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Discussion on Boarding Facility has Screwy Worming Protocol-HELP!
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Member:
Justin
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 8:21 am:
Hi,
Since September I have been boarding my three horses at a facility run by an 28-y.o., rather inexperienced manager. I have repeatedly asked for my horses to be put on their working protocol. Just yesterday, when I pressed the owner, I found out that a) they only worm when fecal samples reveal that the horses have worms; and b) they do not currently have a microscope for doing said fecal samples and since we share a common vet, I know that he is not doing them. There is no indication that this barn manager has any training in microbiology. I am going nuts. What are they thinking????
My question is: in order to keep my horses healthy, should I worm monthly? I know that as soon as my horses go out, they bear the brunt of the parasite load in the fields. I am really afraid of tapeworms because my 18 y.o. colicked several years ago and although it was a gas colic, my vet warmed me that tapes could have caused it.
It is not practical for me to leave. It appears to me that they make up for "failure to thrive" by just feeding more (and they limit turnout to about 1-2 hours a day, not exactly good for digestion). Dr. O. I've read your piece on intestinal parasites.
Any advice? I've tried to have a "gentle" conversation with the manager and owner, but they have already made up their minds that I am a "Miss Know It All" and get very agitated when I bring up any care issues they do not agree with or even know about (i.e. they run out of the barn and smoke).
Thanks.
jane
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Member:
Ella
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 12:42 pm:
If yours are the only ones in the specific pasture you should be o.k. with worming regularly yourself. If there are others who share that pasture then you might get some benefit from worming yourself but they will become reinfested quickly. I would have your vet do fecal samples about every 3 months. Maybe you are o.k. but if not at least you will have some ammo for approaching the barn manager.
Maybe introduce them to this site.
Good Luck,
Ella 
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Member:
Liliana
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 4:31 pm:
Normally any yard that I ever kept my horses at including mine, when a new horse arrives it is wormed and put in a stall over night, and then the horses are wormed every 8 or 16 weeks, either by the border or the yard.
But really this should be stipulated at the beginning of the contract! It is in the interest of both the yard manager and the horse owner.
If the guy is young and lacks the experience, then perhaps you should point this out, as it will be detrimental for his business if the land gets infested.
In the asking is the giving, so if I were you I would have a friendly chat with him.
Good luck with this
Liliana
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Member:
Hally
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 6:00 pm:
Jane,
35 years ago I lost a horse to colic. I was boarding at a stable where the owners told me that they wormed on a regular bases. I was pretty new into the horse thing, young and kind of ignorant as to the workings of keeping a horse healthy. My lovely 7 yr old gelding died a horrible death and to my horror was told by the vet that he was full of blood worms! I approached the owners and was told that they believed in worming the natural way. With cinnamon!!!! They were total kooks!
I learned a very valuable lesson. The only person that your horse can rely on is you to keep him healthy and happy. If your manager has some weird ideas about worming and herd health, challenge them. Your horses life depends on it. If they dont comply and you dont want to move your horse, you should be prepared for the fall out.
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Member:
Eoeo
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 6:26 pm:
Get a tube of Ivermectin Gold, go to the stable and give it to your horse. Then you know it is done. EO
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Member:
36541
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 14, 2006 - 7:16 pm:
What do the other boarders think? Surely some of them have concerns? Maybe you could all get together and agree to worm your horses, no matter what the manager says. You could confront the owner/manager as a group, or just do it and say nothing. They are YOUR horses to care for, hopefully some of the other people are more open-minded...?
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 6:06 am:
Hello Jane,
are the stalls kept clean? If so there may be very limited exposure to parasites and a regular deworming adequate for your horses. The protocol of using fecals to determine deworming frequency is sound Jane but the lack of action is a problem. It does require diligence. It is too early to be able to tell much from your horse fecals as there has not been enough time for parasites to establish patency to much degree.
The way I see it you have 2 choices:
1) Have fecals performed on your horses quarterly and if they rapidly develop parasites use it as a tool of persuasion to get everyone dewormed. If that is the case you may have to run them every other month to convince them that this is a problem.
2)Until you can get this straightened out a aggressive deworming program. I would recommend a good deworming with moxidectin and daily Strongid, that gives you a year. You should be able to work this out in that much time and if not and you also continue to believe the other horses carry significant burdens, I recommend you find a situation that does not put your horse at danger.
DrO
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Member:
Justin
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Posted on Friday, Dec 15, 2006 - 8:29 am:
Thank you everyone for your advice!
Dr. O., I didn't see any indication (other than the non-existent microscope) that they are going to follow the parasitologist protocol you have written about. I'm getting the moxidectin and Strongid (which I used to use) today!
Happy Christmas!
jane
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Dec 16, 2006 - 7:38 am:
Don't forget the weakness of this product: rapidly developing resistance so this should not be a long term plan, for more on this see the Overview article.
DrO
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Member:
Justin
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Posted on Thursday, Dec 21, 2006 - 2:04 pm:
Hi,
Followup...yesterday the barn manager insulted the heck out of me in a telephone conversation, so my horses are leaving on the 1st. Despite my concerns about worming and turnout, she informed me that "you never come out to take care of your horses." Who needs this rubbish? I once foolishly believed that the customer who pays approximately $1400 a month board for three horses is always right?
Happy Christmas to you all!
Another year, another lesson learned,
jane
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Member:
36541
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Posted on Friday, Dec 22, 2006 - 9:28 am:
Happy moving on to you. The barn should be a relatively stress-free place, with positive relationships to offset your day job. I hope you land in a much improved situation... Merry Christmas, Stacy
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Friday, Dec 22, 2006 - 11:48 pm:
What Stacy said. Lee
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