# Giving horses their yearly shots



## iloverains (Apr 1, 2011)

pretty sure you should either put it in the horses shoulder or rump (I'm sure you already know that), don't put it in there neck, cause my dad did that when our horse had impaction colic, but it was a Vit. C shot. shes fine, but she had a lump there for a while, and it sweats randomly, well when it's hot.

Why do you give your horses yearly shots in the first place?! do you have some mega bad disease?! Do you get your yearly shots?!


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

Yes, the all on one shots are just as good. We've used 6 way shots (e.g. Fluvac Innovator 6) for many, many years. Here is an article about giving shots ACES Publications : HOW TO GIVE YOUR HORSE AN INTRAMUSCULAR INJECTION : ANR-1018 We always give them in the butt. The needle looks large, but we can just walk up to our mares in the pasture and stick them without them being tied or flinching...takes less than 5 minutes to do all four mares.


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

I wouldnt recommend doing shots yourself. And if you do, get them from your vets, any other vaccinations not from your vet may have been tampered with and can cause your horse to have an allergic reaction. You should always have your vet show you how to give a vaccination before you give one, so I would wait until next year. Also, it is EXTREMELY important to make sure the shot is well refrigerated, otherwise you can cause and even more extreme reaction, or the shot wont do anything.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

iloverains said:


> pretty sure you should either put it in the horses shoulder or rump (I'm sure you already know that), don't put it in there neck, cause my dad did that when our horse had impaction colic, but it was a Vit. C shot. shes fine, but she had a lump there for a while, and it sweats randomly, well when it's hot.
> 
> Why do you give your horses yearly shots in the first place?! do you have some mega bad disease?! Do you get your yearly shots?!


I've never heard of injections in the shoulder. The neck is a very safe area & the most common site, of course the person giving the shot needs to know what they're doing.
Vaccines only work for a given time._ It's better to prevent a disease than treat one. _Do you not even give tetanus shots? What about rabies? Those two will kill a horse. 
Why would you give Vit-C for an impaction colic?


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

iloverains said:


> pretty sure you should either put it in the horses shoulder or rump (I'm sure you already know that), don't put it in there neck, cause my dad did that when our horse had impaction colic, but it was a Vit. C shot. shes fine, but she had a lump there for a while, and it sweats randomly, well when it's hot.
> 
> Why do you give your horses yearly shots in the first place?! do you have some mega bad disease?! Do you get your yearly shots?!


None of this post makes sense, as Natisha pointed out. Vitamin C is not given for colic, and a properly administered shot will not cause a "lump." The neck is the preferred place to give a shot, as a rump injection cannot drain if it does abscess, and this will create a very nasty infection. You also put yourself at far greater risk of being kicked. 

Annual core vaccinations are recommended by veterinarians to protect your horse, surrounding animals, and yourself. Even if your horse is never in contact with others, it's still at risk for Tetanus, Rabies, and West Nile, all of which are killers....not sure if you have comparable (or the same) diseases on Australia or not, but I'm sure that you at least have analogous, dangerous sicknesses that are preventable by vaccination....


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## iloverains (Apr 1, 2011)

natisha said:


> I've never heard of injections in the shoulder. The neck is a very safe area & the most common site, of course the person giving the shot needs to know what they're doing.
> Vaccines only work for a given time._ It's better to prevent a disease than treat one. _Do you not even give tetanus shots? What about rabies? Those two will kill a horse.
> Why would you give Vit-C for an impaction colic?


We gave her Vit. C to build up her immune system, she was weak and needed strength to fight the impaction. We also gave her beer and apple cider vinegar. and bran and some other stuff, shes healthy now! 

with giving the horses shots in the first place, if it's like our human shots (which I do not take, never have never will) they have a bit of the disease and put it's into you, making you immune to it?! right? why would you do that to your horse, I've had many horses in my life time, not one I've given a shot to, and they are all healthy, compete regularly, and have never gotten a disease.

We don't have rabies in australia, i think we have tetanus, but no, i don't give my horses any.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

iloverains said:


> We gave her Vit. C to build up her immune system, she was weak and needed strength to fight the impaction. We also gave her beer and apple cider vinegar. and bran and some other stuff, shes healthy now!


Lucky mare. :shock:
Vitamin C is water soluble. That means that any extra you give....is peed out quite rapidly.



> with giving the horses shots in the first place, if it's like our human shots (which I do not take, never have never will)


You've never been vaccinated? Why? Some kind of religious belief against it, or do you think you're immortal? I can't even imagine dying of something like Tetanus because I refused a vaccination....my old farrier very nearly died of it, just because he'd let his vaccination history lapse. And he's going to have lifelong jaw problems from the "lockjaw" symptoms of the disease.



> they have a bit of the disease and put it's into you, making you immune to it?! right?


Er, kind of.



> why would you do that to your horse,


To potentially save their lives.....



> I've had many horses in my life time, not one I've given a shot to, and they are all healthy, compete regularly, and have never gotten a disease.


Then you've been very lucky indeed.



> We don't have rabies in australia, i think we have tetanus, but no, i don't give my horses any.


I looked it up. It appears that you do have both Tetanus and West Nile, in addition to a host of communicable equine diseases.


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## iloverains (Apr 1, 2011)

bubba13 said:


> Lucky mare. :shock:
> Vitamin C is water soluble. That means that any extra you give....is peed out quite rapidly.
> 
> 
> ...



She needed to pee, cause she wasn't, also gave her vit. B. and Epsom salts. she needed to get what ever the hell was compacted in her out. 

no religious belief, and no i don't think im immortal. I just don't think it's right putting some of the disease into you, I don't see how it can prevent the disease from happening in the first place. 

Yes my horses could get a disease, so could I, have we, no, have people and horses with the shots gotten the disease, probably.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Please just read this simplified explanation of how vaccinations work, to further your own knowledge, if nothing else. HealthyChildren.org - How do Vaccines Work?


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## maura (Nov 21, 2009)

Back to the OP's original question. 

If you've never given shots before, I would say now is a bad time to start. Get someone to *show* you the technique first before trying. I would also be reluctant to trust vaccines bought at a retail outlet. 

I have purchased vaccines by mail order (safer than a retail outlet, but you do pay for overnight, refrigerated shipping) and administered them myself, but there are some things you need to be aware of. Self-administered vaccines, unless you're a vet, are not accepted for travel, showing, health certificates, or anything else. The have to be done by a vet for there to be "proof" of having them done. 

My compromise is to have the vet out once a year for vaccines, Coggins, etc., and administer the half yearly boosters myself. In case of emergency (colic, injury, etc.,) I want the vet to have seen and treated the horse before, and have all the pertinent info in his system.


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

iloverains said:


> I don't see how it can prevent the disease from happening in the first place.
> 
> .



You don't have science classes in Australia?

Interesting.


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## easyrider (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback but we have west Nile, tetanus and rabies. I have had ny Vet give my horses shots every year, I would rather be safe than sorry. I'm only considering giving them there shots to save myself some money. The vet bills are getting a little costly. I've given penicillin shots to one of my horses in the past and had no problems, i just want to make sure no one out there ever had a bad experience with giving shots and may have some good insight on what to not do. 
I do thanks all the feedback from this question, it's my first time at this horse forum stuff.


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## easyrider (Nov 23, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback, I never considered the need to have the proper paper work if I intend to travel with my horses. What you suggested I normally do. Yearly visit from the Vet for the shots, coggins and whatever else. Giving the booster during he year may be the way to go.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

I don't know of many places where you need proof of vaccination for a horse. Coggins test, yes, but not much else. You'll need health papers for crossing state lines, but that's a slightly different deal. You might want to check into just how much money you'll be saving, though....I've found that it's really not worth the hassle if you only have a few horses, because the retail price of the shot is about what the vet charges to give it, and all you're saving on is the vet call.


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## caseymyhorserocks (Apr 5, 2010)

Yeah, typically you don't need a paper saying your horse has been vaccinated, but some big shows require the core vaccinations. Not even all the states require Coggins and health certificate, I know Oregon doesn't but California does.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I would not give shots yourself for the first time without someone knowledgeable there with you. We've given our own shots for as long as I can remember, but it's just too risky to try it yourself without someone there, especially if it's the first time the horse has been vaccinated.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

As long as you do a little research on where to give it, etc, I don't see what the big deal is. I vaccinated my own horses for YEARS back when I was a greenie myself. It was much cheaper to buy them at the feed store, and the feed store people showed me on a model horse where to give it. No biggie at all. My horses didn't even react to the poke, I just gave it when I was grooming them in the hindquarters.

Now I have a super, duper country vet who doesn't charge a call-out fee, he only charges for the shots, so I just have him come out and give them. He gives them in the muscular part of the neck. Still, he gives the horses their shots and leaves, he doesn't wait around or anything.

So, while yes, there is always a chance of a reaction, I think the odds are minimal as long as you give it in the right place, which is normally a very muscular area away from veins and bones. 

I have heard of giving them in the shoulder, but I have never done it myself. I *think* you can give them in many places and I bet there is a chart on Google that will show you where. It seems like I remember the neck, shoulders, hindquarters, and the front/breast area where the front legs meet the body. 

Where you give it can post safety risks for the handler, which is why I believe my vet always give it in the neck- it's safer for him being that he works with so many horses of unknown manners. The hind quarters is very safe for the horse, because if he stiffens up or it abcesses it doesn't effect him lowering his head and eating the way a stiff neck can. But of course the hindquarters pose a risk to the handler. Same with the breast area- it puts the handler in front of the horse's front legs. 

My horses, personally, don't seem to react to shots, but they get a lot of handling.

I know things always have the potential to go wrong, but I think that vaccinations are one of the things most horse owners are very capable of doing. I never thought of it as a big deal.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

equiniphile said:


> I would not give shots yourself for the first time without someone knowledgeable there with you. We've given our own shots for as long as I can remember, but it's just too risky to try it yourself without someone there, especially if it's the first time the horse has been vaccinated.


Why do you feel it is too risky? 

My vet kind of thumps the horse with his hand before he sticks the needle in. Kind of like "thump, thump, stick." Then the horse isn't taken by surprise all of a sudden.

Here is a chart for everyone:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_REP2qAIR89c/THLKHbceYJI/AAAAAAAAACI/1U8-gI3qxpE/s1600/DSCN0216.JPG

My vet does the neck (one shot on each side, a 4 way and a West Nile). I always did the hamstring because I heard that if it should abscess it is easier to drain it there. But I have never had one abscess.


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## arrowsaway (Aug 31, 2011)

I am a vet tech student and have given my fair share of injections and vaccines to horses.
I vaccinate my own horse with a 5-way vaccine from TSC. why pay for a farm call when you can do it yourself safely for less than half the money? That being said, here is how it is done:
Always give the vaccine in the neck area - the ideal place is in the center of the "triangle" formed by the horse's shoulder, the crest, and the trachea. Trace this with your hand first, and find the center. That is where you will poke. 
I have found that thumping horses before injecting them only serves to irritate them. I prefer to pinch up a bit of skin just to the front of the injection site. This both makes the horse aware that you are working with that part of the body [as opposed to thumping and then stabbing, which startles them], and acts as a very mild skin twitch. When you are ready to inject, make sure the cutting surface of the needle is facing upward, towards your face. Enter into the neck muscle quickly, and hold onto your syringe, so if they do any dancing it doesn't fall out and become contaminated. Then, pull back on your plunger, to make sure you have not entered a blood vessel. If you see no blood, inject the vaccine. Then give them a little rub. Simple as that. Hope this helps.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

trailhorserider said:


> Why do you feel it is too risky?
> 
> My vet kind of thumps the horse with his hand before he sticks the needle in. Kind of like "thump, thump, stick." Then the horse isn't taken by surprise all of a sudden.


 Yes, I tap my fist against the spot before I inject it as well so as not to take them by surprise. Vaccines are given intramuscularly, and I usually give it in the abdominal muscle. Make sure you steralize the surface with alcohol first so you don't bring bacteria from the surface into the muscle. If you were to hit a blood vessel, a lot of people panic, and many wouldn't know what to do if the needle got stuck or bent, etc. Sometimes horses have reactions to them, especially those that have never been vaccinated before, and it's best to have a vet on the premise for the first time you give them. Abcesses form sometimes as well, which you have no one to hold accountable for if it's caused by your fault.

Just personal opinion, I suppose. If you read up on it, watch videos on YouTube, etc, you should be fine. It's better to have someone knowledgeable with you, but it's not a necessity.


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

equiniphile said:


> Yes, I tap my fist against the spot before I inject it as well so as not to take them by surprise. Vaccines are given intramuscularly, and I usually give it in the abdominal muscle. Make sure you steralize the surface with alcohol first so you don't bring bacteria from the surface into the muscle. If you were to hit a blood vessel, a lot of people panic, and many wouldn't know what to do if the needle got stuck or bent, etc. Sometimes horses have reactions to them, especially those that have never been vaccinated before, and it's best to have a vet on the premise for the first time you give them. Abcesses form sometimes as well, which you have no one to hold accountable for if it's caused by your fault.
> 
> Just personal opinion, I suppose. If you read up on it, watch videos on YouTube, etc, you should be fine. It's better to have someone knowledgeable with you, but it's not a necessity.


Abdominal muscle? I've seen injections given in the neck, back of the rump & chest, never the abdomen.
Cleaning first with alcohol is an outdated practice for most injections. 
Attached is a good article explaining injections.
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1018/ANR-1018.pdf


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I've always done my own. I order them, when you buy multiples you get a discount, they ship cooled. I give them in the neck, the only time I do anywhere else is penicillin that needs a larger gauged needle and I give them in the back of the rump where the muscle is thicker. I walk through the pasture with a lunch cooler and give them all while they are loose.

The first time, ask someone knowledgable who gives their own or your vet to show you how.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

natisha said:


> Abdominal muscle? I've seen injections given in the neck, back of the rump & chest, never the abdomen.
> Cleaning first with alcohol is an outdated practice for most injections.
> Attached is a good article explaining injections.
> http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1018/ANR-1018.pdf


 My bad, I meant the rump. Long day, lots of Christmas shopping :wink:


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

equiniphile said:


> My bad, I meant the rump. Long day, lots of Christmas shopping :wink:


I'm glad that was a mistake.
Brave soul to shop today.:shock:


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

natisha said:


> Brave soul to shop today.:shock:


We weren't in with the 12am-ers, we actually went pheasant hunting and stopped at a few stores on the way home.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I give all my own injections much like MHF does.

As for shopping....one look at my avatar was enough to keep me out of stores today. Not going tomorrow, either.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Most vets are glad to show you how to vaccinate horses, lightens up on their workload. As for not vaccinating yourself or your animals, your choice, personally, myself, my children, my livestock....far to valuable to take such unneccessary risks. If you ever witness a horse suffer from lockjaw, you might rethink your decision.


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