West Nile & Horses: In the Words of a Local Vet
After our recent publication of our Horse's Year on Zoetis, I got to chat with a local Montana vet about real world things you can do to help prevent your horses from coming down with the deadly virus.
Dr. Jack Newman was able to give me some pretty straight forward advice as to "best practices" when acting against West Nile.
Check out the article we wrote with Dr. Newman on how to deworm your horse.
Like the recent controversy over human vaccinations, the horse world has its own share of West Nile experts and social media "epidemics."
Here are a few I've come across:
1. "Don't inoculate against West Nile because it causes arthritis in the left hock."
2. Vaccines "dry up the joints."
3. "Vaccines cause kidney failure."
These types of concerns exist, and if you have serious concerns regarding such issues, it's always best to consult with your local veterinarian.
Special thanks to Dr. Jack Newman, our local Great Falls, Montana vet, we're able to bring you the following easy tips to help protect your horses against West Nile this season.
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Six Ways to Prevent West Nile in Horses
1. You need to get your horse's vaccination done before west Nile season. The highest months are in August and September- nationwide- and it's pretty much the same in Montana and the Northwest.
We sell this West Nile inoculation at our stores.
2. The ideal time to get the vaccine? April or May is the best time, but it's never too late. It's important to remember that horse's get completely vaccinated. If your horse has never had the West Nile vaccine, they need two doses, administered about 4 weeks apart.
Read these tips specifically for keeping your horse healthy year round.
3. The number of cases has plummeted in the last 10 years, but because of that, lots of horses have dropped out of the West Nile vaccination situation. A couple years back, we had a few horses that got the vaccination initially, but it had lapsed when people thought it was no longer necessary- those horses died.
4. While all vaccines are available over the counter, people need veterinary guidance if they aren't sure how to administer the dosage.
5. On horse mosquito repellent, there is no real leader, just use them. Get the horses in the barn if you can, because dawn and dusk are the most active time for mosquitoes. We've had a lot of horses in this year that are very reactive to mosquitoes - golf ball size swelling versus pea size swelling the same thing happens in humans. Just be careful.
Wondering how to keep ticks off your horse?
6. Get rid of standing water, in drought like conditions, even after a brief rain, that warm standing water is a haven for breeding mosquitoes. Don't overlook the small buckets, tires there has to be more than what people are seeing because there are still mosquitoes and the threat of West Nile that comes with them.
Dr. Newman leaves us with a few words for the wise: "There have been outbreaks back East because people have focused so intensely on West Nile, that they've forgotten the common core diseases (below). Don't overlook them because all you see is mosquitoes."
The three major diseases you need in addition to West Nile, Western Encephalitis, Eastern Encephalitis and Tetanus (Three Way Vaccine) will cover these. The 4-way vaccine includes the flu inoculation while 5 way has rhino + flu.