Horse deworming is a necessary part of responsible horse ownership and most horse folks have a protocol in place to manage their horse’s health and protect against the array of equine internal parasites that horses can harbor.
Different horses; different worm counts
A worm egg count test is truly the only way to know whether an equine worm control program is on target.
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Thankfully in the 1970’s and 1980’s the advent of the simple paste dewormer product, Ivermectin, revolutionized the world of equine worm control and was extremely effective in treatment of bots, large and small strongyles, ascarids and the other nematodes that worm their way around our horse pastures and are laid on our horses’ glossy coats by flies.
When resistance to dewormers began to appear, we were all advised to implement a new program, the rotational rationale. So we blindly began administering different types of dewormers (hopefully not by brand name but by type of effective ingredient), through the myriad of present day pastes on the market on a 6-8 week basis. This random deworming schedule took no account of what worm eggs our horses were actually shedding or how many. The approach was untargeted and this overmedication has caused ever more worm resistance to present day equine deworming products.
Your tack room is probably stocked with an array of deworming pastes. I confess that is the case in my cupboards, and that the Google Calendar pop up reminder was my mode of operation. Which was silly really, because when I think back to my life as a horse crazy kid growing up in England, we never dewormed our ponies without an equine fecal worm egg count completed under the microscope by the neighborhood vet twice a year and administered select worm powders strictly on their advice.
While I realize that we still need to deworm our horses in Spring and Fall to protect them from tape worms and bots, my over-use of dewormers has probably done its fair share of damage to the efficacy of paste dewormers as a whole. Of course, unless I complete fecal worm egg count tests ( F.E.C.T.) on my horse herd, I have no idea if any of my horses harbor worms at all, if any of them are classified as high shedders or if any of them are shedding worm eggs which will infect the pasture with parasites resistant to dewormers. My blind program has probably also cost me unwarranted product expense and caused my horses’ unnecessary stress and exposure to the chemicals contained in those products.
I don’t want to call my vet out every time I want to test or repeat test my horses’ worm egg counts. That would be expensive. But I do want to have a vet’s expertise available to me directly, on the phone or via email, when I need treatment advice or have a question about how to analyze a report. It’s even better if that vet is an expert in equine parasitology.
So my advice is to choose a lab that will not only send you out simple test kits to take your own horse herd manure samples and mail in for testing and provide accurate reports, but also offers a one on one consult directly with a vet. A good lab service will also send you out reminders for re-testing based on the individual horse’s previous results and for busy trainers like myself, an automatic system of replenishment for sampling kits in my barn.
The access to a qualified veterinarian, is especially important when I complete a follow up test to check a horse that has shown a worm egg count that required and has received the necessary targeted wormer product treatment, and the second test reveals a high count or a resistance in that horse’s parasites to the dewormer. Given that my horse didn’t spit out the dewormer and that he received the correct dose, the worm egg count test is truly the only way to know whether my equine worm control program is on target.
As a responsible horse owner I am happy to follow the recent medical advice from veterinary professionals on how to effectively control horse parasites and to conduct fecal worm egg count tests on my horse herd. Are you contributing to the equine dewormer worm resistance issue or are you part of the solution? It’s important, because what we were doing with a rotational dewormer program is not sustainable and there are no new products on the horizon according to equine parasitology experts.
By Nikki Alvin-Smith
This article is brought to you courtesy of Horsemen’s Laboratory Inc., Mahomet, IL. –
About Horsemen’s Laboratory: Established in 1993 by John Byrd D.V.M., an experienced lifelong horseman and a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. As an equine medicine practitioner in California for 13 years, Dr. Byrd served as ex-officio member of the board of directors of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association where he also served as the organization’s official sales veterinarian. In addition, Dr. Byrd frequently officiated, as veterinarian for horse shows sponsored by the management of Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California. Dr. Byrd’s extensive experience with horses led him to observe how a horse’s health could impact performance leading to the founding of the specialist lab for equine fecal worm egg counts. Please visit https://www.horsemenslab.com/ for more information.
About Nikki Alvin-Smith: International and national published freelance writer and photographer in such world renowned publications such as The Chronicle of the Horse, Horse and Hound, Dressage and CT, Warmbloods Today, The Horseman’s Yankee Pedlar, Reiter, The Equine Journal, Spur, Hoofprints, Horsin’ Around, Horses All, Field & Stream, Western Horse and Gun, Pony Quarterly, Horses All Canada, Catskill Horse to name a few. Ghostwriting, blog services, PR/Marketing copy either direct with manufacturer or for agencies, copy editing and editor services also available. Nikki also produces catalog copy, white papers, e-books, corporate brochures and advertising copy for international corporations and PR/Marketing for celebrities.
As a Brit who has called the America home for the past 34 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to the equestrian world. Nikki is also an accomplished Grand Prix dressage trainer/competitor, competing at international Grand Prix level to scores over 72% and is a highly sought clinician offering clinics worldwide. She has been a horse breeder/importer of warmblood and Baroque breeds for more than 25 years. Together with her husband Paul who is also a Grand Prix trainer, they run a private dressage breeding operation and training yard in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York. Please visit http://www.NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com to learn more.