Worming126

Worming horses and
-by Nick Bowen BVetMed, CertEP, MRCVS, Chalgrave Equine Clinic near Dunstable. an update
Equitape) twice yearly in April
(Strongid P or Pyratape P) or
with praziquantel (Equimax or
management is equally
Macrocyclic Lactones
Pryrimidines
Benzimidazoles
better to prevent infection than
Equest or Panacur Equine
Guard. Currently, the only
of inhibited larvae is Panacur
Equine Guard but there is
plenty of evidence that Equest
Tapewormers
Equitape (praziquantel)
Equimax (dual wormer ivermectin & praziquantel)
important to get out of bed earlyevery Sunday morning and pick Other parasites that need to be considered when designing a worming Adult Horses
equines for at least five months
increases so does the risk of colic.
Bot Life Cycle
General points:
No single wormer for all equine parasites is available.
“Chopping and changing” drugs every time you treat your horses will encourage drug resistance. The recommendation is to use one mainwormer per grazing season for redworm control with extra tactical dosage against tapeworms, encysted small redworm larvae and bots.
Adult small redworms may be resistant to group C, the benzimadazoles including Panacur. The pyrimidines are slightly less
effective against adult small redworms than the macrocyclic lactones One generation per year
but are still useful. Group C would not therefore be a logical choice as a basic wormer but Panacur Equine Guard may still be usefully
incorporated into an annual programme. The makers of this product Hoechst Roussel Vet are happy that even when adult small redworm resistance is present it will still be effective against the encysted and Foals can be wormed with Strongid-P or Pyratape P from 4
weeks and with Eqvalan from 6 weeks. Equest should not be used
before 4 months. Dosing should be repeated every 4-6 weeks until weaning at 5-6 months when the youngsters can join the adultprogramme.
5) All three groups are safe for the use in pregnant mares.
Tapeworm Life Cycle
Different establishments will have differing priorities when it comes toa worming programme. Blanket recommendations, applicable to everysituation, are not appropriate. A DIY livery yard with limited grazing and limited managemental input will have to rely on worm medicines to a far greater degree that a private owner with a closed population of two or three middle aged horses and who manages their grazing scrupulously.
My three-year worming cycle on the next page is just a basicsuggestion. It involves fairly extensive medication. If you have anyproblems with high stocking density, picking up droppings, rough areas of pasture and horses of different ages and backgrounds using the same grazing then it is an appropriate programme to follow. You can Life Cycle 3-5 months
however reduce your expenditure on worm medicines by three means: 1) Significantly improve your management.
2) Collect droppings samples from all the horses and ponies in thegroup in April/May. Ask your veterinary practice to run worm eggcounts. This will give you a good idea of the level of redworm infection at the start of the grazing season. If there is a significant level of infection, adhere to the manufacturer’s guidelines regarding dosing intervals. If the results indicate a low worm burden you are justified in worming less frequently, especially if you do what you can regarding management.
3) Perform a routine tapeworm blood test.
New comers to a yard or to group of horses grazing a specific pasture Small Redworm Life Cycle
should be dosed and subsequently isolated before joining the others.
There is a lot of discussion about whether to stable for 24, 48 or 72hours after dosing. This is, in fact, fairly academic as most of the main drugs will kill the adults and the larvae and some will kill the eggs as well. A compromise solution might be to worm with Equest and keep
in for 48 hours.
Underdosing (particularly ponies) is commonplace and will ultimately Life Cycle 6-18 weeks
A WORM COUNT
Will help you monitor your horse’s health Many satisfied horseowners & yards choose our rapid, reliable & friendly service at reasonable cost.
Contact Westgate Laboratories
Tel: 01670 791994 (24hr) for info and free collection kit
www.westgatelabs.com

Source: http://www.chalgraveequineclinic.co.uk/Worming.pdf