Your horse will need shots on a routine basis to protect him from disease and keep him healthy.

Your horse will need the following annual shots:

Rabies that is most often passed to horses through skunks and raccoons. Rabies may manifest as paralysis, confusion and convulsions, or the horse may salivate profusely and attack anything that moves. The end result for all variations is death.

Tetanus is another preventable killer in horses. If your horse gets a puncture wound or other injury that becomes dirty it may set up a tetanus infection. The signs are a stiff walk (gait), horse's legs will be rigid - also called the sawhorse stance. Followed by an inability to eat and overexcitement to sounds. The disease will progress rapidly and will either suffocate the horse or cause a seizure that results in death. Eastern & Western encephalomyelitis is a disease that is spread by the bite of mosquitoes and the virus attacks the brain and central nervous system.

Strangles and Botulism are both diseases that regular inoculations can prevent.

Most horses receive a Potomac fever inoculation. If the fever is prevalent in your area, your vet or farrier may recommend having the injection more often. Another frequent injection (every 2 months or so) for younger horses, horses with depressed immune systems and horses that travel is the rhino/flu vaccine.

Your horse will also need to be wormed on a regular basis, every 6 weeks is a good schedule for most horses. These inoculations will help keep your horse healthy and not susceptible to viruses and diseases that cause horse deaths every year.