Vaccine problems

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
Just a heads up if your horse is due a vaccination soon.

My Vets practice have said they are having lots of problems with the latest batch with reactions. They have decided to inject into the chest now instead of the neck after symptoms appearing such as horses being unable to lift their heads off the ground.

My mare has just had hers (in her chest) and now is on antibiotics for an abscess which may well still have to be lanced! She was hopping lame for about five days after the vaccine and we weren’t told about the latest reactions until after.

Anybody else had any issues lately? Makes me reluctant to get my old boy done if this isn’t sorted. Luckily he isn’t due until October anyway…
 

Pinkvboots

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 August 2010
Messages
21,693
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
Louis has had multiple reactions over the last few years, he couldn't move his neck at all after one jab, so they did it in the chest and he got a swelling there it was huge like a melon, he couldn't even walk when that happened he was just stood in the field took me ages to get him in, it took ages to go down and he now has a patch of white hair there now.

I only use one brand now and he had it in chest and this year he was fine thankfully, I always ask for bute now just incase and they have on occasion injected bute beforehand.
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
Did the swelling on the chest turn into an abscess? Our mare was scanned on Tuesday and Vet thinks it is an abscess but is nowhere near bursting and so has put her on a course of antibiotics first. It is now a tiny small hard lump. 😔 she is sound though and fine in herself.
 

nutjob

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 August 2021
Messages
786
Visit site
My horse was vaccinated yesterday and today he wouldn't do his stretches, wouldn't even try to turn his head. No mention was made of recent adverse reactions, but thanks for the info. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this now.
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
My horse was vaccinated yesterday and today he wouldn't do his stretches, wouldn't even try to turn his head. No mention was made of recent adverse reactions, but thanks for the info. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on this now.

Hope he’s ok, yes they said they think it’s a manufacturer problem. They didn’t mention it to me either and I wasn't impressed.
 

lynz88

Well-Known Member
Joined
4 July 2012
Messages
2,143
Visit site
Mine is due in around a month so this is good to know. No adverse reactions previously other than feeling off /NQR for about a week (which I think is relatively standard)
 

easteregg

Member
Joined
14 July 2012
Messages
22
Visit site
My horse was vaccinated in January and was unable to bend his neck to graze the following day. It did resolve within a few hours but it's the first time this has happened.
 

Pinkvboots

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 August 2010
Messages
21,693
Location
Hertfordshire
Visit site
No
Did the swelling on the chest turn into an abscess? Our mare was scanned on Tuesday and Vet thinks it is an abscess but is nowhere near bursting and so has put her on a course of antibiotics first. It is now a tiny small hard lump. 😔 she is sound though and fine in herself.
It didn't it just went down on its own thankfully.
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
Is it really acceptable for vets to be injecting a batch which they know is defective?

Had my 3 done a few weeks back, they didn't say anything and no reactions except slight swelling at the injection site for one which is normal for her.

This is the discussion we have been having. I said I wouldn’t be having my 25 year old done if he was due now as I wouldn’t be wanting to risk it… they were quite shocked by that and said I’d have to to compete - we rarely compete now and I’d rather not compete than risk a big reaction in an old horse. It’s bad enough with my mare and am hoping we are not going to end up with a big vet bill as a result.
 

jojo5

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 May 2008
Messages
781
Visit site
Yep, another one here - vaccinated early Jan, sore neck for 24 hours, not lifting head to haynet etc. Notified vet who said he ‘might have a sore neck’, but made no mention of association with specific batch of vaccine. Not had this reaction in previous years.
 

Sossigpoker

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 September 2020
Messages
3,194
Visit site
Mine had a very stiff neck for a week last year after his vacc , I just assumed it was because he's very sensitive to everything.
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
Yep, another one here - vaccinated early Jan, sore neck for 24 hours, not lifting head to haynet etc. Notified vet who said he ‘might have a sore neck’, but made no mention of association with specific batch of vaccine. Not had this reaction in previous years.

This is really interesting! Something needs to be done as this clearly isn’t right. I think the more people whose question and complain to their vet practises, the better.
 

asmp

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 March 2010
Messages
4,169
Visit site
Our vet did the jabs in the chest this year which was unusual. I just assumed that they’d changed the way of doing it.
 

TheMule

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 October 2009
Messages
5,540
Visit site
It’s not unusual for horses to get sore at the injection site- it’s just a local immune response, nothing harmful, and giving bute before and after the vaccine for a couple of days should help significantly. I get sore after my flu jab…. It’s the same thing. Maybe the vaccine company is using a slightly different adjuvant. You can report adverse reactions to the company that makes the vaccine, I’m sure your vet is if they have noticed this pattern.

An abscess is a different complication and generally due to introduction of bacteria from the skin/ needle- IE nothing to actually do with the vaccine itself, just one of those unlucky things that can happen when you introduce a foreign body through the skin barrier
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
It’s not unusual for horses to get sore at the injection site- it’s just a local immune response, nothing harmful, and giving bute before and after the vaccine for a couple of days should help significantly. I get sore after my flu jab…. It’s the same thing. Maybe the vaccine company is using a slightly different adjuvant. You can report adverse reactions to the company that makes the vaccine, I’m sure your vet is if they have noticed this pattern.

An abscess is a different complication and generally due to introduction of bacteria from the skin/ needle- IE nothing to actually do with the vaccine itself, just one of those unlucky things that can happen when you introduce a foreign body through the skin barrier

Vets have told me it’s a problem with this batch. They have had a horse that couldn’t lift its head for two months so a bit more than just a general reaction which are rare. I’ve never seen a reaction at all in any horse in 20 years so they aren’t that common.
 

spotty_pony2

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 August 2015
Messages
576
Visit site
Our vet did the jabs in the chest this year which was unusual. I just assumed that they’d changed the way of doing it.

I’ve never seen it done in the chest either, ever. But my horse was having a sweet itch vaccine at the same time so I thought it was that they were doing in the chest so didn’t question it. It was only after the reaction I found out that it was the flu/tet that was done in the chest as they have had so many reactions doing it in the neck they have changed where they are doing it.
 

nutjob

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 August 2021
Messages
786
Visit site
Vets have told me it’s a problem with this batch. They have had a horse that couldn’t lift its head for two months so a bit more than just a general reaction which are rare. I’ve never seen a reaction at all in any horse in 20 years so they aren’t that common.
Mine has had Prequenza. He can eat from the ground or haynets fine so I probably wouldn't have noticed a problem if we weren't doing stretches.
 

MagicMelon

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 November 2004
Messages
16,200
Location
North East Scotland
Visit site
I want to know what theyve changed in the vaccines to be causing these issues. My old retired boy started to react to vaccine about 6 years ago (having been done every year with no issues prior). He went very stiff in his neck, couldnt reach down easily. So Id been having him done in the chest but even then he looked uncomfortable after so yesterday he had his annual booster and vet did him in his hind thigh instead. He seems ok today so far... I really dont think its a "bad batch" as in that case my vet had a bad batch for a while! My boy still has a small lump where he last had it in his neck, its a permanent lump.
 

exracehorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
24 December 2011
Messages
1,753
Visit site
Had a terrible reaction few years back. With Woody. Had emergency vet out. He could only walk sideways. High temp. High heart rate. Huge lump on chest. Where injected. As he doesn’t compete. I never had him inoculated again. Thought I was going to lose him. The pharmac company paid for his vet care
 
Top