SolveYourProblem.com Article Series: Horse Care
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Horse
Parasite Problems
Parasites problems in horses have been addressed
for years. Parasites can cause a horse to colic or have breathing
and performance issues.
The most common of these nasty little invaders are ascarids,
strongyles, and pinworms. They are the silent killers of the
horse industry, and they are often preventable.
The first thing you need to do is to identify parasite problems
in horses. Some signs are easy to see, a horse that rubs his
tail on the fence likely has pinworm. The horse that is thin
and has the scraggly coat likely has strongyles or tapeworm.
If you notice little yellow eggs attached to his front legs,
then he has both.
The good news here is that all of these are treatable, provided
they have been caught at an early enough stage in your horse’s
life. If any one of the 150 internal parasites has been attacking
your horse over a course of years, then there is the possibility
that the damage has been done and is not reversible.
Establishing and following an effective parasite control program
for your horse is as important as fresh water and good feed
and hay. Most people don’t realize the importance of de-worming
their horses. They will understand when their horse takes that
turn for the worse, and sometimes it’s too late at that point.
On the other hand, some horses can be parasite infested, and
never show any signs that he has internal parasites. He may
have the shiniest coat you have ever seen, and may not show
any of the other signs, such as lack of stamina, weight loss,
loss of appetite and a dull, scraggly coat. In the meantime,
he may have a system full of parasites that are destroying
his intestines, organs and blood vessels.
Your best defense against a parasite problem in horses is
to take a sample of his fecal matter to your local
vet for
lab analysis. Parasites and their eggs are not always visible
to the naked eye, unless your horse is infected with, and pooping
out roundworms. You will know these parasites if and when you
see them. Dependent on which parasites your vet finds in your
horses fecal matter, he can then recommend the most effective
de-wormer, and schedule to rid your horse of these nasty infiltrators.
After your vet gives you his recommendations, it is imperative
to follow up approximately two weeks later to have the fecal
matter checked again for parasites and eggs.
Parasite problems in horses never fully go away. As long as
you have horses, you will have parasites. The good news is
that their numbers can be greatly reduced with good horse management
practices. With this in mind, it been proven that parasites
also build resistance to the chemicals we use to kill them.
When you’ve recognized parasite problems in horses in your
barn, you will need to rotate which chemicals you use to eliminate
those parasites. Many different products contain the same chemicals,
so it is important to read the ingredients lists to make sure
you are indeed switching back and forth between, or amongst
chemicals.
There
are three ways to deworm your horse. You can choose
whichever one will work best for you and your horse. The first
method is stomach de-worming, commonly referred to at tube
worming. In this case, a vet comes to your farm, inserts a
tube through your horses nose, down into his stomach, and administers
the chemicals to his stomach. Most horses do not necessarily
prefer this method, so you can try to deworm him with a paste
wormer that you can purchase from any feed store. This involves
inserting the end of the paste tube into the corner of your
horse’s mouth, and depositing the paste onto the back of his
tongue for him to swallow. When you worm my horse this way,
try to have a pail of feed handy to allow your horse a mouthful
of feed to wash the paste down. The other option to treat parasite
problems in horses is to add the dewormer to his feed. There
are flavored dewormers, which most horses will eat without
a second thought. Some horses will not touch their feed if
you add something foreign to it. You will need to determine
which works best in your situation and use that method. If
you have any further parasite issues, you should consult your
vet. #
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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