How To De-Worm Your Horse |
Did you know that there are over 150 well known parasites that can cripple your beloved horse? Just how do you keep equestrian parasites at bay?
Every good horse owner knows that there are three main things that you must provide for your horse to keep it healthy and well; they are clean water, good quality horse feed and a regular de-worming program.
The main types of parasites that affect horses are worms and in particular bloodworms which lay over 100,000 eggs in a single day; see why a good de-worming program is vital to your horse’s health? Worms and parasites can make your horse poorly and while it might look fine and well - inside your horse could be suffering from tissue and organ damage. Once again - a good parasite control program is vital.
Worms can’t be spotted in your horses manure and to see them you will need to take a manure sample to the vet who will examine the manure under a microscope. After counting the number of eggs and assessing the type your vet will then be able to recommend a de-worming method suitable for your horse.
So what are the big four ways of de-worming a horse? They are oral paste syringe, oral liquid syringe, nasogastric tube and a feed supplement. Adding a supplement to your horses food probably isn’t a good option as in my experience horses won’t eat food if they smell something not right; this hails back to their natural state where they wouldn’t want to eat something rotten and risk illness. A nasogastric tube is also not a good option and can only be administered by a vet.
It is vital when using a de-worming product to give the correct dosage and administer it at the same time every day for normally 6 to 8 weeks. Please note that foals will differ and you should consult the label for directions.
How to you administer the de-wormer?
To make sure they do swallow the dose, you can do one of two things - insert your thumbs into either side of their mouth to make them open their mouth and swallow the paste or liquid they were holding in their mouth, or put your hand under their chin and tip their head up so they must swallow.
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This article was written by Charis Alexandra on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 for Horse Searchers
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