EquiDiaryHorse flu vaccination checker: can your horse compete on that date?
Last checked: 13 October 2026
A horse can be fully vaccinated and still be turned away at the gate. International rules want a dose in the last six months and 21 days and none in the last week, and since 2024 a new primary course runs to tighter intervals than the one in most passports. Put in the dates and the day you arrive, and this works out whether the horse can start, and when the next dose has to go in.
This applies published rules to the dates you type. It is not the organiser's decision, and it is not veterinary advice. What is checked at the event is the passport, filled in and signed by a vet, and federations revise these rules — check the current version before you travel. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
The rules it applies
Each rule as the checker reads it, from the body that sets it. Where a rule says nothing about a step, the checker does not invent one.
| Rules | Primary course | Boosters | At the event |
|---|---|---|---|
| FEI international | second dose 21–60 days after the first, third within 6 months + 21 days of the second; for courses started before 2024, 21–92 days and 7 months | at most 12 months apart | last dose within 6 months + 21 days before arrival; none in the 7 days before arrival |
| OEPS Austria | second dose 21–60 days after the first, third within 6 months + 21 days | at least once a year | last dose within 6 months + 21 days — § 11 counts them to the start in one sentence and to arrival in another; none in the 7 days before arrival |
| LEWB / Paardensport Vlaanderen Belgium | second dose 21–92 days after the first, third within 7 months | at most 12 months apart | last dose within 6 months + 21 days before the competition starts; none in the 7 days before it |
| Equestrian Canada Canada | not set | not set — the vaccine maker or the vet decides | a flu dose and an EHV-1/4 dose within 6 months + 21 days before arrival; no vaccine of any kind in the 7 days before arrival. For EHV, enter its dates in place of the flu dates. A horse that cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons needs a vet's letter on letterhead with the entry instead |
| FFE France | for a second dose given since 2024: 21–60 days after the first, first booster 120–180 days after the second; 2013–2023: 21–92 days and 5–6 months; before 2013: 21–92 days, then yearly | at most 1 year apart (with one day of tolerance) | from the 8th day after the second dose or any booster; equine herpes (rhinopneumonitis) vaccination is also required in the Pro and Amateur divisions |
| FN Germany | second dose 28–70 days after the first, third within 6 months + 21 days | at most 6 months + 21 days apart | a start no sooner than 14 days after the second dose, 7 days after any later one |
| Eventing Ireland Ireland | courses from 2024: 21–60 days, third within 6 months + 21 days of the second; earlier courses: 21–92 days and 7 months; a course from before 2005 needs no first booster, only yearly ones | not more than 12 months apart | a current vaccination, which the checker reads as the last dose within 12 months of the first day of competition; none in the 7 days before arrival — the 8th day is allowed. International events follow the FEI rule |
| Showjumping Ireland Ireland | second dose 21–92 days after the first, third 150–215 days after the second | less than 365 days apart, as the rulebook says; SJI’s veterinary page says not more than 12 months; the checker says the days between are unclear | last dose less than 365 days (on the veterinary page, 12 months) before the competition; no set waiting period after a dose, but the rulebook asks for full recovery after any veterinary treatment, so the checker queries a dose in the 7 days before. FEI classes follow the FEI rule |
| KNHS Netherlands | for courses from April 2024, three doses: second 21–60 days after the first, third 120 days to 6 months + 21 days after the second; no competing before the second | within 12 months (disqualification only past 14; the checker uses 12) | every dose at least 7 days before the first competition day |
| RFHE Spain | second dose 21–92 days after the first, third within 7 months | at most 12 months apart | a dose within the 6 months + 21 days before the competition; none in the 7 days before arrival, and 7 days after the second dose before competing |
| Svenska Ridsportförbundet Sweden | courses from June 2019, three doses: second 21–60 days after the first (21–56 where the second was given before 2024), third 120–180 days after the second (90–180 where the third was given before 2024, up to 201 before 3 January 2022); a dose too soon counts as the one before it given again; a course begun before June 2019 keeps two doses, 21–92 days apart | within 365 days of the last (386 for a booster given before 2023), counted in days: across a 29 February, a day before the same date a year on | from the 8th day after any vaccination, the second dose of the course included |
| Swiss Equestrian Switzerland | second dose 21–60 days after the first, third within 6 months + 21 days; where the second dose was given before 2024, 21–92 days and 7 calendar months. A course from before 2013 (or, for a horse born before 2013, a two-dose course from 2013 to March 2021) keeps two doses and yearly boosters: untick the box | at least once a year: the same date a year on is still in time | last dose within the past year; no event for 7 days after any dose — the 8th day is allowed |
| British Showjumping United Kingdom | courses from 2024: 21–60 days, third within 6 months + 21 days; earlier courses: 21–92 days, third 150–215 days after the second | at most 12 months apart | seven full days between a dose and the competition |
| USEF United States | not set | not set — the vaccine maker or the vet decides | a dose in the 6 months before entering the stables; EHV vaccination is required too and is not checked here |
Not covered, because no current rule text could be confirmed or the rule leaves nothing to count: the FISE in Italy at national level (it defers to each vaccine's own leaflet), the FEP in Portugal, the other British disciplines and British racing, and national shows in Mexico and Brazil. In Australia no flu vaccine is approved at all.
The 2024 change most passports still show
For primary courses started on or after 1 January 2024, the FEI tightened two intervals: the second dose now comes 21 to 60 days after the first, where it was 21 to 92, and the third within 6 months and 21 days of the second, where it was 7 months. A course started before 2024 keeps the old intervals — nobody re-vaccinates a horse because the rule moved — but a third dose given from 2024 on is held to the new limit, which is how the FEI handled horses caught halfway.
The national federations did not all follow. Swiss Equestrian, the KNHS, British Showjumping and the FFE moved to 21–60 days, and the OEPS uses 21–60 as well; the FN in Germany kept its own 28–70; the RFHE in Spain, the Belgian federations and Showjumping Ireland still use 21–92. A horse that competes under two of them can be on time under one and late under the other, which is why the checker asks whose rules first.
How the dates are counted
- Months are calendar months. Six months after 31 August is the last day of February: where a month has no such day, the checker takes its last day, the earlier reading.
- Arrival and the first day of competition are different days, and the rules differ on which they count from. The FEI counts from arrival, the FN and the KNHS from the competition, and the OEPS's § 11 counts its window to the start in one sentence and to arrival in the next: where only the arrival reading passes, the checker says so rather than deciding. The line under "Whose rules?" says which.
- The seventh day. "No vaccination within 7 days of arrival" is clear for six of those days and not for the seventh. Where a rule's wording settles it — Swiss Equestrian's "8th day", the KNHS's "at least seven days before" — the checker follows the rule; where it does not, it says the day is unclear rather than deciding it for you.
- Without the first dose, the primary course cannot be checked. Untick the box and enter only the recent boosters, and the most the checker can say is yes, provided the vaccinations before them were in order.
- A late dose is reported, not repaired. Most rules want a new primary course after a missed interval; the checker says which interval was missed and leaves the restart to your vet.
- Doses after the event do not count for it, and the same date entered twice counts once.
Questions people ask
How recent does a flu vaccination have to be for an FEI competition?
Under the FEI Veterinary Regulations the horse must have had a dose within 6 months and 21 days before arriving at the event, and none in the 7 days before arrival. Boosters must also be no more than 12 months apart to keep the vaccination course valid.
What changed in the FEI flu vaccination rule in 2024?
For primary courses started on or after 1 January 2024, the second dose must come 21 to 60 days after the first, and the third within 6 months and 21 days of the second. Courses started before 2024 keep the old intervals of 21 to 92 days and 7 months, but a third dose given from 2024 on is held to the new limit.
Can a horse be vaccinated just before a show?
Not under most rules. The FEI refuses any vaccination in the 7 days before arrival, Swiss Equestrian lets the horse back on the 8th day after a dose, the RFHE refuses a dose less than 7 days before arrival, and the FN in Germany wants 14 days after the second dose of a primary course and 7 after any later one. USEF sets no waiting period, and Showjumping Ireland names no number of days, though its rulebook asks for full recovery after any veterinary treatment before a horse competes.
Let the passport dates do the remembering
In EquiDiary each vaccination is an entry with its date, the vaccine and batch, and the vet who gave it. Put influenza on a rhythm in the care schedule — every six months, say — and the next due date counts from the last dose you logged, with a morning email when it comes up. The vaccination page lays the whole history out on one sheet, ready to print or hand to a vet or an organiser.
Start free for 3 monthsSources
- FEI Veterinary Regulations 2026, art. 1003: the primary course and its 2024 change, boosters, the 6 months + 21 days and the 7 days
- FEI — Vaccinations
- OEPS — Regulative 2026 (ÖTO Teil A, § 11, page A-13; updated 9 July 2026)
- LEWB — Règlement général 2024 (the FRBSE rule of 2017), Paardensport Vlaanderen
- Equestrian Canada — Rules, Section A: General Regulations, 2026 (amended 15 April 2026), art. A519
- FN — LPO 2024, Durchführungsbestimmungen zu § 66.1.7
- KNHS — Algemeen Wedstrijdreglement, 1 april 2024, KNHS — the change to the influenza deadline
- RFHE — Reglamento Veterinario 2026 (May 2026 update), arts. 2 and 3
- Svenska Ridsportförbundet — Tävlingsreglemente I, Gemensamma bestämmelser 2025 (moment 170, in force until 31 December 2026), SvRF — Vaccinationer (which limits apply, by the date of each dose)
- Swiss Equestrian — Veterinärreglement, Anhang III: Impfungen (as of 1 September 2025)
- British Showjumping — Members Handbook amendments, October 2025 (rule 42.5)
- Eventing Ireland — Rule Book 2026 (July 2026 edition), rule 17.2, national competitions
- Showjumping Ireland — Rule Book 2025 (appendix 11; no 2026 edition was published) and its veterinary page
- FFE — Règlement des compétitions, dispositions générales (July 2026 edition, applicable from 1 September 2026): "Protection sanitaire : vaccinations"
- USEF — GR8, Conduct of Licensed Competitions (GR845, effective 1 December 2025)
Each rule as published on the date shown in its source. Federations revise them, often at the turn of a year.
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Next: horse vaccination schedules — which vaccines, and why the competition rules differ by country.