Worming made easy
Q Should horses be wormed during the winter and can you recommend an easy-to-follow regime for my DIY livery yard where all the horses live out?
Sue Price, Bedfordshire
Tim says: The best worming programme will vary from yard to yard depending on the age and number of horses, the type of grazing and any previous worm-related disease.
However, provided all the horses at your yard are over 18 months old, you can follow this simple guide…
■ no worming or testing required unless the horses are on heavily grazed pasture all year, ■ worm egg count every two to three months, and only worm horses with a high worm egg count; for example, more than 300 eggs per gram. However, you should discuss the exact cut-off value that is appropriate to your circumstances with your vet or SQP as it could be lower (for example, 200 eggs per gram) or higher (around 500 eggs per gram) depending on the horse's management, previous worming history, age, etc. ■ worm egg count every two to three months, and only worm horses with a high worm egg count (). ■ discuss whether or not you should give a routine autumn dose of wormer with your vet or SQP. In some circumstances it will be appropriate to treat all horses with moxidectin and praziquantel; for example, by using Equest Pramox once. Alternatively, treat all horses with moxidectin (Equest) as well as asking your vet to perform a saliva test or blood sample to check for tapeworm, and then worm any horses with high levels of antibodies for tapeworm. In some cases, for example in older horses who don't share grazing and where worm egg counts have been performed regularly and have consistently shown low levels of eggs, it may not be necessary to routinely worm for redworm, but you should still check to see if the horse needs to be treated for tapeworm.
