A local friend had an experience where the emergency farm call was ONE THIRD of the emergency haul in charge. No idea who set that fee but it pretty much guarantees anyone in an emergency situation will want the vet to come to them, instead of encouraging folks to haul in so the vet can treat multiple cases in a shorter period of time 
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Looking at my most recent invoice, no there was no separate exam fee just for the vaccines. The last time she was here we did a lameness evaluation with flexions and there was of course a fee for that. She then did a chiro adjustment, there was a fee for that. Vaxx, fees for those. Farm call fee. Oh and a $5 bio hazard fee (disposal of the sharps I guess).
I somewhat doubt that the evidently low mark up on the vaccines has much to do with the shortage of equine vets since if they applied a greater mark up then presumably more people would do their own. More likely the high cost of vet school combined with the long working hours is the culprit for vet shortages.
Iām trying to estimate how much mark up Iād be willing to pay. So if I have one horse with 4 jabs currently marked up $10 each, Iām paying $40 per year more than what it would cost me to do myself. If the mark up increased to $25 per jab thatās $100 per year. If the mark up increased to $100 per jab thatās $400 per year āextraā per horse. Still seems pretty reasonable.
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I think there might be offense taken here thatās not been intended. The question was do you do your own vaccines? People answered.
Some expressed that they had a good relationship with their vet and for whatever reasons did their own and had their vet out often enough to maintain that goodwill and support the practice
Others explained why they had the vet do it ( reactions, supporting the clinic so their area doesnāt lose a precious service, logistics, economy)
I believe people are talking past each other now.
Bottom line is if you have a good established relationship with your vet do whatās best for your herd. And whatās best for your relationship with your vet.
Nothing more ā¦nothing less
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On the upside from a lot of this discussion, the OP now knows that 1) how much your vet will charge for administering the vaccines is important and 2) people have strong opinions on the matter!
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For sure !!!
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My vet includes the exam when it is vaccine time. Sure, it is in the mark-up on the vaccine, I realize this. But there is no extra exam fee.
I do not get the fight.
I get why people want to save money.
To me this is not a place to save money.
I also use my small animal vet for all of my dog and cat vaccines.
I think using my vets for all routine things is part of the reason why when I have an emergency they always fit me right in.
Adding that to the reason I posted above and again, this is not the place I choose to save money.
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Yes, FEI horses require that their passport is documented/stamped with ehv-1 data by the vet at least every 6 months. You need to start the booster process over if you miss the 6 mos limit.
Other than rhino flu for the FEI horse which has been a thing for a few years, Iāve given shots myself for decades, and I can promise you, Iāve got a perfectly good relationship with my vet. Even without the annual evaluation in advance of the show season, they still get seen 2x year for coggins and teeth.
There certainly are plenty of reasons to have the vet give vaccines but itās certainly not the only way you develop/maintain a good vet client relationship. As long as one is aware of the pros and cons with each approach and can weigh them according to your specific situation, then itās all good.
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Mine charges a āperformance examā fee in addition to a farm call charge, separated from the vaccine charge itself.
I have all the vaccinations done at the same time. So unsure if the exam fee would repeat if I had two vaccination visits a week or so apart.
Good for you.
I do (some of) my own vaccines for the following reasons, in no particular order:
Cost
Respect of the vetās time
Availability of the vaccine brand that works for my horses
She gives rabies, and examines the horses. This year, Iāve seen her every month since for something or another.
Having her out twice more in the spring (for EWT, then again for WNV), plus another three times over the year for Lyme, is a waste of time in her busy schedule.
I also donāt know if she even uses the vaccine brand that works for my horses. Other vets sure havenāt. Iām not going to use a brand that they react to, just because thatās what the vet is buying.
Cost is also a consideration. The call fee is north of $100. The vaccine mark up is about 4x.
Sure if they all tolerated whatever brand and all at once, maybe Iād just have the vet do it all when she was out for rabies. But they donāt. So I donāt.
The whole thing about people who chose to do their own vaccines saving $30 bucks to tank their relationship with their vet is ridiculous.
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Ours donāt charge an exam fee for vaccinations. But Iām at a boarding barn where they are coming out and vaccinating 20 horses at once. So the trip is generally worth it for them without any extra fees.
The vet practice that our barn uses requires clients to be on their āhealth programā for vaccines and Coggins if you want them to come out for an emergency call.
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I am not sure the need for the snarky comment back to me.
FYI, my farm call is a few dollars less than $100. I did not mention anything about saving money. So lecturing me seems weird.
After watching a horse that never had a reaction have an extreme reaction, I will never do my own vaccines. Very much not worth the risk in my mind.
I also have the vet do other things while they are there.
Annual exam on a chronic issue.
Teeth.
So, not a waste of their time, and my vet practice does not consider vaccinating a waste of their time.
You do you. I am fine with that. You are happy with your choice and I am happy with my choice.
The thread was asking for opinions on both sides.
Edit to add after reading @Gardenhorseās post.
Some of my friends board at larger barns and their vet does not even charge a farm call for what they call the vaccine clinics. The vet shows up and vaccinates the whole barn and does other routine stuff, all with no farm call.
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Posting just to agree with your statement about not being offended in the least if other people are giving their own vaxx! Certainly is not bothering me at all if people do that!
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I think the lecturing is occurring because it has felt like judgement is coming from both sides of this conversation.
It has been repeatedly insinuated that having the vet give vaccines is the morally superior choice; that those who vaccinate their own animals are cheapskates who donāt care about their vet or their horses. Maybe that wasnāt anyoneās intention, but it has sure felt like it at times.
There are perfectly good reasons for both practices. To quote my vet: āthe most important thing is that horses are being vaccinated.ā
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Which is actually valuable to do.
We used to have people complain about the pre euth exam at the vet clinic I worked at.
Thinking that exam has no value is naive.
Even if the vet doesnāt charge a fee, I sure hope theyāre looking them over critically such that if they notice something off with the animal they evaluate that before stressing the animal with several vaccinations.
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Iām sorry if my posts implied or insinuated that I felt my choice was morally superior. That was and is not my intention. Nor my belief!
My intention was and is to illustrate the value I receive in vet administered vaccines. By value I refer to what I receive for the price I pay. Not value like āmorals and valuesā!
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that was definitely not my intention at all. SOME who DIY, are doing it to be cheap. Many who do it to save money are truly saving significant amounts
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Havenāt read all replies, but I have my vet vaccinate.
On her advice, vax get done once a year - generally Spring so WNV is included. She also does rabies (in a 5-way, IIRC) & a general exam.
Puts my mind at ease, as 2 sets of eyes - hers licensed - are likelier to catch NQR.
I foot the entire Farm Call charge as my 3 are at home.
Even if I vaxed oftener, Iād have her out, as Iām needle-phobic, having seen some nasty abcess at vax sites (never 1 of mine 
).
Worst reaction Iāve personally experienced was to rabies given in the neck.
Poor horse couldnāt lower his head for 24h.
Subsequent was given in his butt or brisket w/o reaction.
Happiest day of my self-vetting Life was being told about sub-lingual meds.
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Yes, cheapskates exist in the horse world. We know that. Everyone knows that.
They arenāt on COTH these days. We have run everyone off these boards except a particular type of horse person.
So every time someone feels the need to bring up cheapskates, it feels like the many of us who have said we do our own vaccines are being indirectly put on blast.
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And many places I boarded and worked the vet was scheduled to come on designated days and one could add Dobbins vax or lameness or whateverā¦to the visit and the farm call was split among those who needed to be seen that day.
So, for examples: $100 farm call could be $25 for 4 owners, or $100 for one.
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That was never my intention, and Iām sorry anyone took it that way. Thereās a whole real world outside COTH (I know, imagine that LOL! 
) that sometimes gets lost in our often idealist way of doing things
My first comment on this devolved in a way it was never intended, even though it absolutely recognized those who save significant $ by DIY.
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