05/13/08 Vaccination time

Making sure your horses are vaccinated each spring seems pretty straightforward, but there are some important factors to consider. I'm Jeff Keane and I will be back after the break with some guidelines. The Equine Practitioners Infectious Disease Committee just released an on- line guide for vaccinating horses. Here is Susan Allen with some of their recommendations. Horses, like people, are on the move today thus it is critical their shot record is current especially in light of the impact West Nile could have in the Northwest this year. Each horse is unique and the AAEP's new guidelines takes that into consideration stressing that owners need to determine what shots your horse will require based on where you live geographically, how far your horse travels, the animals age, and how it is kept; in a stables, ranch or backyard . The vaccine for Anthrax for example isn't applicable for most of our NW horses unless you plan on competing in the Central Plains States. The AAEP guidelines also teach correct vaccines storage methods and made me realize that I could be jeopardizing the strength of the vaccine when I leave it in my rig for hours on a melting ice pack . Changes in temperature effect potency. For an in depth look into immunizations and vaccinations your horses requires , even how to deal with an infectious disease outbreak at your place visit the aaep.org site. Again that's aaep.org