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UPDATE #34 Wwyd?

We are all broken hearted for you.

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Iā€™m so sorry for your loss.

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Iā€™m sorry for your loss. :frowning:

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So very sorry to hear about your horse.

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I am so sorry for your loss.

Do you vaccinate for strangles over there?

Over here we have a 2 in 1 injection for strangles and tetanus.

So so sorry for your loss.

And yes, my vet recommends an annual strangles vaccination for any horse that is at a facility with horses coming in or showing. I use this one:
https://www.zoetisus.com/products/horses/pinnacle-i.n.aspx#:~:text=Intranasal%20Streptococcus%20Equi%20Vaccine,equi).

We do not generally vaccinate; this is not a show barn where I board. Very little activity. Even the state vet told us it was pretty useless to do so. He would not even give us 50% efficacy on the vaccination. And vaccinating older horses can cause purpura hemorrhagica.

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I agree w/ the state vet. Strangles vaccine has a limited efficacy, and, as he pointed out, the occasional purpura hemorrhagica reaction.

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I stopped doing strangles vaccines a number of years ago on the advice of my vet. This decision was reinforced shortly thereafter when several horses at my then barn got strangles, including a friendā€™s meticulously vaccinated horse. In fact I think her horse, one or two of the barn ownerā€™s young horses, and the index horses (the barn owner had not brightly agreed to stash some horses from the rescue across the street and they sent new ones that hadnā€™t gone through quarantine) were the only ones that got sick.

I have additional concerns about a horse that could be an unknown symptomatic carrier getting the vaccine and having issues. Itā€™s not one I would give if I could avoid; if I couldnā€™t avoid Iā€™d do a titer first.

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Ghazzu and Peggy, thank you both so much for this! Iā€™ve done the research and came to this same conclusion. But I know sooner or later someone is going to question me on why I did not vaccinate. The guilt I feel is bad enough right now.

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Our vet, an internal medicine doctor at a university veterinary hospital, has given us the same recommendations and cautions in the past as Ghazzu and Peggy shared.

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Your horse still could have gotten it if vaccinated. If the person with the sick horses had been more forthcoming initially that likely would have done more to keep your horse healthy than the vaccine would have.

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I am so sorry to hear about your horse. My deepest condolences.

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Iā€™m so, so sorry to hear of your loss. Hugs to you at this heartbreaking time.

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They shouldnā€™t question you, you did your research and listened to your vet.

I vaccinate but I also travel off property to trails, lessons, kids ride at other lesson barns, and was at a busy boarding barn. Much higher risk for me. We pull yearly titers and they have been low enough my vet and I feel safe vaccinating until the numbers tell us differently.

Donā€™t beat yourself up or feel guilty. You did everything right.

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Iā€™m so sorry for your loss.

You have nothing to feel guilty for! I know itā€™s little consolation but you did everything right, despite the nonchalant attitude of others at your barn.

Hugs and jingles for you!

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I am so, so sorry.

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Iā€™m sorry for your loss. :cry:

Around here we donā€™t vacccinate for strangles unless there is a local outbreak. It may not prevent infection but can reduce the severity. Horses with potential exposure are not vaccinated as that can cause the internal abscesses form (Iā€™m not going to attempt to spell it!). We get the intranasal vaccine when we get it.

I do believe the IN is the less problematic of the 2, and slightly more effective. The IM has a tendency to elicit a local reactionā€“swelling and soreness.
The only advantage to the IM is that it does appear to provide a higher level of antibody in colostrum, so may be worth using in a pregnant mare if the foal is likely to be exposed.