28/05/2026
Are you topping up your vaccines?
Following recent reports of an Equine influenza (‘flu’) outbreak in Wiltshire, we have had a number of clients contact us for advice regarding vaccination. It is a time of year when everyone is keen to get out and about, and the competition season is well under way. We want to support you to do this safely!
Although many competition organizing bodies and Pony Clubs only require annual vaccination in order to be eligible to compete, it is known that protection from flu is strongest during the first 3-6 months post vaccination and then starts to wane. Between 6 months and 12 months an immunity gap can occur where protection is sub optimal and horses are at increased risk of clinical signs of flu and are more likely to spread the virus. For this reason, at times of potential high challenge we recommend administering flu boosters every 6 months. When at competitions or other events, avoiding the sharing of equipment/water sources and direct contact with other horses is sensible to reduce the risk of transmission of flu and other respiratory diseases.
It is important to note that whilst the flu vaccination is very effective at reducing the severity of disease in vaccinated horses and reducing the amount of shedding (leading to less spread), it is not 100% protective, so thought should be given to more frequent vaccination of horses kept on competition yards, even if they themselves do not go out.
In order to support our clients and to help to make sure that their horses have adequate immunity at this time, we are offering a 10 % discount on flu vaccines in June 2026, for people who would like to do an interim or 6 monthly vaccine in addition to their annual vaccine.
