It is very important in March or April to deworm your horses. The best practice is to deworm your horses after the spring thaw but before the bugs appear. It is advisable to use a dewormer that has moxidectin or ivermectin as the active ingredient this time of the year. Moxidectin is found in the Quest product. Ivermectin is found in Zimectrin and Equimax gel. Equimax has the added bonus of bot and tapeworm control, which are also great steps to be taking this early in the year.
Along with spring deworming comes spring vaccinations. All adult performance horses should receive spring boosters for:
- West Nile Virus
- Tetanus Toxoid
- Encephalomyelitis (EEE, WEE, VEE)
- Influenza
- Rhinopneumonitis (EHV-1 and EHV-4)
- Rabies
Strangles is not required for older horses, but is certainly important if you are traveling to high-risk areas or you have young horses. Performance horses that are traveling to shows should really be vaccinated with a Flu/Rhino combination every 3-4 mo.
You can view the AAEP Guidelines for Vaccinations at:
http://www.fortdodgelivestock.com/pdfs/pdfs%20for%20equine/FDP_E0172B.pdf
It is perfectly acceptable to have your veterinarian inoculate your horses, but if you give the vaccinations yourself, here are a few helpful hints:
- Buy single dose syringes with a combination of the vaccines. (Often called 5- or 7-way)
- Swab the area with an alcohol swab
- Place West NiLe on the horse's left side and the combo containing Rhino (and/or Rabies) on the right side of the horse. (on the off chance that your horse has a reaction, you will have a better idea which vaccine he to which he is reacting)
- It is ok, in fact better, if you LIGHTLY work your horse after vaccinating. It helps prevent knots from the injection site. The caveat being: LIGHT work, no galloping around the corn field.
Along with our Spring health care, take this moment to do a little Spring cleaning...be sure to check the levels on your fire extinguishers in the barn.
Happy riding and welcome to Spring!!
No comments:
Post a Comment