From Alpha Horse
Horse parasites can be combated with a well-planned horse
worming schedule that incorporates a variety of quality horse
wormers, but whereas horse wormers are invaluable aids to help
destroy parasites that do manage to infest your horse, our
ultimate goal should be to follow proper parasite prevention
practices in order to minimize the quantity of parasites that do
make it into your horse.
Keep The Stable Clean
Maintaining a high level of cleanliness within your stable is
one of the most important parasite preventative measures you can
take. Horse parasites thrive in muck-covered, moist stalls, so
make sure you clean each stall of manure at least once daily and
keep plenty of clean, dry shavings on hand. It can be handy to
thoroughly disinfect each stall once weekly too.
Keep Food Off The Floor
Since the floor is a primary source for parasites it's
important to keep your horse's mouth away from it as much as
possible. Attach a hay rack to the stall wall so your horse can
eat the majority of his hay in a clean, upright position. Make
sure any feed or grain is served inside a grain bucket, preferably
one that attaches to a stall corner rather than one that sits on
the floor and can easily be kicked over.
The side benefit to keeping food off the floor is a horse also
ingests less dirt.
Keep The Pasture Clean
Try not to permit manure to accumulate in the grazing pastures
as that provides a prime living condition for horse parasites.
It's a good idea to take a muck rake and clear the pasture of
manure once a week.
Rotate Your Pastures
Parasites thrive in fields that are overcrowded and overused,
so if room permits try to rotate the pastures every couple of
weeks. By disallowing use of a pasture from time to time the
elements will better kill off any residing parasites.
Wet Pastures Are A Problem
Horse parasites thrive in wet conditions, so horses are much
more exposed when they are grazing from wet fields. Consider
keeping younger horses in a paddock with plenty of hay during such
conditions.
Isolate Newcomers
Do not introduce a new horse to your herd until he has
undergone a de-worming program. Since all your horses are
presumably kept on a thorough horse worming schedule, newcomers
who haven't been cleansed can be the largest contributor to a
parasite infestation.
The above tips will not guarantee your equine partner has
complete protection against horse parasites, so they should not be
used in place of horse wormers. That being said, if you own just
one horse and his atmosphere is kept clean and sanitary then you
can probably worm him less often than the normal recommended
frequency.
The American Association of Equine
Practitioners (AAEP) offers these tips for removing internal
parasites before they can attack your horse!
Internal parasites -- worms -- are silent killers. They
can cause extensive internal damage, and you may not even
realize your horses are heavily infected. At the very least,
parasites can lower resistance, rob the horse of valuable
nutrients, and cause gastrointestinal irritation and
unthriftiness. At their worst, they can lead to colic,
intestinal ruptures, and death.
Using deworming agents on a regular schedule in
combination with good management procedures is critical to
relieving your horse of most parasites. Since parasites are
primarily transferred through manure, good management is
key. In terms of management priorities, establishing a
parasite control program is probably second only to
supplying the horse with clean, plentiful water and high
quality feed.
To get rid of parasites before they attack your horse,
follow these suggestions from the American Association of
Equine Practitioners (AAEP):
- Pick up and dispose of manure droppings in the pasture
at least twice weekly.
- Mow and harrow pastures regularly to break up manure
piles and expose parasite eggs and larvae to the
elements.
- Rotate pastures by allowing other livestock, such as
sheep or cattle, to graze them, thereby interrupting the
life cycles of parasites.
- Group horses by age to reduce exposure to certain
parasites and maximize the deworming program geared to
that group.
- Keep the number of horses per acre to a minimum to
prevent overgrazing and reduce the fecal contamination
per acre.
- Use a feeder for hay and grain rather than feeding on
the ground.
- Remove bot eggs quickly and regularly from the horse's
haircoat to prevent ingestion.
- Rotate deworming agents, not just brand names, to
prevent chemical resistance.
- Consult your veterinarian to set up an effective and
regular deworming schedule.
With the many safe, convenient products available today,
establishing an effective deworming program is easy. Discuss
a plan with your veterinarian and implement it without
delay. A good parasite control program will go a long way
toward maximizing your horse's appearance, performance and
comfort. The net result will be an animal that is as healthy
on the inside as it appears on the outside.
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2003 Moniteau Saddle Club
