 |
[RC] Imune response/vacination question for the vets.. - Natalie HermanOk, here is a Q I have for the vets on the list...I hope it can be answered without any bias from what the drug companies want said...:)I went in to the vet the other day to pick up my mare's Tetanus shot and found out she is also due again for Rabies (boy, wish we could just do htat one ourselves too..I hate having to pay that stupid office visit fee for something I really know how to do myself...anyone know where to get horsie rabies shots not from a vet?? :P). I know a lot of people are pro or anti-vacinations and I am not trying to open a debate about that. Personally, I always do rabies and tetanus since those two are a) mostly safe, at least in any horse I have owned/known/taken care of b)are incurable and c) are REALLY nasty ways to die...shudder... My only Question, mainly from a purely scientific curiosity viewpoint, is this... Why is it required to vacinate a horse EVERY year for rabies (and I don't want the drug company view)? Dogs/cats get it every 3-5yrs, so why not horses? The vet tech had no answer for me and asked the vet who was busy with something or other and couldn't come out to tell me. Her answer was that it had to do with the horse's immune system and that on the bottle it says something about the shot being for horses, cows, goats, sheep and horses need it every year, but sheep (I think...or maybe goats??) can go three years....I left still scratching my head, with an appointment for the rabies shot next week. So dogs/cats AND sheep can go 3 yrs+, but not horses (cows and goats I guess go annually too)?? Has anyone actually done a non-drug company funded research project on how long the horse stays immune or do we still go by "that's how it has always been done" models? I will do it every year if I have to, but would just like to know in layman scientific terms (ie: I often read, enjoy, and understand Scientific American, but stop short at trying to decifer medical/vet/other science specific journals, LOL), what in the horse's immune system is so drastically differant from other mammals such as dogs (and baaaa baaaa black sheep:P), that we have to vaccinate every year... Same Q applies to tetanus btw...I went in 2 years ago for my own shot and it is good for 8-10 yrs..why only 1 yr in horses??? Aren't the biological functions of the immune system pretty much the same? Just somehting that has been itching at my synapses for days now.... Natalie (out of college for several years now, but still curious about learning how things work) "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming.... 'Wow! What a ride!' " _________________________________________________________________ A place for moms to take a break! http://www.reallivemoms.com?ocid=TXT_TAGHM&loc=us =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|