Ten top tips for successful parasite management

 

Spring is the time to make sure your horse's worming regime is up to date, so the experts at Merial Animal Health present ten top tips to help you keep potentially harmful parasites at bay.

 

Worm Egg Counts (WEC)

 

Worm egg counts are important for helping to ensure that only horses with proven infection get treated. Unnecessary worming is undesirable. Carrying out worm egg counts is in the interest of all horse owners, to ensure that currently available wormers stay as effective as possible for as long as possible.

 

Field management

 

Removing droppings from paddocks, resting paddocks to prevent over-grazing and limiting the number of horses grazing paddocks are important aspects of parasite management.

 

Tackle tapeworm

 

Twice yearly treatments for tapeworm in the spring and autumn will act as the cornerstone of your worming programme. So just one dose of combination wormer such as EQVALAN® Duo, twice a year, will help keep the tapeworm burden at bay. An annual treatment for immature and encysted small redworms is also usually recommended, and in between times regular WECs can be performed throughout the year.

Pregnant mares

 

Worm pregnant mares before foaling. EQVALAN® is approved for pregnant and lactating mares. EQVALAN® Duo can also be used in pregnant mares after the first three months of pregnancy, and during lactation and also in foals from two months of age.

 

Start them young

 

EQVALAN® can be used to treat horses and foals of any age. It is recommended that foals are routinely wormed at 6-8 weeks of age and are then wormed regularly every 6-8 weeks until they are 18 months old. They may require a treatment earlier than this for threadworms. If large roundworms are a specific problem, treat foals every 6 weeks over the period of risk.

 

Mix it up

 

Graze pasture with cattle or sheep (equine specific parasite larvae will not survive if eaten by a cow or sheep).

 

Treat for 200epg or more

 

Worm egg count tests are expressed as eggs per gram (epg). In most cases, if the count is greater than 200 epg you should consider worming. Less than 200epg and the threat is minimal and in fact a small population of worms could even prove to be beneficial for resistance management. The population not exposed to treatment is termed ‘refugia’. Maintaining a population in refugia ensures a gene pool of treatment-sensitive worms and dilutes the resistant worm population.

 

Dose accurately

 

Weigh the horse (or use a weigh band) to enable accurate dosing for more effective worming. Under dosing encourages worms to develop resistance.

 

Treat new arrivals with care

 

All new arrivals should be wormed based on their previous worming history. For horses with an unknown worming history it is advisable to treat for encysted small redworm and common worms with a five-day course of fenbendazole, or a single dose of moxidectin. It is advisable to quarantine all new arrivals for at least 48 hours to check their general health. If in doubt contact your veterinary surgeon.

 

Keep track

 

Keep a record of when you worm your horse and what you use. The SMART Worming Planner is an easy way to do this, just go to www.smartworming.co.uk  to register.

 

 

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