While horse-related costs continue to rise, many horse owners look for ways to reduce expenses. It can be tempting to stretch the time between sheath cleaning, teeth floating and farrier visits, or even to skip vaccinations and worming to save money. However, vaccines, while expensive, are not an advisable place to make cuts.

Prevention is Cheaper than Vet Bills

The old saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is just as relevant to horses as it is to humans, if not more so. A horse that contracts strangles, West Nile Virus or one of the other illnesses we vaccinate for can incur thousands of dollars in veterinary bills – far more than the cost of regular shots. Sadly, even after spending all of that money on trying to save the horse, it could still succumb to the illness.

“Skipping vaccination is very risky because it can leave the animals unprotected,” says Kimberly Anne May, DVM, MS, DACVS, of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). “Vaccines are important for your horse’s health, and can actually save money in the long run by preventing diseases that are expensive to treat and potentially deadly.” 

Not Every Horse Needs Every Vaccine

Your veterinarian can help you determine which vaccines are absolutely necessary for your horse and which are not, given where you live and the risk of exposure to other horses and animals.

“There are many ways to save money, and your veterinarian is a good resource to help you determine ways to cut costs without compromising your horse’s health,” says May.

“Not all horses need every vaccine available,” says Dr. Shannon DeArmas of Coddle Creek Animal Hospital in Concord, NC. “For example, horses on farms with little to no “traffic” (i.e., horses coming and going) are less likely to be exposed to strangles, influenza or rhino unless the farm has a history of infection. Some of my clients only vaccinate for encephalitis, tetanus and rabies because their horses never leave the farm. Others vaccinate for strangles, influenza and rhino because the horses are taken to shows and frequently exposed to other horses. Vaccination is not a ‘one size fits all’ thing – it should be tailored to the horse’s needs.”

Vaccines that all horses need include West Nile Virus, Eastern and Western Equine Encephalomyelitis (EEE/WEE), tetanus and rabies. In barns where horses travel – whether yours does or not – strangles and the influenza/rhinopneumonitis (flu/rhino) vaccines are highly recommended.

Saving Money on Vaccines

If giving only the recommended vaccines is still too expensive, there are ways you can cut costs while minimizing risk for your horse.

“Don’t skip the vaccines altogether,” says DeArmas. “Talk to your veterinarian about adjusting the number of times per year a vaccine is given or targeting the vaccines based on the seasons and your horse’s risk of exposure and disease. I’d rather a horse owner purchase and give the vaccine themselves than skip an important vaccine and put their horses at risk.”

If you do choose to purchase and administer your own vaccines, May warns that vaccine reactions do occur, although rarely. Reactions can be mild, such as soreness and lethargy, but more serious reactions can be life threatening. She offers the following suggestions to minimize the chance of your horse having a problem after vaccination:

Purchase vaccines from a reputable source and make sure they are shipped appropriately. Vaccines are routinely shipped with ice packs in the package – if the ice packs are completely melted, or even room temperature, the shipment should be returned and not used.

When you receive the vaccines, unless you plan to use them immediately, follow the storage instructions on the label. Make sure you know how and where to give a vaccine to your horse. Poorly administered vaccines can cause major problems. Make sure you know how to recognize the signs of a problem after vaccination, and contact your veterinarian if you have any concerns.

Although preventive care may seem like a difficult expense to swallow in today’s economy, it is important to keep up on vaccinations to ensure your horse’s health as well as other horses he comes in contact with. By working with your veterinarian to use only the absolutely necessary shots and administering them yourself, you can keep your equine friend healthy without breaking the bank.