Vaccines
There are different types of vaccines:
Inactivated or killed vaccines contain some of the target organism that has been killed.
Modified live vaccines use an actual live organism that has been modified during manufacturing so that it can replicate in the animals body without getting it sick.
Recombinant vaccines are the newest products that splices gene sized fragments of DNA from the virus or bacteria, and delivers the fragments to the horse where it stimulates immunity to the disease without the risk of reactions associated with the other types of vaccines.
Then there are the core (highly recommended vaccines) and the non-core (recommended based on environment and location) vaccines. Core include Eastern, Western and West Nile encephalomyelitis and tetanus.
Non-Core include Rhino, Strangles, Equine Influenza, and Rabies. If you plan to breed, you should include Rhino and Equine viral arteritis.
Vaccines are given in the muscle, typically in the neck or rump. Be sure that when you insert the needle, to pull back on the syringe to verify that no blood comes out, meaning that you are in a vein, not the muscle.
Commonly, people use combination vaccines. There are three-way, four-way, five-way, or five-in-one vaccines. These have gotten a lot of scrutiny, but they have been deemed reliable and safe. The only concern is that giving your horse that much at a time, can cause a reaction. I ordered my vaccines from Dr. Fosters and Smith, because it was much cheaper than buying locally. If you do that, make sure they are still cold when they arrive, otherwise they are bad. If they are not cold, they will pay for the return shipping and send you new ones. If they aren't cold, they are useless, don't even try it. It is a waste of your time and your horses energy.
Once I received my second COLD order, I had my vet come out and show me how to administer the vaccienes. I gave my mare a five way vaccine and the next day she was very lethargic. Her head was hanging low and she was really depressed. I kept an eye on the injection site in her neck to make sure there was no swelling, and monitored her. After about two days, she was perked up and good as new. The other two mares were just fine and had no reaction. So keep an eye on your horse, after vaccinating. Please post any questions, comments and feedback on vaccines.
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