Horsemen’s Laboratory Tip: Four steps for an effective parasite control program for your horse.
Managing Parasites Requires Four-Steps
To have an effective worm control program for your horse, four steps are required.
1. Start with a fecal egg count to determine what type of parasite is present. A higher egg count generally indicates a higher infection in your horse and a higher infestation in your pasture. Order your kit for a fecal egg count--visit www.horsemenslab.com or call 800-544-0599
2. Deworm your horse if indicated by a positive fecal egg count
3. Repeat the fecal egg count on positive specimens 21 days after deworming to determine the effectiveness of the dewormer
4. Manage your pastures to minimize parasite presence
Manage Your Pasture to Manage Parasites
Eggs are passed in manure and parasitic infestation is primarily an issue of horse environment and habit. Horses tend to leave manure piles in one area while grazing in another. Their instinct to eat away from manure piles builds in natural worm control but results in uneven grass growth.
Dragging pastures, which spreads worm eggs around, and cutting the grass to improve pasture appearance can result in larger quantities of larvae and eggs being ingested by grazing horses. To manage parasites in your pasture:
· Keep horses off the grass during cool mornings when small strongyle larvae crawl to the tops of the blades of grass, just waiting to be eaten
· Remove manure from pastures
· Drag pastures during hot afternoons when larvae have crawled back down to the soil level where exposed larvae will be quickly killed by heat.
Horsemen’s Laboratory owner Dr. John Byrd has extensive experience with racing and breeding horses and maintains Westbrook Boarding Stable. He created Horsemen's Laboratory in 1992 so that horse owners could better evaluate their worm control programs and make informed decisions about deworming their horses.