Vaccinations-which ones to have vet do, which ones to do yourself?

The same way vaxx reactions are covered! Vet submits to the vaccine manufacturer. I don’t think it’s usually 100% reimbursement in either case.

My dog had a breakthrough infection and Zoetis covered a large portion of her resulting vet bill. My vet sent them a copy of her test results and vaccine history and Zoetis sent them a check (which was applied to my account).

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My vet does coggins, rabies and flu/rhino (rabies because you can’t do your own in MD and I need a rabies cert when I got to certain rides, flu/rhino so it can be on health certs). I do the rest. She is completely on board with that, lord knows my horses do plenty of other stuff that I need to use her services for lol.

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Gawd, right? I wish I only saw the vet once a year for vaccines! :joy::joy:

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It’s not actually illegal anywhere (in the US) for a non-vet to administer the rabies vac. What’s illegal is having it shipped to many states (but not all).

Wha IS “illegal” is the recognition that the horse is vaccinated if your vet doesn’t do it, and that’s in all states. So if you DIY, and there’s a rabies exposure situation, your horse is legally unvaccinated, and then you have to deal with all the repercussions of quarantine and all that stuff

I get it that some have enough horses, and/or enough special situations that having a vet do all the vaccines is very $$. For those who already have a great VCP with your vet, and they’re quite ok with your DIY, go for it.

Now that many of the common antibiotics have been moved to Rx-only, which means you HAVE to get then through a vet, people who would only see their vet for vaccinations and who are just being cheap to save $30 or so, they really need to re-think that because their vets aren’t going to just send you an Rx (or sell you) an antibiotic like Tomorrow for thrush, when they haven’t seen your horse in 6 years. It’s already an issue that so many people can’t get even local vets out for emergencies because they haven’t had their vet out in forever for any sort of wellness visit.

I pay my vet plenty over time and have used her for over 30 years. She still does all vaccinations, AND she has no problem leaving me things to administer later so as to avoid another farm call

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Huh? People who only see their vet for vaccinations haven’t seen their vet in six years?

Sure, people who are on an every six year vaccination plan might have issues, yup.

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sorry, missed a word - who WOULD only see their vet… I’ll edit.

This still makes zero sense. I think you mean “won’t”. People who won’t see their vet for routine vaccination (as in, they schedule no routine wellness work) might have issues in an emergency situation. Sure.

I’d really like to know where you think a call fee + exam fee + vaccine markup comes out to “$30 or so.” Because … wow, no. If I did ALL my own vaccines on three horses (including rabies, which the vet does) I’d likely save nearly a grand over what the vet would charge. I’m in a high cost of living area, but that number is “$30 or so” nowhere.

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I fully expected Tomorrow to disappear from shelves after the changes this summer but I can still buy this OTC. Not your point I know, but it baffles me :rofl:

And even for those of us who give our own vaccines, as long as you’re still getting an annual coggins, you’re still seeing the vet every year (plus other miscellaneous calls throughout the year). There’s still a relationship. My vet doesn’t mind at all I give my own vaccines :woman_shrugging: still have a great relationship and have no issues getting them out in emergencies.

Same- I figured it out to about $100/ horse savings. I have 6 horses so that’s pretty significant. I have a very good relationship with my vet and she has said that she is quite happy for capable people to do their own vaccines (I can even buy them from the clinic at the same price I get them online if I want) esp because they are always short staffed and over scheduled.

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Clearly I’m not making myself clear.

If the only reason someone WOULD see their vet is for vaccinations (not DO see) - their horse(s) neverget sick or injured or have any other medical emergency for which a vet would HAVE to come out, and they’re being cheap to save $30 because heck they can stick their horse just as well as the vet can, then…

I really thought context would make it clear what I meant, guess not.

No, it was never about taking them off the shelves of existing stock. What’s there can be sold OTC. But they can’t buy any more as of early June, and once sold, or expired (legally have to take it off the shelf), that’s it, it’s all Rx.

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It’s still on the shelves at the local place, so I stocked up.

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I agree that I like having the consistent relationship with my vet to do all my vaccines even if it costs much more. It’s worth it to me especially if something ever went wrong!

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On what planet do you think doing your own vaccines saves only 30 bucks. Even 30 years ago, my call fee alone was double that.

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Having had a tetanus shot (given by my vet) go awry, ending up with a Clostridium infection, I will never do my own vaccinations. The antibiotics alone would have cost more than his KS surgery if I’d had to pay for them. Not to mention the rest of the vet visits, ultrasound, etc.

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does this mean it was covered by third party? (Drug company?) Thanks

I have 4 horses. What I spend to purchase my own vaccines for my entire herd is less than it would cost for a single horse to receive those same vaccines from the vet.

That is significant.

I try really hard not to be an ahole client. My vet sees everyone for rabies, coggins, and teeth annually without fail. Throughout the year, my vet is at my farm every few months for whatever the issue du jour is; maybe it’s an emergency, maybe it’s just something weird going on.

I have a veterinary background and tend to have a good handle on what’s a true emergency and what can wait until business hours and what I can handle myself. I try very hard not to put my vet in crummy or unnecessary situations. Not everyone has that experience.

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His wasn’t - his vet covered it. Whether she has insurance for that type of thing, I’m not sure. I never saw a bill for it.

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The vet does them all. For some reason in this area it has never been the norm for vets to split up the vac’s. They have always given them all at the same time. My horse gets super sore, so he gets IV bute beforehand. He’s also IR so they draw blood for his insulin testing.
I only have one horse, so this works, but if I had a whole herd you can bet I’d be doing them myself!
Vac’s, insulin and glucose testing and front x-rays (2 shots only) cost me $800 this year.

Since I don’t do my own vaxx, I decided to do a quick search on the costs.

If I order my own EWT vaxx from valley vet its like $36 per dose.m? I didn’t explore the cost of shipping or possible discounts for multiple doses, but that’s like $10 bucks less than my vet charges for that vaxx.

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Vacs split up - always administer by vet and early in the week on cooler days / no weather variables • Always •

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