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Discussion on Sheep parasites affecting horses
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Member:
frances
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Posted on Monday, Aug 18, 2008 - 12:00 pm:
Hi all, just a general question: does anyone know if horses can pick up parasites, or other health problems for that matter, from sheep if the sheep are not treated regularly for parasites?
I'm just asking because a shepherd in our area has a filly which is unusually prone to colic. He really loves her, but doesn't know much about horse care although unfortunately he thinks he does. We've explained about deworming, shown him how to deworm the filly, treated the colics, introduced him to a vet (whom he never contacts) and will suggest that he has blood tests and fecal counts done. We're wondering what specific blood tests should be ordered. I suppose enteroliths are a possibility too.
Thanks for any ideas/experiences you may have!
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Member:
paul303
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 1:03 am:
Can't answer any of your questions, but I will say that my horses lived with/next to sheep for 16 years in N.Jersey.
When we moved to this guy's private farm ( just his horses and ours - and the sheep )I had my niece's English Pleasure/Pony Hunter, pony. He was a good egg, and tops in the show ring, but outside the show arena, he was a basketcase. His terror of everything was legendary.
When we moved to this farm, he backed off the trailer and looked around. 5 sheep patted swiftly across the road behind him....his knees buckled and he went right down to the pavement. He spent almost 1 month in his stall shaking - refusing to step out into his private paddock. After 2 or 3 months, he ventured out, but refused to look at the sheep as they darted back and forth around the farm.
After about 8 months, he could stand them ( their pen and private little barn was right next to his paddock ). But he could still jump 4 feet in the air if they came around the side of a building unannounced. He loathed those sheep....but he learned to manage to control himself when they surprised him.
....Until the day I was tuning him up and the sheep shearer appeared. Through the bleats and terrified protests of the sheep, the pony worked like a charm. When we completed the workout and returned to his stall and private paddock, the sheep, united in one terrified group, came tearing around the corner of the barn....SHEARED. A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL OF TERROR!!! BALD ALIEN HORRORS!!
We actually had to lock the sheared sheep up before I could get the pony to leave his stall for about a week.
Maybe lighthearted, but that pony lived with those sheep for 16 years. The horses all had great care, and the sheep's care was administered by the barn owner. The farm was immaculate and the sheep roamed freely (except for the times we had to lock them up so the pony would come out). That pony died in 2000 at the age of 38, and I still have my mare, who turned 28 last May. She lived at that farm from the time she was 2, until she was 18.
So....yeah...in my experience, horses and sheep can do OK ( with some psychological exceptions ).
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Member:
frances
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 6:36 am:
What a story! Talk about confronting your phobias - since he lived to be 38, it can only have done him good!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 10:25 am:
Though there may be rare exceptions in general ruminants and equines have different parasites.
DrO
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 11:00 am:
A lot of people around here keep sheep and horses together with no ill effects that I'm aware of. We had a small bunch of sheep (only 6 of them) in with our horses for a summer. (boarded them for a friend) Every year the herders bring in a huge flock, about 1000 sheep, into the fields next to ours and we've never had a problem - except for when the herder first traded his "watch burro" for a couple of "watch llamas. Talk about a whole "new level of terror!" Our horses recovered fastet than Lee's pony.
Our vet has said most diseases and parasites are species specific so not to worry.
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 11:18 am:
I used to have sheep as ruminants just because they mix so good in the fields with horses [they eat the grass the horses won't touch around the manure].
The only problem we had in Holland was with one gelding: he loved to throw the sheep in the ditches filled with water[the natural fence number one in Holland] because they splashed so nicely when hitting the water. We got rather tired saving swimming sheep.
Apart from that the combination seemed to have only positive effects.
Our sheep though were dewormed regularly like the horses[Quite a story on it's own before you know how to do thatbeing used to horses] perhaps that makes a difference?
Jos
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Member:
frances
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 12:05 pm:
Thanks very much for your thoughts everyone. It seems unlikely that his sheep are the cause then.
Jos, your story brings wonderful pictures to mind: did the sheep-tossing gelding pick them up in his teeth and hurl them into the ditch or perhaps take a 100 metre run at them? (Or have I been watching too much Olympic track and field?)
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Member:
paardex
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 2:15 pm:
He grabbed them by their wool with his teeth and then tossed. They splashed nicely and when they had a lot of wool needed help to get out or got happily out on the other side where they weren't supposed to be . The gelding started out throwing balls around the fields but decided this was a lot more fun!
Jos
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Member:
klowe
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Posted on Tuesday, Aug 19, 2008 - 2:45 pm:
Jos, what a great visual! Probably we all have been watching too much Olympics, I can see it now...the equine sheep-tossing event!
Seriously, near us there is a pasture on a little highway where there are a sheep and a horse who are devoted companions. The sheep grazes in the shade provided by the horse, and if one is lying down to sleep, the other stays right beside it. I can't speak directly to their health, but we've seen them together for a number of years and appear to be contented.
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