Re: vaccinations

["Glenda R. Snodgrass" <grs@theneteffect.com>]

On Wed, 4 Mar 1998, Chris Paus wrote:

> My vets here suggest not bothering with the rabies shot. 
> 
> chris

This is a True Story:  last fall I asked this list about rabies vaccine, 
because none of the horses at my barn get it.  Lots of people told me to 
go ahead and do it, and I did.  About two weeks later, a rabid animal 
(possum or racoon, I forget which) was found less than 1 mile from my 
barn, and a few days later, a rabid bat was found about 5 miles away.  
And there hadn't been any reported cases of rabies in this area in over 
20 years.  What I learned:  there's a lot more rabies out there than what is 
REPORTED, because I didn't read about either of those animals in the 
newspaper -- I heard about one from the people who found it and told the 
neighborhood, and I heard about the other from the vet, who examined and 
confirmed the rabies.  The vet told me that particularly in rural 
communities, it's common for an individual finding a dead rabid animal to 
simply bury the animal and forget it, rather than go through the hassle 
of reporting it.

And even if there's no rabies in your area, don't you transport your horse
to other places?  That's what decided it for me -- even if we didn't have
rabies here (though we did, as I found out later), I take him other places
for rides, and it's easier for me to get the vaccine and not have to worry 
or do research before every trip. 

Glenda & Lakota