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Health Maintenance > Vaccinations
 Annual vaccinations for are critical to maintaining the health of your horse. We recommend vaccinating at least once a year for Rhinopneumonitis/Influenza virus and more frequently if your horse is on a busy show schedule.
Additionally, the encephalitidies (Eastern, Western, Venezuelan, and West Nile virus) should be vaccinated against every 6 months beginning before the peak of mosquito season such as in February and July
Many communicable diseases plague the equine community on a monthly and yearly basis causing illness ranging from a mild snotty nose even to death. Fortunately, a variety of vaccines exist against many of these diseases to help your horse fight off these diseases.
Diseases such as Rabies, West Nile encephalitis, "strangles", "sleeping sickness", and pneumonia are caused primarily or in part by viruses, bacteria, and protozoa (collectively called pathogens). Vaccines work by exposing a horse's immune system to a part of a pathogen or a genetically modified one so that the horse's body can prepare a systemic defense in case it comes in contact with the pathogen the vaccine is against.
Not all vaccines will keep a horse from becoming sick, but vaccinated horses will not become as ill as unvaccinated ones in most cases. Depending on how a horse comes in contact with a given pathogen and a horse's likelihood of exposure, horses need to be vaccinated one or more times a year.
For more specific information, see our Vaccination Fact Sheet.
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