Strangles vaccination

Doodle92

Doodle92

Well-Known Member
Apr 6, 2021
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Vets have been pushing this alot recently. Quite a few horses have had it at the yard. My old yard has had a confirmed case of strangles this week. In a vaccinated horse. I had been planning to get Indy done but now not so sure. I know it dosnt stop the risk entirely but having not had a (known) case locally for a long time and now found in a vaccinated horse dosnt full.me with confidence.
 
I honestly don’t think it’s really been proven to work 👀

To me it’s like getting a flu jab, doesn’t stop you getting flu it just stops it from doing more damage or making you seriously ill.
 
I'm told it's a lot more effective than the old one, and that if they do get strangles it should mean it's likely to be a milder case with less risk of complications.

Back in early November the yard next to us - we hack the same lanes and are only seperated by a narrow track - had an outbreak. They were very considerate about locking down but it was still a very worrying time. Quite a few of us decided to have our horses vaccinated, out of about 30 horses 3 reacted to the first jab and a couple of different ones reacted to the second. For the peace of mind I felt it was worth while and Luka will be getting the recommended six monthly boosters from now on.

Of course you can never know if a vaccine works bcause you can't be sure a horse came in contact with the infection and if it would hav developed it without th vaccination, but for me a significant reduction in the chance of abscessing if they do get it makes it worthwhile.
 
It’s not a live vaccine so can’t be the cause, the most likely thing is the horse was vaccinated because it’s going out and about so at higher risk anyway. Strangles always seems to come out of the blue, it doesn’t take much for it to spread from a distant source.

I think if I were competing/going to venues regularly now, I would probably have it done.
 
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As @Jessey said it's not a live vaccine so won't have caused it and also won't cause a horse to test positive. Luka was one of the ones who reacted strongly to the first jab - gunky eyes, off his feed, a high temperature - but then no reaction whatsoever to the second. I spoke to the vet and she just said give him some bute, mashes if he wasn't eating hay, and keep an eye on him or call her if his temperature was still up in a week or went up to 40c - with strangles so close we'd been taking temperatures twice daily so I could at least tell her what his normal was.

Having seen how hard it was to get some horses clear of strangles - the time, testing, repeated washes and in some cases washes with antibiotics - I'll keep going with the vaccine rather than stop it and then have to start again from scratch if it reappears in the area. You have limited protection after the first jab, far more after the second.
 
No I am not meaning the vaccine has caused the strangles. Just not sure how effective it is.

Horse in question hasn't been anywhere for a year although some others on yard do go out.
 
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One of the others could hav brought it in but ben non-symptomatic, or a person could have unknowingly been in contact and brought it in - think how many yards a farrier/vet/physio/deliver person visits in a day and if one of those has it and either doesn't know or is keeping it quiet you can see why it spreads so fast.
 
I've had AJ done this year as we've got stuff planned. As @carthorse says, it doesn't completely reduce the risk of catching strangles, but it should make the illness less severe if he does catch it, plus an immunised horse will be less infectious. I decided to have it done after a FB friend tragically lost her horse to strangles, they think brought in by some new unvaccinated horses.

AJ had some weird reaction though. I think it inflamed his feet. The vet said this isn't a side effect so I went ahead with the second jab (they have 2, 2 weeks apart) but the same thing happened. To be fair to the vet she examined him and could find nothing wrong. He wasn't lame, no heat or swelling and no reaction to hoof testers, but she saw a well behaved horse who had to be clicked up to trot, whereas the horse I know has to be talked down from going at 100 mph, so I knew he wasn't himself.

A few days, maybe a week later, he came in from the paddock at his normal 100 mph and the evening after that he did it complete with excited squeal, so back to normal then 😉
 
I agree if competing or lots of livery turn overs or liveries going to competitions then I'd probably vaccinate.
 
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