Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

could we get some veterinarians to respond to this?  some of the descriptions i am seeing here,  stiff necks, abcesses, makes me think these shots were not properly administered.  you can't just shove a needle straight into the neck to give a shot.  there are nerves and bone not far under the surface in many places, and if care is not given to choose a good vaccination site and properly administer the vaccines, then more harm can be done than good.  

as for west nile,   i had one case last year, in november. she survived it with minimal treatment, and just gave birth to a nice filly last thursday.   i had not vaccinated for west nile, but promptly had them all done.   no adverse reactions at all.  here in florida, we have had our share of west nile in some locations.   over the years, i have lost more horses to lightning strikes than anything else.   a friend of mine has quarterhorses, about 80 head total.   he does not vaccinate his herd for west nile, but keeps a close watch on them.  he has had several cases in the last two years, most of them were successfully treated and he only lost one horse.   so it is not an automatic death sentence.    early detection is critical.    ed