Effective Worm Management: Protecting Your Horse's Health
Managing worms in horses goes beyond just regular worming. Implementing effective strategies can help break the worm life cycle and ensure better health for your horse. Here’s the latest advice on worm management.
1. Manage the Poo!
- Pick up manure in small paddocks or yards every 2-3 days and in stables at least daily.
- In larger paddocks, avoid overgrazing and rotate horses to other paddocks when the grass gets shorter than 5 cm. Harrow the paddock and leave it to rest for 6-8 weeks.
2. Fecal Egg Count Tests
- Some horses will need worming more often than others. Doing fecal egg count tests can tell you which horses need worming and whether the worming has been effective (note: this does not apply to redworms as they don’t produce eggs).
3. Dung Beetles
- Get some dung beetles; they love to eat manure and help break the worm life cycle.
4. Use the Right Wormer at the Right Time
- Use the correct wormer at the point when it will kill the most worms.
5. Worming New Horses
- Ensure new horses are wormed on arrival and kept separate from the others for 4 days. Remember to pick up their manure too!
6. Proper Dosing
- Ensure you give the dose according to the weight of the horse. If you don’t know this, use a weight tape and add 10%. It’s better to overdose slightly than underdose. Make sure the horse doesn’t spit it out either!
7. Treating Small Redworm Encystation
- Suspected small redworm encystation should be treated with 5 days of Panacur, followed up with a dewormer in Spring and late Autumn that contains moximectin.
Implementing these effective worm management strategies can significantly improve your horse’s health and wellbeing. Proper manure management, using fecal egg count tests, getting dung beetles, using the right wormer at the right time, and ensuring proper dosing are all essential steps in maintaining a healthy horse.