Is it worth having the EHV?

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shadowboy

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I have found a new yard i am happy with. However they want the horse vaccinated with the EHV (Equine Herpes Virus) as a condition of livery- as far as i am aware this is pointless as it does not prevent the illness merely the severity. They told me the BHS reccomended it to be a BHS registered yard- ive never herd if this- having just moved from a BHS registered yard. Does anyone else vaccinate against this? Are there side effects? Is it worth it- apparently it has to be be done every six months is this correct?
 
If they have youngsters/pregnant mares on this facility then I can totally understand why they would ask for your horse to be vaccinated.
 
As far as I am aware there are no youngsters/pregnant mares as it is a competition/full livery/part livery yard. I will vaccinate if i have to but it seems an extra expense for something that is not actually preventative and needs to be done so regularly.
 
Have only just come across this, as the vet has advised that my in-foal mare be vaccinated, which also (I spose?) provides the foal with some immunity - but I've never heard of a livery yard asking for this. Flu and worming yes, but this does seem a bit over the top.
 
Having been on a yard with an outbreak of the paralysis form of EHV it can be a horrendous disease. 4 horses died within 2 weeks and another was permanently affected. However those worse affected were horses who had been vaccinated previously as brood mares but this had not continued into retirement, it is possible this was coincidence, all the info went to the animal health trust, I think they have an ongoing investigation. A lot of horses carry the EHV virus and are never affected by it, it is a funny one and I would talk to the yard owner about why they want it doing and a vet about the potential risks/benefits.
 
Is EHV the same as what is called rhinopneunomie in french? I think it is, but just want to check. If it is we were obliged to vaccinate horses for this in Belgium if we wanted to compete as there were a few nasty outbreaks of it whilst I lived there. So what is the veterinary line taken with regards to it re broodmares?
 
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