Tetanus vaccination?

[skye]

I have had my horse 4yrs and in this time i have never had a tetanus jab.My friend recently mentioned this and suggested i had him done asap.My horse is 30yrs old and does react to most of the modern day drugs and wormers eg.strongrid p ,bute and ventipulin.I rather not vaccinate him because of his reactions to most drugs and wondered if any of you guys don't vaccinate against tetanus and what are the risks of not vaccinating.I don't know anything about my horses past so don't know if he has been vaccinated before or how he reacted to it.SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US!

 

[Miriam]

I would speak with your vet. I have read in past magazines that horses which are veteran horses do not always benefit from being vaccinated as they tend to have a reaction to the vaccine and in some instances have been known to do more harm than good (don't mean to worry you this may just depend on how healthy your horse is).

 

[Wally]

What reactions does he have to each drug?

 

[skye]

hi all

he doesn't really have specific reactions to a particular drugs.He can't have strongrid p causes him severe colic.Anti biotics give him very severe digestive upsets which make him lose a lot of weight ,becomes very weak and dehydrated.He is currently very underweight so i wouldn't even consider giving him the jab untill his weight is normal.Does anyone else not vaccinate against tetanus?
oh and panacur makes him get a rash on his neck and back.
thanks for all your help

 

[ponyvet]

vaccine reactions are not common, however if you prefer not to vaccinate you need to make sure that if your horse is ever wounded you will need to ask the vet to come as quickly as possible to give your horse the tetanus anti-dote to cover any possible infection. At the same time the vaccine must be given anyway, so it's really up to you.