Are all the vaccinations and teeth floating necessary?

by Catherine Howard-Lightstone
(Alexandria, Ontario)

Firstly, thank you for that wonderful article on de-worming. I feel vindicated!
Well, I have a similar gut feeling about being told I have to vaccinate and float teeth every year on horses that are perfectly healthy and look at me very unhappily when I put them through all this.
When I rescued the TB's they had been vaccinated and floated, I had my vet check them and deworm them. He , in his wisdom, told me to relax and let them be horses as they were pretty healthy animals. Due to peer pressure I contacted a closer, younger vet who launched into 'the vaccinations and yearly floating'. Apart from the spiraling costs as my herd grew, I really started to go back to my roots in UK and the farmers way, of 'don't fix it if it ain't broke'....(you can see how your response resonated with me!)
So guiltily I let the vaccinations lapse for 2yrs, I never got their teeth floated....they continued to eat and flourish. They relaxed and my old vet came to check them this summer and said both horses and donkeys looked great and were thriving.
I know there must be certain vaccinations that should be kept up, though not sure which. Our horses don't go to shows and are only in contact with our donkeys and the Belgium cart horses next door and 3 naughty Shetlands all of whom are neither vaccinated or dewormed as they belong to the wonderful farmer next door who doesn't believe in such things. We do take the donkeys to the local parades as do the Shetlands and sometimes the Belgiums as they are all driven.
So, if we are going natural what is really necessary and what is not?
Also, what is the danger of my horses catching lung worm from the donkeys and how do I know if the donkeys have it? (Lung worm are not fatal in donkeys, apparently, but are in horses..Myth or truth?)

Answer:

Hi Kate,

First, I need to remind everyone that I am not a vet and can only speak about my experiences and preferences (and I am not offering advice) when it comes to these subjects. So here goes…

Vaccinations:

I stopped vaccinating my horses for about 10 years now and although I am confident that this is best even I have had reservations in the past. I have had moments of fear and intimidation, for example we gelded Hero last year and was convinced to give him a tetanus shot, out of fear, I reluctantly went along with it. Since learning that the dangers of vaccinating have become more obvious and documented, I do not want to ever vaccinate. This decision is a personal one and it is based on knowing that my horses are not traveling to other barns or areas too. In other words I know what is in my own back yard. Where you live geographically can influence your decision too since some diseases seem to be more prevalent in some areas over others.


I do feel in general we are and have over vaccinated our horses, dogs, cats to such an extent we are witnessing diminished immunity systems rather than stronger ones. Not to mention the number of deaths and reactions from vaccines too.

Because we incorporate a natural lifestyle for our horses in environment and nutrition it seems I have a herd of very healthy horses without the use of vaccinations! So in the end I feel vaccines do more harm than good.


Here’s a great resource for further facts and research Shirleys Wellness Cafe

Teeth Floating:

Here is another subject open for debate and I feel what we “do”(from using bits to competing), “what” they are fed, “how” they are fed and “how” they live has a lot of impact on the subject. The more natural grinding that can take place the better. I have witnessed many different situations that leave you with the “it depends” scenario.

I had a neighbor who didn’t have her pony’s teeth checked for over 17 years and when the vet had a look she said they were fine. I questioned how this could be? Given the instructions to have them floated yearly by so many. Her answer was simply she had seen this before and not every horse has issues. Hmmmm.

Breeding, confirmation and age have their place too. (Notice the above example was a pony) I have a quarter horse Cash who came to me with one back tooth already removed so yearly check-ups were necessary to ensure the lower tooth didn’t grow too long since it had nothing to grind upon. She has since had two more teeth removed which caused me a lot of upset not knowing why her? And is this the right thing to do? In this situation the vet claims, “Some horses are just born with bad teeth”. This particular horse has also suffered from heaves, allergies which have all been before I got her. She has always shown a weaker disposition and lower than average immunity system.

Three other horses I have had not had their teeth looked at for 10 years and just needed a few sharp edges removed. (The breeds are Standardbred and Welsh cob)These horses have always been extremely healthy and never had a day of sickness in this time either, so overall health plays a huge roll here.

The last time Candy (32 year old pony) was looked at (2010) the vet said if he was to do what he would regularly do, she wouldn’t have any teeth left! He felt she was not going to last another year. Yet she eats well and appears healthy and happy. Only time will tell I guess.

I personally don’t feel anyone’s education is complete in this area while new information comes forward all of the time. And we rely on our vet’s to keep their education up to date. But just like our vaccinations, I do feel we are overdoing it in this area too. Providing my horse is healthy, eating etc, I will start with a floating if necessary and likely skip a year or two before revisiting (again depending upon the horse’s health of course). I have also recently decided to stay away from the vets who use power tools since I have heard too often mistakes are being made with them.

I have not had any experience with lung worm so I can’t offer you any information regarding this. Best thing to do is ask a homeopathic doctor.

Thanks for asking such great questions!

Elaine Polny