Disease / Parasites

If you board your horse, a safe and healthy environment for your horse is of utmost importance. With resistance increasing in small strongyles and no new dewormer on the horizon, horse owners should be asking barn managers about parasite practices wherever they board. According to Merial’s article on parasite resistance, parasite resistance is a farm situation. Yet each farm will be impacted by the individual horses living on it, so it makes sense to ask your barn manager about parasite control practices. Consider asking the following questions.

Read more: If You Board Your Horse, Consider Asking These Questions about Parasite Control

It’s no accident that horse parasites have survived for thousands of years. Numbers alone ensure their continued existence; they also protect themselves in some surprising ways.

Read more: Surprising Facts about Horse Parasites

As the spring soil warms up, so does parasitic activity. Small strongyles are currently the most active threat to horses of all ages because the use of ivermectin dewormer has nearly eliminated the large strongyles in most areas. Increased turnout time on pastures also means increased exposure to parasites for your horse.

Read more: Horsemen’s Laboratory Tip: Parasites in Pastures Increase in the Spring, and So Does Your Horse’s Exposure to Them

[Excerpted from the 2011 Annual Conference Proceedings, American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association]

Paper: DIGESTIVE HEALTH IN THE EQUINE

Author: Joyce Harman DVM, MRCVS

Excerpt: Parasites

Read more: Parasites in Equines and Herbal Worming Alternatives