Re: RC: RC: New born foals

[Bette Lamore <woa@stormnet.com>]

Perhaps Dr. Newell and others could comment on this as well:
My vet says that there is a reaction that can happen to some horses from
the tetanus anti-toxin given just after birth. The horrible thing is
that the reaction doesn't occur until about two years later when the
horse simply drops dead. When one of my mares foaled a month early and I
of course had had no time to give her the 3 way, I had to make the
decision whether to risk tetanus or to risk the reaction. I called Alamo
Pintado and U C Davis. Both said that the risk in CA of tetanus was very
slim, that the last case having been reported was years prior. They said
it was up to me but indicated they would probably go with the risk of
tetanus and vaccinate at 3 1/2-4 mos. That was of course unless the foal
got caught up in barbed wire (could be contaminated from cattle) or
something to that effect.
I didn't want to get attached to the foal or sell same to someone only
to have it drop dead at 2 so I risked it.
But then, despite what the two places said, years later my friend Bev
Scott said she watched a horse die of tetanus at the race track around
1994. Don't know all the circumstances but she said it was a horrible
death. Sooo it still does exist, though rare.
So what do we as horse owners do if we have a mare that delivers early
and the 3 way has not taken effect? I'd be interested in opinions from
several vets as there seems to be some differing theories. Have things
changed in the last years and is the reaction to tetanus anti-toxin no
longer a real danger?
Bette
Bette Lamore
Whispering Oaks Arabians, Home of TLA Halynov
http://www.stormnet.com/~woa
I've learned that life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer it
gets to the end, the faster it goes. Smell the roses!

Dianne Martin wrote:
> 
> Well, it's been a long time since I was employed as a breeding manager, but we
> used to give the foals a Tetanus Anti-toxin after foaling (along with dipping
> the umbilical in iodine). That may no longer be standard practice, what do the
> vets on the list say?
> 
> We never vaccinated with anything else until the foals were 6 months old
> (usual weaning time). Of course, we didn't wean and vaccinate at the same
> time. Spread it out by a couple of weeks to a month so the stress factors
> wouldn't trigger a reaction.
> 
> Dianne
> Central Texas
> 
> WriteAway
> Writing Solutions. The Write Way, Write Away.
> 
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
> Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

--