Influenza & Tetanus Vaccinations

Influenza and tetanus are the two most common diseases we vaccinate against and are considered the "routine" vaccinations for horses. Vaccination can be given from six months old (four months in exceptional cases, please speak to our vets for more information) and consist of a primary course of three injections followed by annual boosters.

The primary course for influenza and tetanus vaccinations:

• First vaccination
• Second vaccination 4-6 weeks later
• Third vaccination 5 months after the second
• Annual boosters should be given within 12 months of the previous vaccination. Influenza is given annually, tetanus is given every other year.

Please note that some competing bodies allow the second primary vaccination to be performed between 21-92 days and the third between 150-215 days. We believe that performing vaccinations outside of the manufacturer's datasheet ranges (stated above) may increase the immunity gap between vaccinations and therefore could potentially decrease immunity and place the horse at increased risk of contracting influenza. For this reason, we abide by the datasheet recommendations and if you horse has missed a booster within the advised date ranges, our vets may advise that you restart the course.

We use ProteqFlu/ProteqFlu-Te for our infleunza and tetanus vaccinations. This vaccination contains the most up to date viral strains and is compliant with current OIE recommendations.

If you have any questions about vaccinations please call our office on 0151 794 6199.

Tetanus only vaccinations

We recommend all horses be vaccinated against influenza and tetanus, however there is a stand-alone tetanus vaccination available which may be more appropriate for some cases. Tetanus vaccinations can be given from six months of age.

For tetanus only vaccination the primary course is:

• First vaccination
• Second vaccination 4 weeks later
• Third vaccination within 17 months
• Boosters every other year (every 24 months)

COVID-19 and vaccinations

We are now performing routine vaccinations (updated 20th May 2020) following risk assessment of each individual case. Please check our COVID-19 page for more information.

COVID-19 and 6-month vaccinations for competitions:

For competition horse owners, please see the British Equestrian Federation statement regarding influenza booster vaccination intervals: https://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/media/news/bef-vaccination-update 

Of greatest importance to note is that the various equestrian sports’ authorities who have rules in place for 6 monthly booster injections before competing will be aiming to implement a transition period to allow riders to bring vaccinations up to date, once the current suspension of competition is lifted.