Provide vaccines for your horses to keep them healthy.
Just like humans, horses need vaccines to keep them healthy and strong and ward off disease. Horses that live in regions such as the South and Southwest are vulnerable to certain types of diseases that other horses aren't. Therefore, it's important to focus on vaccinating for diseases that are common in your region.
Equine Encephalomyelitis
Equine encephalomyelitis (EE) is a common disease of the U.S. Southwest, appearing frequently in parts of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. The disease is a virus also known as sleeping sickness that inflames the brain and spinal cord. The disease is spread by mosquitoes and is extremely serious because there is no cure and 75 to 90 percent of horses die after being infected. It is critical to provide your horse with this vaccine every spring season.
Rabies
Rabies is another common disease in the South and West parts of the country. Rabies can also be extremely serious and fatal for a horse, so annual vaccines are recommended. According to Dr. Bruce Connolly, "If an animal is exposed to rabies, the symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from other illnesses, and while it is being diagnosed, the animal and people exposed to it are at risk of contracting the disease." Rabies can spread through a number of different animals including bats and rodents.
Tetanus
Tetanus, which is also called lockjaw, is another common equine disease. Tetanus is a bacteria that can live underground that can enter the horse through a wound. The symptoms are stiff muscles and legs and flaring nostrils. The muscles can eventually become so stiff that they constrict the horse's ability to eat and drink, causing it to die. Humans can also be infected by this disease so it is especially important to administer the vaccine to horses annually.
Influenza
Influenza can be spread from horse to horse just as humans transfer it from one person to another. The symptoms of the flu include coughing, sneezing, runny nose, fever and poor appetite. Provide this vaccine annually or as often as once every three months, especially if the horse travels a lot and is exposed to many different horses. Influenza does not usually prove fatal although it can cause permanent respiratory damage.
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