THE CASE AGAINST ADMINISTERING YOUR OWN VA C C I N AT I O N S

You can purchase equine vaccines from a variety of sources. Why not save yourself the cost of a veterinary visit and just vaccinate your horse yourself? You can, of course, but I don’t recommend this option for the following reasons.

1. Many jurisdictions and local municipalities will not recognize immunizations, particularly for rabies, that were administered by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian. To fill out a shipping certificate, for instance, you may need documentation from a veterinarian as proof of vaccination. Your own records will not suffice.

2. In the unlikely event of an adverse reaction to a vaccine, a veterinarian will be in a better position to treat the problem, working with the product’s manufacturer as needed. Reactions don’t happen often, but when they do the veterinarian who administered the vaccine can contact the manufacturer for help treating it. The vaccine company has incentive to help because they want to gather information on reactions and improve or alter their formula if necessary. In some cases, the manufacturer will even pay the cost of treatment. But they will not do this for an owner who administers the vaccine and calls to report a similar reaction.

3. Vaccinations administered by a veterinarian are much less likely to lead to injection-site reactions, which can range from mild lumps and soreness to severe infections. No matter how many vaccines you’ve given as an owner, your veterinarian has given more. We have more practice and know how to get the correct depth and prevent spillage into surrounding tissues. In short, we are experts on this procedure.

4. When you purchase vaccines through your veterinarian, you can be assured that the product has been subject to a protective chain of custody extending from the manufacturer to your horses. Vaccines that haven’t been stored under the proper conditions can be ineffective or even dangerous. Vaccines shipped directly to a veterinarian from the manufacturer are handled with vigilance and accountability that you won’t get through third parties. A box of vaccines left sitting in the sun on your porch or on a freezing loading dock may be unsafe, but you really have no way of knowing how they were handled.

I had a personal experience with this potential risk early in my career. On my way to use the restroom at my local tack shop, I saw, sitting in front of a refrigerator---right where warm air blows---a case of vaccines that I knew were supposed to be kept cold. I found the manager and handed him the case, telling him that the vaccines inside were now unusable. On my way back out of the store, however, I noticed that the case had been put in the refrigerator—no one would have known that those vaccines had been allowed to reach improper temperatures—and I’m pretty sure they were sold.— Melinda Freckleton, DVM