Vaccinate for Botulism- yes or no?

[BrookdaleBay]

At my barn, the horses are fed from round bales year round; we peel off layers and wheelbarrow each serving to the stalls. The rounds are grown on property and cut and baled by the BO. This summer was rainy, so not every bale had a chance to dry completely, so we do occasionally come across a moldy bale. The BO also buys rounds from the farmer next door. I’ve only been at this barn for less then a year and so far nothing dead has been found in the bales, though I have found random beer cans and pieces of plastic.

I’m in Ontario, Canada, and as far as I know, no one in the area vaccinates for botulism.

[rememberthenight]

I fed round bales for close to 15 years until I lost a horse to botulism and we were not able to save her. It was a horrible thing to watch and VERY EXPENSIVE for the few days we tried to save her.

While it may may not be a perfect vaccine, all my horses will forever be vaccinated. The year after my mare, I knew an acquaintance that lost three horses in 2 days to botulism.

[CindyCRNA]

@rememberthenight

I fed round bales for close to 15 years until I lost a horse to botulism and we were not able to save her. It was a horrible thing to watch and VERY EXPENSIVE for the few days we tried to save her.

While it may may not be a perfect vaccine, all my horses will forever be vaccinated. The year after my mare, I knew an acquaintance that lost three horses in 2 days to botulism.

What area are you in? Is this a regional thing because I have never heard of vaccinating for it. We are smack in the middle of the US. Do you just do yearly after the original loading dose?

[rememberthenight]

I am in CT. But I now know of many cases throughout the US.

Yes. It is a yearly booster after the initial booster series.

[walktrot]

A friend had her horse in Kentucky for almost a year. Botulism is endemic in the soil there so it was recommended that she vaccinate this past spring. There are several types of botulism and the vaccine only covers one of therm. She didn’t vaccinate because she was coming home to Maine a few weeks later. It is rare here.

There was a widely publicized outbreak at a large farm in my town that killed 23 horses about 5 years ago. The source was confirmed as cow silage in round bales which are wrapped in plastic and wet. It is much cheaper than cured hay baled for horses. There was a lot of concern in the horse community that many of the horses were not euthanized by a vet. They were buried on the farm and posed a contamination hazard to ground water where everyone is on a well. I was there twice a couple of years ago with someone who was looking at a horse. The owner has a reputation of not taking good care of the horses, which was apparent based on their body condition, which was thin. She continues to have a reputation for questionable care standards, but it is one of those situations where authorities say they cannot shut her down.

[JJ_sLuckyTrain]

I was considering vaccinating my horses as I feed round bales in the winter. Then, I met someone who had two horses die after receiving the botulism vaccine from a vaccine reaction. I am not sure if it was anaphylactic shock or something else(did not press for every detail.) Both horses were brought to referral hospital for necropsies and no other cause of death (other than vaccine reaction) was found.

No vaccine is harmless and it is very important to weigh risk v. benefit. I am not an anti-vaccine person but feel they must be used judiciously. If your horse is at high risk, then it may be worthwhile. If not, skip it.

On a side note, I found a fawn skeleton in a hay net this summer. The skeleton had been in a square bale and in filling the hay net with about three flakes it was not seen until the horses ate around it. Needless to say I was horrified that it had bot been spotted before the hay was given to the horses. Fortunately the two horses who had access to the hay showed no ill effects.

[Abbie.S]

Please vaccinate. I’ll be vaccinating all my horses from now on.

A friend just posted on Facebook not that long ago about TWO of her horses getting botulism - she feeds excellent quality hay and hadn’t even gone to round bales yet, so the horses got it from a regular square bale. One horse recovered fairly quickly, the other almost died and took a full week before she could stand on her own. They had to sling her up and she was colicking and having seizures for three days before she started to stabilize. The Facebook posts looked terrifying: it’s not something I ever want to have to go through.

We’re in VT, botulism is extremely rare.

[chestnutmarebeware]

It’s a negligible cost, so why wouldn’t you vaccinate? My horses don’t eat from round bales, but saving $20 each isn’t worth rolling the dice.

My vet did tell me that I’m his only client to vaccinate for botulism–there’s not a lot of awareness here.

[sid]

To clarify for those who may be confused. Botulism spores live in soil…all soil, wherever one lives. All over the world.

Botulism is only deadly toxic when the spores are reproducing. They reproduce in a warm, ANAEROBIC environment in either decaying vegetable of animal decay (think rodents picked up in hay bales).

Because the spores live in the soil and horses graze, it does not reproduce. Thus, no problem.

However, the spores are picked up when cutting hay. Why it is critical the hay is aerated really well and not baled damp. And of course, round bales are more prone to botulism because they are so big and dense – and it is less likely the grower/bale can even see they picked up an animal. Round bales have a lesser incidence, but it still can happen. Thus…vaccinate. Hope this makes sense.

[drawstraws]

I actually just asked my vet this yesterday when she came out to do rabies vaccinations (I had seen that facebook post and I feed round bales in the winter and it got me thinking) and she said it’s very rarely diagnosed in our area and didn’t necessarily think I needed to add it. I’ve gone over our vaccination schedule with her a few times in the past to make sure everyone is getting what’s necessary without going overboard and it’s never been one they suggested I add in (and we do West Nile and Potomac which are not part of the “core” vaccines).

It’s hard to weigh the possibilities of what could happen versus how much vaccinating is too much and how much risk are they actually at. For my four horses in the spring to do all of their vaccinations, teeth and sheath cleaning, and coggins tests is around $1,800 so it’s a balancing act of what’s required, what “should” be done and what maybe isn’t necessary (for example, I don’t do a coggins test every year on the 21 year old who never leaves the farm). Guess I’ll be taking another look at what everyone gets and see if this is one to add in and maybe spread out the shot schedule so it’s not such as huge bill all at once.