Vaccinations

Equine Vaccinination Requirements

Horses must be vaccinated against equine influenza in order to compete at FEI events. Every horse’s passport is checked at events to ensure that the horse has been vaccinated according to the FEI Veterinary Regulations, therefore all equine influenza vaccines that have been given to the horse must be recorded in the horse’s passport. The FEI supports the OIE recommendation that equine influenza vaccines should contain both Clade 1 and Clade 2 viruses of the Florida sublineage.

Although vaccination against tetanus is not mandatory, it is highly recommended. Horses may require other vaccines to protect them against equine infectious diseases that may be prevalent in their environment e.g. Equine Herpes Virus and West Nile Virus. These vaccines should also be recorded in the horse’s passport.

Why vaccinate against equine influenza?

Equine influenza outbreaks occur worldwide and most often affect horses that are unvaccinated or have been vaccinated but not within the required time intervals set by regulatory bodies or vaccine manufacturers. Equine influenza can cause significant losses to the equine industry and infections can be fatal.

Although vaccination against equine influenza cannot guarantee immunity, it is a mandatory biosecurity practice required by the FEI to reduce the risk of circulating virus at events.

Vaccine Administration and Record Keeping

All vaccinations must be administered by a licensed veterinarian. This veterinarian does not have to be a registered FEI veterinarian. The vaccines given must be recorded in the horse’s passport, signed by the veterinarian administering the vaccines and the passport must be stamped with the veterinarian’s clinic stamp.

If a mistake is made whilst recording vaccination information in the horse’s passport, draw a single line through the entry and re-enter the information on a new line. Do not use correction fluid or try to change dates that have already been written in.

Where vaccination details are to be recorded into new FEI Passports, Recognition Cards or duplicate documents, the certified statement "The vaccination history of this Horse is correct to date. Last vaccination on 00/00/00 (date)” may be used to summarise a long vaccination history.

Responsibilities of the PR

It is responsibility of the ‘Person Responsible’ (PR) for the horse to ensure that their horse has been vaccinated according to the FEI Veterinary Regulations. Sanctions can be given at events for not entering details of equine influenza vaccinations in the horse’s passport.

It is the PRs responsibility to ensure that their horse has been vaccinated at the correct time intervals to comply with the FEI Veterinary Regulations. The FEI Veterinary Department does not provide a service to assist with this.

Vaccination Intervals for Equine Influenza

Equine Influenza Vaccination Requirements
Vaccination Protocol Eligibility to Enter Venue

Primary Course

 

1st Vaccination: day 0 (e.g.1 March 2014).

2nd Vaccination: day 21-92 (e.g.1 April  2014).

Horses that have only received the first vaccination of the primary course are not allowed to compete or enter the FEI stables.

 

Horses that have received the primary course can compete provided that the vaccine has not been given within 7 days of arriving at an event venue.

 
First Booster Within 7 months of the 2nd vaccination of the Primary Course (e.g. 1 October 2014).

Horses must have been vaccinated to comply with the requirements for the Primary Course

 

Horses that received their primary course before 2005 are exempt from the first booster requirement within 7 months. Subsequent boosters are to be given at intervals of no later than 1 calendar year after the primary course.

 

Horses can compete for up to 6 months +21 days after the 2nd vaccination of the Primary Course, however they cannot compete if they have been vaccinated within 7 days of arriving at an event venue. (e.g. may enter venue after 8 October 2014).

 
Subsequent Boosters

MINIMUM: within one year of previous booster vaccination.

COMPETING: must usually be in the 6 months +21 days of previous booster vaccination.
 

 

Horses must have been vaccinated to comply with the requirements for the Primary Course, First Booster and all subsequent boosters.

 

Horses must have been vaccinated within 6 months +21 days of arriving at the Event however they cannot compete if they have been vaccinated within 7 days of arriving at an event venue.

Sanctions

Sanctions may be given by the Ground Jury to PRs whose horses do not comply with the FEI’s vaccination requirements. PRs may be issued with a fine, ineligibility to compete or disqualification from the event. A full list of sanctions can be found in Annex VI of the FEI Veterinary Regulations. 

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