Grouping horses in pastures according to age will help minimize young horses coming in contact with heavy larval infestations. Vacuuming or collecting fecal material in pasture is expensive, but it can be very effective. Pasture rotation may also help by decreasing incidence of overgrazing, thus decreasing ingestion of parasites. Grazing ruminants in rotation with horses will reduce parasite infestation, because most internal parasites are host specific. Spreading manure by dragging pastures will decrease incidence of infective larvae if the climate allows for drying of manure.Īlternative grazing with ruminants (cattle or sheep) and pasture rotation schemes will aid in disrupting the parasite life cycle. The larvae in composted manure will be destroyed if sufficient heat is built up. Manure should be removed and placed in a compost pile or spread on cropland or pastures not being grazed by horses. Clean and sanitary stall areas are essential. Management programs that interrupt the life cycle of the parasite before infestation occurs are the keys to successful control. It is good practice to do a fecal EPG count within two weeks after deworming. The fecal exam is a cost-effective follow-up to deworming to determine whether the dewormer has worked. Counts of fecal eggs per gram counts also tell an owner about the degree of parasite infestation on a farm or within a herd. But by counting the types and numbers of parasite eggs present in the fecal sample, your veterinarian can recommend the right deworming agents to do the job. Rarely are the worms themselves visible in the manure. This simple process can identify the specific parasites infecting a horse. One of the most underutilized tools in an effective parasite control program is the fecal examination, which merely involves taking two to three fresh fecal balls to your veterinarian for laboratory analysis. resistance to the bit due to mouth lesions.weight loss, coughing and/or nasal discharge.But in other horses, especially young ones, parasites can take a visible toll. From the outside they may be fat, sleek, and shiny, while on the inside worms are doing irreparable damage. Contrary to popular belief, many horses that have dangerous parasite levels appear to be perfectly healthy.
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