If you’ve come to regard your beloved horse as a member of the family, then you want to make sure he receives the same chance for long and happy life as the rest of you. That means providing the appropriate preventative wellness care, including vaccinations to protect against deadly diseases. Unfortunately, many veterinary clinics are really more like “dog and cat clinics,” without the necessary expertise to care for less common types of pets. But here at White Oaks Veterinary Clinic, our experienced team of veterinarians are happy to provide equine vaccination regimens for animals just like yours.
A vaccine is an inactivated form of the disease you wish to gain protection against. When the vaccine is injected into the bloodstream, the body reacts as if it were the active disease and produces antibodies to protect against it. Horses live in proximity to a variety of disease organisms every day. The risk of illness from some of these organisms depends on the horse’s lifestyle and interaction with other animals. Certain vaccines, however, are considered “core” or essential for all horses. These include:
- Tetanus – This bacterial infection can be fatal, and the bacterium that causes it lives in horse manure.
- Rabies – It’s not impossible for rabies to be transferred to a horse through the bite of an infected mammal. This neurological disease is always fatal, so we always vaccinate against it.
- Equine encephalitis – This category actually encompasses three forms of encephalitis, EEE, WEE and VEE, all of which are transferred via mosquito bites.
- West Nile virus – This is yet another form of encephalitis which kills a third of all horses who contract it.
In addition to core vaccinations, your horse may benefit from the injection of other vaccines based on various risk factors. For instance, horses who share food, water and grooming equipment with other horses may be vulnerable to strangles (a form of distemper) and equine influenza, while horses who spend lots of time under artificial lighting may be exposed to insects carrying Potomac horse fever. Our animal hospital can advise you as to whether your horse should receive protection against these threats.
An initial vaccination should not be thought of a lifetime’s worth of disease protection. A vaccine loses its potency over time, so our animal hospital needs to administer booster shots periodically to prevent your horse from losing his immunity. We can help you schedule the appropriate shots at the appropriate times.
Equine Veterinarians for Edmond, Jones, Seward, Bethany, Meridian, Piedmont and Choctaw, OK
White Oaks Veterinary Clinic is proud to provide equine care for horses throughout Jones, Seward, Edmond, Bethany, Meridian, Piedmont and Choctaw, OK. If your horse has never received his core vaccinations, or if you think it might be time for some booster shots, Call (405) 330-0676 to schedule this critical preventative wellness procedure from our trusted veterinarians!