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Discussion on Should Only The Shedder Be Dewormed
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Member:
digger89
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Posted on Saturday, Oct 25, 2014 - 2:12 pm:
I had 3 horses who had consistantly negative fecals for several years. We bought a new horse, Dude, nearly 2 years ago He was wormed in December at the time of purchase. When all the fecals were done in the following spring Dude had a low count, 36. 2 of the other horses were negative, but my 24 year old horse had a count in the 20's. Both positive horses were wormed with Ivermectin Gold. A slightly higher count in the same 2 horses occurred that fall, with the same treatment. My old guy coincidentally had began 12 months of stall rest and/or limited turnout 2 weeks prior to the arrival of Dude. Over that next 12 months Dude and Digger were not turned out together but Dude occasionally was in the small pasture that Digger used. Digger recovered enough for group turnout last December. This spring fecal counts were 1 negative, 1 in the 20's, Dude 60's, Digger 350. All 3 positives were wormed. It seems to me that Dude is a shedder, and my old boy is sensative to the parasite load. Does it make more sense to treat Dude more often so that he doesn't shed, or to continue to test and treat Dude twice yearly but expose Digger to his parasites? We already daily clean stalls, pick fields twice weekly, and do not spread manure so I don't know of any other management strategies that will help. None of the horses have much exposure to outside parasites as only 2 of them ever leave our farm, and then only for trail rides with no opportunity to graze. I worry about Digger because of his age and history of EPM with several relapses. I would prefer to stress his system as little as possible.
Thanks. Sarah
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Oct 26, 2014 - 7:02 pm:
Hello Sarah,
Though I cannot comment directly to your situation, heavy parasite egg shedders should be both tested and treated more frequently. The article associated with this discussion area and the article on Schedules will explain the why's and how's.
DrO
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