Missed vaccination booster date by 2 days...

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doris2008

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I thought my horse was due his vaccinations by tomorrow, but have just realised they were due yesterday! :rolleyes: Vet is now coming tomorrow, and have said its my decision as to whether to start the procedure again or to just give a booster as normal.
Is 2 days over the due date really going to make a massive difference? Or would I be stupid to take the risk?
Its my stupid fault for forgetting to get them done last week. :(
 
I would be inclined to think it shouldn't effect the cover the vaccination gives (I can't see how you can be 100% covered one day with no cover the next!), but if you do anything affiliated then you must restart jabs - bear in mind that lots of unaff comps run to aff rules too.
 
It won't effect the cover of the vac, but if the vet won't back date it for you then, riding club team comps require a copy of the vac before competing, and if you get checked at other affiliated things they will stop you competing.
Some vets will just put the right date on it for you.
 
Ok thanks - he wont be competing this year so thats not a problem. :)
glosgirl - thats what I thought, if it was more I would restart them without question.
 
Even if he isn't competing this year it could affect him in later years as, all you need is the boosters year on year, you might find then you are having to restart them when you do start to compete and pay comp fees....
Just ask the vet to back date them two days, most are good at doing that.
 
From a competing point of view you will have to start a new course - even if you do not intend to compete this year, you would have to start a new course when you eventually do., if the competition venue check your vaccination certificate in the future and see that one is not correct it will null and void all the rest and you will not be allowed to take part, until the new course is done. hope this helps xx

Just to add vets are not allowed to back date injection dates and can get into very serious trouble doing so.
 
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That's so frustrating and expensive to start the course again! In terms of will it effect the horses cover, I would be very surprised as my dog vet says they can have it as much as 3 months later and are still protected. (I still get my dogs done round the right date though!) Not sure it's the same for horses but as someone else said the protection can't just run out on that exact date.

Will be a problem for competing though, but I guess it depends on what you do with your horse.
 
Sammii819 said:
Just ask the vet to back date them two days, most are good at doing that.
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Please don't ask the vet to do that, false certification of any kind will result in being struck off if found out. It is not fair to put your vet in that position, and the majority of vets nowadays will say no because they do not want to risk ruining their career for such a trivial thing.
 
doris2008 said:
I thought my horse was due his vaccinations by tomorrow, but have just realised they were due yesterday! :rolleyes: Vet is now coming tomorrow, and have said its my decision as to whether to start the procedure again or to just give a booster as normal.
Is 2 days over the due date really going to make a massive difference? Or would I be stupid to take the risk?
Its my stupid fault for forgetting to get them done last week. :(
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It won't matter in the slightest to your horse but the vet couldn't back date as he would get struck off - I seem to remember this happening to another vet recently - it was in the equestrian press if I remember right. If you go to a riding club area event the secretary whom you have to present your passport to will look at your passport and he has a special chart which helps him work out whether your horses vacs are within the proper dates, if not you won't be allowed to compete.

I can't understand why my other half's dog gets a postcard addressed to her every year inviting her to bring her owner to get her vacinnaed and why they cant do that for horse owners!
 
I can't understand why my other half's dog gets a postcard addressed to her every year inviting her to bring her owner to get her vacinnaed and why they cant do that for horse owners![/QUOTE]

My horse vets do this but they are a small animal practice as well so maybe that's why!
 
Its extremely frustrating as its only two days and I doubt the vaccine has stopped covering him but restarting the course would be the best course of action if you want to compete now or in the future as they look back at previous years to make sure you horse is fully covered.
As for reminders my vets always send ones for the dogs and they used to send ones for the horses too but in the past year or so they have stopped doing this, not 100% sure why, so now I have it plastered over my calendar in luminous pink so theres no way of forgetting, especiially as I hate pink!lol:rolleyes:
 
Just to clarify I have no intention of asking the vet to backdate anything! This was someone elses suggestion. My worry was purely for my horses health and it seems I have nothing to worry about.
I actually received 2 reminder postcards saying they were due, this situation is solely a result of my rubbishness at remembering things! :o:rolleyes:
There is no plan to compete him and as long as he is covered for now I will have the booster. With any luck, next year, my purse will be a little heavier and I will restart them properly.
Thanks for the advice. :)
 
Charlie missed his booster by 2 months, 6 years ago. I am planning to do a brc qualifier with him next feb and have now had to re-start the whole course of vaccinations again. When I spoke to my vet about this they said that booster wise he is covered but for brc rules he is not. It is really frustrating to have to start all over again.
 
Sammii819 said:
It won't effect the cover of the vac, but if the vet won't back date it for you then, riding club team comps require a copy of the vac before competing, and if you get checked at other affiliated things they will stop you competing.
Some vets will just put the right date on it for you.
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Sammii819 said:
Just ask the vet to back date them two days, most are good at doing that.
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Oh dear God. I don't know how you interpret the law, but I think that I'm fairly safe in saying most vets are NOT good at doing that.:eek:

whizzica said:
Just to add vets are not allowed to back date injection dates and can get into very serious trouble doing so.
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Thank you. I am glad that most clients do have the right end of the stick.

My signature on your passport is worth my career. Backdating passports or falsifying any documentation is illegal and any vet found doing so, may be stuck off. Sadly it has happened.

Restarting vaccs is very frustrating. But the rule is such that if you are overdue, you must restart to comply with the Jockey Club regs. I will sympathise with you, but I won't risk my career for you.

Hope that clarifies the matter.
Imogen
 
Thanks Imogen - there is no way I would ask a vet to do that anyway, it is entirely my fault!

Interestingly I was told yesterday that there is a 10 day rule in which jabs can be done without having to restart them and this would be ok for competing? No idea whether any truth in that? Makes no odds to me really as he wont be competing anytime soon, and if I decide to I will pay to restart them then instead.
 
doris2008 said:
Interestingly I was told yesterday that there is a 10 day rule in which jabs can be done without having to restart them and this would be ok for competing? No idea whether any truth in that? Makes no odds to me really as he wont be competing anytime soon, and if I decide to I will pay to restart them then instead.
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Immunity won't wane down for weeks, so the horse is going to be fine for quite some time after the vaccine has gone over the 365d. Each manufacturers statement varies but it's usually ok for about a month then starts to reduce.

The rule for competing in accordance with the jockey Club Rules is non waivable though - the booster must be done on or before 365d after the previous vaccination. There is NO leeway at all, but even one day. Sorry.
 
helencharlie said:
Charlie missed his booster by 2 months, 6 years ago. I am planning to do a brc qualifier with him next feb and have now had to re-start the whole course of vaccinations again. When I spoke to my vet about this they said that booster wise he is covered but for brc rules he is not. It is really frustrating to have to start all over again.
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Is brc British Riding Club? If so, in my experiences they are far more scrupulous on checking everything regarding the horse. I lost my horse's passport at an event, and I had to re-start vaccinations and obviously get a new passport (which included vet's visit to re do identification) and wasn't allowed to compete in British Riding Club events that we had qualified for!
 
kirstyl said:
Is brc British Riding Club? If so, in my experiences they are far more scrupulous on checking everything regarding the horse. I lost my horse's passport at an event, and I had to re-start vaccinations and obviously get a new passport (which included vet's visit to re do identification) and wasn't allowed to compete in British Riding Club events that we had qualified for!
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I'd concur...they WILL undoubtedly check previous years as well! :(
 
the other posts are very useful. one point i would emphasise is that i would not put your vet in a situation where she would have to commit frued by back dating your certificate. a friend of mine's vet got struck off for it and he can't work as a vet again, and he was a good vet.
 
doris2008 said:
Thanks Imogen - there is no way I would ask a vet to do that anyway, it is entirely my fault!

Interestingly I was told yesterday that there is a 10 day rule in which jabs can be done without having to restart them and this would be ok for competing? No idea whether any truth in that? Makes no odds to me really as he wont be competing anytime soon, and if I decide to I will pay to restart them then instead.
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There's absolutely no leeway when it comes to BRC with regards to vaccinations. If you are even one day over then the vaccinations aren't valid. The vaccinations are checked back to the beginning - have been through this with our RC teams and it is a nightmare. BD have also brought in a vaccination rulings along the Jockey Club rules.
 
Sammii819 said:
Just ask the vet to back date them two days, most are good at doing that.
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Imogen has got there before me in setting the record straight on this, so I won't repeat it. To be honest, whilst no vet should be put in this situation, I personally would not feel pressured to do it and would not feel guilty for not doing as you ask- it is illegal, end of. As Imogen says, our entire careers can depend on what we put our signature on.

Although a couple of days is very unlikely to affect immunity, it is worth considering that these rules are made in the interests of equine health and disease control in situations where lots of horses mix.

If your vet is backdating vaccinations, I would be wondering what other matters they are unscrupulous about , to be honest.

OP, I'm aware you have no intention of poiltely asking your vet to break the law- I too sympathise with the hassle and cost of having to restart vaccination courses. Unfortunately we don't make the rules (although quite often bear the brunt of the frustration when we tell owners they have missed the date!)
 
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