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Re: [RC] WNV vaccine - Bette Lamore

Thanks for everyone's feedback. Re: the cost, I never said that was the consideration-- if you knew what my feed bill was here in CA you would know that the cost of vaccines would be a very small consideration looking at my overall budget. I said I was concerned about the chances for allergic reactions as discussed on ridecamp. I see those posts and hesitate to take the chance. The more horses one has, the greater statistical chance for reactions. And yes. I already said I would not do one unless I did them all-- (The Sophie's Choice analogy--- e.g. how do you choose?) I have also heard of horses not having the vaccine and having a not so serious case of WNV. I would like to see more statistics on both. Also, as Diane pointed out, if you do get a reaction to the vaccine, do you give the second and third one?----what are the repercussions?
Not so long ago the trend was to vaccinate every year, sometimes 3-4 times during the year (which I faithfully did) and now the current thoughts of the vets around here is less is better. This is still a new vaccine. My horses are isolated where I live now and I can control the environment to a large degree so I am in a unique position to wait and see a little. Want more info as I've learned not always to trust the pharmaceutical hype or vet recommendations (who are getting income based on giving this vaccine-- a conflict of interest-- more for some than others and one vet around here is far from sold on this vaccine)
If I had not heard of all the bad reactions on ridecamp, I would think nothing of vaccinating. I am waiting to see how the latest allergic reaction turns out. Please keep us informed, Diane.
Thanks again for the feedback
Bette and Bunny (who would now be dead had Mom followed the unanimous advice of five vets!)
PS This reference does not refer to the vets on ridecamp who are so generous with their expertise like Susan and Charlotte, etc.


Magnumsmom@xxxxxxx wrote:

First, Bette... it's probably a good idea to get them all done.
Even if you are not breeding Minnesota's state bird on your
property, your neighbor most likely is. Or the highway along
your property. For 25 horses an initial and a booster are
retail about $1250 total here in NM ($25 each) if the vet gives them. If I were you, look out in your herd and find the
one that is worth the most. THAT's the one you will lose.


Then find the ones who are not worth $1250 to save. I'll
bet you don't have any. You can start doing this in waves.
I don't have $1250 to do 25 horses (but then I don't have
25 horses either), but I could come up with $200 to do the
first set. Just get going, eh? :)


per the Tevis trail, if the person and horse named on this
forum are the correct rider and horse, they both have, or
had, at ton of experience on the Tevis trail.  BOTH were
quite familiar with the area.  I'm very sorry for the loss.

If the horse's heels were clipped from behind (there have
been conflicting reports), that could have caused the horse
to go down. Clipping heels is one of the most dangerous
aspects of flat track racing. It's the front horse who will
most often stumble (although the back horse could also
be the one that goes down), and often if they both don't
go down due to the clip, the back horse will then stumble
over the downed horse. The real affect is both jockeys
will probably be thrown. The injuries to both jockey and
horses are sometimes nil, sometimes fatal, and everything
inbetween. It's a very dangerous situation even on a flat
track (albet at speeds close to 40mph).


The point is that such events should always be avoided at
all costs. Dangerous rider's numbers should be reported
to ride management for further investigation and possible
DQ or atleast education for the future.


It's also quite possible that the horse's heels were not
clipped by the horse behind.  There was a report that the
horse behind was a length back... which should be a safe
distance.  If the horse just tripped on it's own, that's an
accident.  They happen.  The horse knew the trail, had
lots of exprience, as did the rider, and I'm positive that if
we all had it to do over, the actions would have been
different... the rider would be off leading down, would
have started behind, would have stayed home, whatever.

Fortunately, we now have a HWC to investigate and take
in information so the rest of us can LEARN. At my first
ride ever (I was crewing) a pretty little mare stepped off
the side of a hill that was wide enough for a jeep (steep
drop off, but nothing like Tevis) and broke her neck. It
was very sad, but it was an accident. She just wasn't
paying attention and got her back feet off the trail. I'll
bet to this day her rider wishes they'd been closer to the
uphill edge, or atleast in the middle of the trail. This is a
trail / hill I later rode many many times. At no point did
I feel unsafe on that same trail.


Kathy Myers
in Santa Fe, NM
ps... when Magnum went into his 4 foot ditch in Dec 1999,
I was thinking at that exact moment that had I been riding
him I wouldn't have let him jig so far off the trail through
that brush.  You couldn't see the footing and didn't know
what was under there.  Same point, Blue walked right out
into that dirt tank on Sunday.  I was worried about the mud.
Had we stumbled into quicksand or something it would have
been a real wreck.  But he wanted a drink so we tested an
edge and found the mud doable.  Of course he then walked
right out into the middle...  :P Fortunately, we were both OK
and so were all 4 of his easyboots.


--
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians
Home of Bunny and 16.2h TLA Halynov
who lives on through his legacy Hal's Riverdance!
http://www.arabiansporthorse.com

Always remember: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away." (George Carlin)




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Replies
Re: [RC] WNV vaccine & Tevis Trail, Magnumsmom