The Pony Chronicles...
We've taken the plunge into (the time- and money-sucking abyss of) pony ownership for our 3 daughters. Foxie Casie, a 4-yr-old Welsh cross, arrived yesterday, much to the delight of the girls and mixed delight and trepidation to their parents. I figured I might as well discuss some of the infectious disease-related issues dealing with acquisition of a new pony.
Vaccinations
- She came vaccinated against rabies and tetanus, with the last round having been done this spring. I'll re-do rabies and tetanus next spring. She'll get a rabies vaccination every year, but I will probably stretch out the tetanus vaccine since yearly vaccination is likely not necessary (especially considering tetanus vaccination is labeled for every 5 years in Australia).
- I always debate about the necessity of West Nile virus (WNV) vaccination, since it's very rare now in Ontario and I'm not aware of any mammalian cases in the general vicinity. I'll probably err on the side of caution and vaccinate her, but will do so in late summer, in advance of the true high risk period here. Typically, any WNV cases that occur here develop late August through October, so vaccinating the pony in late July, to get peak immunity during the main risk period, makes sense.
- I will probably not vaccinate her against eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) since it's so rare and hasn't been found around here.
- She lives with no other horses and won't be traveling off the farm in the near future, so there's no need to vaccinate against things like influenza, equine herpesvirus or strangles.
Deworming
- She was dewormed about one month ago. I'll check a fecal egg count soon and go from there. Since she's the only horse on the farm (the sheep are low risk for passing parasites to her), if we get started right and keep her from contaminating the pasture, a pretty conservative parasite control program with periodic fecal egg counts and deworming as needed should suffice.
New horse infectious disease issues
- She didn't have much of a trailer ride and appeared healthy when I saw her the day before, so shipping associated diseases like pleuropneumonia ("shipping fever") are pretty unlikely.
- Diarrhea's always a concern. Risk factors for diarrhea include shipping, stress, diet change and antibiotic use. Well, she's been shipped, presumably stressed, had her diet changed and been introduced to pasture, so she has some risk factors. She's not exposed to other horses, which helps, and she has no need for antibiotics (at least at the moment). So, basically, I'll give her a good diet (good hay and not-very-lush pasture) and keep an eye on her. My diarrhea research background probably makes me look at her feces more than the average person, but so far, so good.
I'm sure there'll be more to come... hopefully not much from the actual infectious disease standpoint.
