Our mini donkey, Tony, had a reaction to a vaccine today. No problems last year with his first set (he’s 18 months old). Sweating, itchy, coughing, breathing heavily, etc. The vet was still here, so she gave him Banamine and Dex IV. He felt better quickly. Still has teary eyes and not very hungry 3 hours later. We gave him Zyrtec, too. Waiting for info on when to dose him again. Poor little man. It was a Zoestis 6 way, I think. We’ll avoid that one from now on.
Yikes! That is scary!! I’ve had a horse get a huge goose egg from a vaccine, which was very unusual. Maybe a 6 way is too heavy?
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I’m thankful that his reaction occurred when a vet was still there. I hope that he continues to improve.
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Thanks. His eyes were still watering three hours later, but the meds controlled the sweating and respiratory distress. Just did another check on him and he’s much better. Trying to eat the flashlight. No watery eyes. He gets more meds in the morning (12 hours after the reaction), but the vet says the initial reaction was the dangerous one.
Every once in awhile, I think about saving money by giving my own vaccines, but I always worry about anaphylaxis, so I call a vet instead. I’m really glad that I followed my instincts. It’s just not worth the risk.
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I had a problem with even the idea of 4-ways let alone 6-ways. Maybe in the future, the vet can give each vaccine separately on different days to try to figure out where the problem is. (Staying a suitable amount of time after each, of course, to watch for reactions).
Jingles for you and your boy. 
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We’re moving to a northern state soon. This was the last round of vaccines down here before the move (got everyone’s Coggins drawn, too). Less are required up north, so we’ll be able re-evaluate the need for some of the vaccines. He’s not a show animal.
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The mini creatures seem to struggle more with the multi way vaccines for sure. It is a double edged sword because you would like to do it all and get it over with but now that there has been a reaction I would hesitate to give a vaccine myself to easily split up all the singles over weeks/months. My mini was by far the most effected after shot day no reaction just a little droopy a day or two after. Glad your little one is doing better now.
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Thanks. We’ll definitely discuss future vaccines with the new vet up north once we get up there. I’ve already talked to her twice regarding preparing our animals for the move and was very impressed.
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I wonder if the dosage should be the same for a 200 pound mini donkey as it is for a 1200 pound horse? There’s far more variation in equine size than there is in people. Does a Chihuahua get the same dose as an English Mastiff? Has that ever been questioned? Are there any issues with dogs?
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This is such good advice for everyone. So not worth the risk and it also gives the vet a hands on with your horse at least once a year, which in these times when so many vet hospitals are not taking new clients can mean having or not having access to a vet for something not so routine.
A reaction to a vaccine can happen at any time in the horse’s life, even after years of having no reaction at all.
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In the future, just say NO to Zoetis.
A little background on that brand: Previously, for many years, Fort Dodge vaccines caused reactions, some severe, to many horses (mine included). So I insisted my vet note their records and not ever use Fort Dodge.
Along comes Zoetis and buys out Fort Dodge vaccine and although they knew about the many
serious reactions, continued to use the same formulas.
Zoetis started vigorously marketing to Vets under the new names. Some Vets (mine included)
started using the cheaper Zoetis despite the horses’ records stating NO FORT DODGE.
We got caught in this also.
Now before any vaccs by vet I have to remind her- NO ZOETIS.
Owners need to keep their own records for each animal so they know which brands cause a reaction.
Sorry your little guy got the punch from Zoetis. For my horses it always followed the day after the shots, so no vet around.
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Marla_100 thanks for this information. I did not know about the buy-out. We avoided Fort Dodge vaccines just because of the poor reactions by other horses.
Glad the donkey is improving. Rabies vaccine is the same dose for dogs, cats and horses. I have always found that odd myself.
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^! THIS !!!
And we always split the vacs up - two vet visits much better than a bad reaction or a founder !
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Wow, that’s scary. Thanks for the info. The vet made a notation in his record for the next vet, so that will help.
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Our poor vet is run ragged, so I don’t know if that would be possible here. However, in our new state, there is a vet clinic we can bring the horses to for their vaccines. Save a little on the farm call and split up the shots. Very good idea.
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Poor little guy! It is terrifying!
Several years ago my three girls (in their late teens) got the same vaccinations they’d gotten every year since coming to me off the track. Then, as the vet was injecting the third, another boarder came running up saying that both my other girls were down in their stalls and groaning. They had immediate colic symptoms and had to be given dex and banamine. The third mare got both as well before she went back to her stall. They felt better within an hour, but that was the day I decided to cut back on the vaccinations they receive to just the 5-way and botulism.
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Dosing vaccines is by species, not weight, and some species share the same dose. It’s different from antibiotics where dosing is by weight, and also “by weight by species”, meaning a 100lb dog wouldn’t necessarily get the same dose as a 100lb human
Zoetis isn’t the same as it used to be 
Marla is right, it’s because of the Ft Dodge issue. My vet won’t use FD (Z) unless there’s a compelling reason to
And definitely, no more combo vaccines like this for your guy, even if you do get a different brand. He does still need more vaccines than most adults while his immunity builds, but in a couple years re-evaluate which risk-based vaccines he really needs.
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Yes, this! My late husband was a veterinarian. He ALWAYS split them up, even if customers complained.
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Thanks for the information. I took several microbiology classes in college, but it’s been awhile and I couldn’t remember why the dose is the same. The immune system is the same.
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The first fall I had Charlie he reacted to fall shots; lethargic, resp rate up, fever. Same thing the following spring. This past fall, we prepped for it better. My vet was able to give one the intranasal route, I think it was flu rhino so we did that. I hit him with banamine paste the day before, the vet dosed him again right before the shots and I had another dose ready for the day after. That helped! I let him take it easy but it kept any fevers away and he was acting his normal self.
I was on the fence with that route or doing one at a time. My vet explained that sometimes its the carrier that causes reactions and I was worried about going through multiple rounds of reactions if I split them up.
I believe spring is flu/rhino, eastern/western encephalitis, west nile and tetanus. Fall is flu/rhino booster, rabies, Potomac and strangles. I hate vaccine time.
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