Creating a Comprehensive Care Plan for Your Horse

By Emily Wampler, DVM, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute

Planning ahead for your horse’s annual health care and developing good preventive strategies makes a difference in your horse’s overall health, but developing a year-round health care plan for your beloved equine companion might seem like an overwhelming task. How do you know where to start? What takes priority to ensure your horse gets the best care possible without breaking the bank, and how do you plan for the unexpected? It’s important to develop a relationship with a local veterinary team who can provide advice and work with you to keep your horse in the best possible health.

Vaccination Plans

A good place to start is developing an annual vaccine protocol. Vaccination is a vital part of routine health care. While recommendations can change as new research is published, there are several life-threatening infectious diseases that are easily prevented by keeping your horse up to date with basic core vaccines. This includes vaccinating against rabies, tetanus, Eastern and Western encephalitis (EEE, WEE), and West Nile virus (WNV). In addition, vaccinating against equine influenza virus and rhinopneumonitis can also help prevent these highly contagious respiratory and neurologic diseases, and may also be required for horses traveling to events.

Your vet may recommend additional vaccinations depending on where you are located and other risk factors based on your horse’s lifestyle. These risk-based vaccinations may include, but are not limited to, botulism (Clostridium botulinum), leptospirosis, Potomac horse fever, and strangles. Pregnant mares and foals also have unique vaccination needs.

It’s important to work closely with your veterinarian to determine which vaccines to prioritize and the frequency of vaccination. For example, vaccines protecting against mosquito-borne illness (WNV, EEE, WEE) may need to be administered more frequently in the Southeastern United States due to longer mosquito seasons. It is also important to give your veterinarian information regarding herd health, previous illnesses, and movement of horses on and off the farm. These factors should be considered for your horse’s vaccination plan.

Parasite Prevention

Work with your vet to develop an effective parasite prevention strategy using fecal egg count testing and targeted deworming. The old rotational deworming plan (using different dewormers different months to target common parasites) is no longer recommended due to the increase in parasite resistance to common dewormers. Instead, fecal egg counts can identify how often an individual horse needs to be dewormed, which parasites to target, and evaluate how well the treatment is working. Only horses who carry a high parasite burden, based on the fecal exam, should be targeted for deworming. A second fecal egg count performed 10-14 days after the dewormer was given will reveal if it effectively eliminated the targeted parasite. The purpose of targeted deworming is to identify horses who carry a high parasite burden and to avoid over-treating animals with low parasite burdens. These low parasite burdens do not cause clinical disease, so we do not need to expose these parasites to chemical dewormers.

When we overuse deworming medications, they become less effective as the parasites build up immunity to them. This makes it harder to treat with the same medications because they don’t work as well anymore. While researchers are working to find new parasite prevention strategies and treatments, there is currently no new medical solution in sight. Owners must be diligent with fecal examinations and only deworm with appropriate products when necessary.

Pasture management—cleaning pastures, pasture rotation and rest, and proper manure disposal—are strategies to help decrease the parasite burden on farms, which lessens your horse’s exposure to these unwelcome visitors.

Dedication to Dental Care

Horses need routine dental care to ensure they are comfortable when eating and wearing a bit. A horse’s teeth are continuously growing throughout his life, and his natural chewing pattern can cause teeth to wear unevenly and develop sharp enamel points. These sharp points can cause painful ulcers in the cheeks and on the tongue. Tooth problems or uneven wear can make it difficult for a horse to eat and chew food properly.

In addition, horses can have gaps between teeth, rotations, or fractured (broken) teeth that are all problematic. Some of these abnormalities can be corrected by a routine float and others may require additional diagnostics and care. Many sinus infections develop because of oral issues. Routine dental care can help prevent infections and discomfort.

Most horses only need a thorough oral examination and routine dental care, known as “floating” to file down sharp edges or uneven teeth, once a year. Your veterinarian will sedate your horse, for their safety and your horse’s comfort, and use special dental equipment, such as a speculum to prop the mouth open, mirrors to get a good look inside the mouth, and a special file or rasp called a “float” to smooth and balance the teeth, which helps make your horse’s mouth more comfortable.

Overall Health and Nutrition

Other common annual equine wellness tasks include doing a Coggins test, getting a health certificate, and having your vet give your horse a physical exam to assess overall health, including weight and overall body condition. A Coggins test requires a blood sample to test for equine infectious anemia (EIA), which is a highly infectious and contagious disease. Coggins are usually required for transport and for buying and selling horses. It is also needed in order for your veterinarian to write a health certificate, which is required if you are planning to travel with your horse. At this time your veterinarian will do a brief physical examination on your horse to make sure he is healthy for travel.

Any physical exam is a great time to have your vet evaluate your horse’s body condition score (BCS) and discuss appropriate nutrition and weight management. Veterinarians typically grade BCS based on a scale of 1-9, with a 5 being ideal body condition (0 is emaciated, 9 is morbidly obese). Areas to evaluate include the neck, withers, shoulder, along the ribs (barrel), along the back, and the tailhead. While weight tapes can be a helpful tool, they are not always entirely reflective of fat gain or loss, which is why knowing how to evaluate BCS is important. It is good practice to reassess body condition at least once a year and adjust as needed. Your veterinarian can help tailor a nutrition plan for weight loss, weight gain, or maintenance, and to ensure your horse is receiving enough calories and nutrients.

Healthy Hooves

Healthy hooves are also crucial for your horse’s health. While your veterinarian is a good partner in all things health mentioned above, your farrier will be your go-to source for developing a proper plan for hoof care, which should include regular trims, and possibly shoeing, depending on your horse’s needs. With that said, a veterinarian may get involved in hoof care if lameness or other limb or hoof issues enter the picture, and sometimes your veterinarian and farrier may coordinate on care in this area.

While all this information is a good place to start, what we know about equine wellness is always evolving, so continue reading and staying up to date on the most current recommendations. Do not be afraid to ask questions and seek advice from your vet and other knowledgeable experts. Continue to be attentive to your horse and provide outstanding care. Our horses deserve our absolute best and will give us immeasurably more in return

This article was originally published in the 2025 Spring issue of Discover USPC magazine. Read more content from that issue.