# Reaction to flu vaccine



## bounce (16 December 2012)

Despite trying different types of vaccines it seems that my lad just seems to have a reaction to them all. Sadly I have to get him jabbed due to competition rules so myself and my vet are trying to come up with a plan to try and minimise his reaction.

Has anyone else's horses reacted to the flu jab on a regular basis and if so have you been able to minimise or eliminate the reaction. By reaction I don't mean swelling at the site of the jab but flu like symptoms for 48 hours, shivering and stiff and just generally looking very off colour.

My vet is wondering whether if we move his jab to the summer whether this would make any difference. I'm just wondering if anyone on here has similar experiences.


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## Britestar (16 December 2012)

Assuming its not a combined vacc your giving? Other than separating flu/tet if not already move  time to sometime you an give him 4-5 days off after?


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## RobinHood (16 December 2012)

I have a horse that has reacted very badly to his last three flu vaccines. We used duvaxyn most recently as he's had that with no problems whilst in my ownership but this time he reacted. His worst reaction has been to ProteqFlu.

My horse gets flunixin and danilon to ease the symptoms and I have tried something from trinity consultants but it didn't seems to help.

Mine gets a large amount of swelling at the injection site (worst in the chest, least in the hindquarters) , obvious stiffness/lameness in all 4 legs, loss of appetite, listlessness etc. and needs around 4 weeks off work.


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## bounce (16 December 2012)

I'm glad to say that mine doesn't react quite as severely as yours RobinHood. Mine just seems to be poorly for 48 hours luckily. 
Mine didn't react to the very first and second prequenza he had to start the course, but then reacted to the 3rd jab which was exactly the same. The only difference being it was in the winter rather than the summer.  We've tried equip this time but had the same reaction.
They have been flu and tet combined so will get them to give him flu by itself next time.


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## jj87 (16 December 2012)

Mine reacted to the jab and ended up very off colour, coughing and very snotty. She was off work for 6 weeks as she was very wheezy :-( 
Vet is thinking of options of what to do when she needs her booster


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## Foxford (16 December 2012)

Could you get your vet to test for an egg allergy? Most flu vaccinations are produced in chicken eggs and it's one of the more common causes of a bad reaction to the jab. Not really up on my animal vaccs as I make human ones - lol! Some manfacturers use a different method so might be worth you or your vet doing a bit of research.


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## Laafet (16 December 2012)

My horse reacted badly to this years vacc, a combined one. I have been advised to use the other one next time he is due a combined vacc, can't remember which one Proteq or Prequenza. There was a long thread BD about the combined vacc that cause my horse's extreme reaction, some people had got compensation.


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## Rum Tum (16 December 2012)

We had a horse that reacted badly to the flu jab, but our vet has advised us that its the tetanus part that they react to.  So we have started just giving him flu and he's been fine since.  We wonder why horses have to be vaccinated every 2 years for tetanus when human vaccines last 10 years?  I think now if people have 3 vaccines (?), they are considered to be protected for life?  So we are now just giving him flu jabs alone.


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