Foal Protect is a craftable item. Users in the Pharmaceutical Sciences stream can craft it using EHV-1 antigen, adjuvant and neomycin.

Course Article

Equine Herpesvirus

Equine herpesvirus (particularly type 1), has been implicated in causing abortions in pregnant mares. Horses acquire the virus by contacting nasal secretions of infected horses, either through nose-to-nose contact or contacting secretions on surfaces or in water. If horses become sick from the virus, they will show signs like fever, nasal discharge, cough and lymph node swelling.

Herpesviruses are unique in that most horses form a latent infection, a type of infection where the horse has the virus but shows no outward signs of disease. Because of this feature of the virus, you can have a horse with herpesvirus and not know it! The virus stays in a dormant state within the horse until the horse becomes stressed, leading to virus proliferation for a short period of time. Horses that have proliferating virus are infectious, and can cause other horses to get sick, even though they are not showing any signs of illness.

Most horses have been exposed to the virus at some point in their life, so often have natural protection due to repeated exposure. However, some horses may not have been introduced to the virus, and if that horse is a pregnant mare, this exposure can result in the mare aborting her foal.

To prevent this, mares should be vaccinated at 5, 7 and 9 months pregnancy with an inactivated EHV-1 vaccine. This vaccine contains EHV-1 antigen which is a harmless piece of the virus that the body can use to teach its immune system to target the fully functioning virus. The vaccine also contains an adjuvant, to encourage immune system stimulation, and neomycin, an antibacterial preserving agent.

In Oxer to Oxer, the EHV-1 vaccine is called Foal Protect. It lasts one game year, and helps reduce the chance of pregnancy loss for the full year. You can combine its effects with Foal Support to maximize your mare's chance of having her foal! It is recommended you give Foal Protect to your mare at the time of breeding.

1. Equine Herpesvirus (Rhinopneumonitis). American Association of Equine Practitioners. https://aaep.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines/risk-based-vaccination-guidelines/equine-herpesvirus-rhinopneumonitis