days.
The best description I’ve gotten was from an immunologist. Imagine the immune system is on a roller coaster. You vaccinate on Monday the 1st for flu. The immune system takes off, the roller coaster launches up the hill. Two days later you vaccinate on Wednesday the 3rd for tetanus, but the immune system is on the roller coaster, halfway up the hill, it’s not turning around to pick up tetanus. That doesn’t mean tetanus isn’t going to get an immune response but not the robust response I want, because the immune system is busy ramping up for flu already. It won’t have the same reserves/roller coaster ready for tetanus. So, how long before the roller coaster is back at the station and the immune system can give it’s full attention to respond to a new vaccine and build a proper memory against another disease? Three weeks is really what we find in studies. Maybe 2 weeks, but almost definitely by 3 weeks. This is also why you shouldn’t vaccinate a sick animal. Their immune system is busy.
So, my personal horse’s vaccination record this fall looks like this: PHF/Rabies on right side, EWT/WNV on the left. Wait 3 weeks or longer. Flu/Rhino on the right, Botulism on the left, IN Strangles. (Intranasal vaccines don’t need to ride the roller coaster and can be given at any time because we’re targeting a different, localized immunoglobulin type. Just my habit to give my respiratory vaccines together.)
Separating vaccines means if my horse had a reaction I’d have only 2 to choose between and since I only give 1 on each side of the neck, I know which one caused any raised bumps, localized pain, etc.
