Creating a yearly de-worming program for your horse based on fecal examination and fecal egg counts.
- A small amount of feces will be evaluated for parasite eggs and than quantified to determine what parasites your horse has and whether they have a light, moderate, or heavy burden.
Your horse de-worming program will reflect what he/she needs, not just a “one size fits all” program. The ideal time to perform a fecal evaluation in our area is in the summer when your horse has not been de-wormed for a minimum of 3-4 months.
- Gives a more accurate assessment of a light, moderate, or heavy shedder.
- Your horse schedule for the year will them be determined.
- Twice yearly de-worming for light shedders, 3 times per year for moderate shedders and 4-6 times per year for heavy shedders. (Recommend quality stool sample to monitor progress).
- The compound used to de-worm your horse will depend in parasites that are found, geographic area and may vary by seasons.
Fecal examinations can also be performed at any time if parasite activity is suspected. Research shows that most current de-worming programs that do not rely on fecal examinations may actually be creating “super worms” that are becoming resistant to available de-worming compounds.
- No new de-worming molecules are currently being created therefore we need to preserve what we have!!
Strategic de-worming may actually SAVE YOU MONEY!!
- Many horses in our area are light or moderate shedders and therefore do not need to be de-wormed as much as previously thought – although it is necessary to perform the fecal examinations to be sure before reducing the number of annual de-worming to prevent clinical illness.
Many times LESS DE-WORMER will need to be administered.
You will be provided an easy to read de-worming schedule and the necessary de-worming for the entire year which will make it EASIER to follow.
