PARASITES & DEWORMING

 

 

Worms can be extremely harmful to your horse.  The following is a list of some different types of worms and what they are capable of doing to your horse.

 

  • Roundworms - also known as Ascarids, can cause colic, damage the heart, lung and liver.  They can also cause injury to the gut in young and elderly horses.
  • Large Strongyles - also known as Bloodworms, can destroy blood vessels and arterial walls, inhibit normal circulation and lead to colic, diarrhea, anemia, fever, brain damage and other disorders. 
  • Small Strongyles – can cause inflammation to the intestines, which can result in weight loss, anorexia and chronic low grade colic. 
  • Bots – cause dental disease, stomach irritations, ulcerations and perforations of the stomach wall. 
  • Pinworms – also called Oxyuris, will irritate the horse’s tail region (the base and dock), causing your horse to rub.  If you find that your horse is doing this type of rubbing and notice a matted area with broken hairs, chances are your horse may have pinworms.
  • Tapeworms – may cause severe ulcerations of the large intestine. 

 

Your horse should be wormed every 6-8 weeks in order to maintain his health.  Be sure to always follow dosage directions on package.  Worms can become immune to one wormer if given consistently.  The way to avoid this is to switch dewormers every once in a while.  I usually switch every other time.  Another good reason to do this is to be sure that you are killing all types of worms.  Each wormer is geared to kill specific types of worms and may not affect others.