A British survey has shown that half of all ponies and horses are not receiving correct deworming for encysted small strongyles, the most common equine parasites found in equines. This can be an alarming news for experts. The encysted small strongyles or redworms – one of the stages involved in the life cycle of the parasite – are responsible for up to 90% of the small strongyles burden in horses and can be a serious health problem.

Small strongyles are the most common internal worms found in horses of today. It has been established that horses should be treated properly for parasites during late autumn or as winter is about to come. However, this data from the British survey revealed that proper treatment is not really given in around half of the cases.

Survey showed that there are only 50% of the 1095 respondents who worm their horses using effective products designed to target encysted small strongyles. The remaining respondents either used the wrong product they thought can target encysted small strongyles or did not bother to have their horse or pony dewormed at all. The most common reason for not treating the horse for encysted strongyles was because the horse showed negative results in the fecal worm egg counts.

That is what’s so concerning about this situation – encysted small strongyles will not show up in regular fecal worm egg counts – even if your horse has shown negative results or has a low count, he could still be carrying millions of small strongyles, which then becomes a potentially fatal problem to the health of the horse.

Small redworms in horses can stay dormant inside a horse for as long as two years, but they usually develop and come out from the gut lining all at once when early spring comes. In severe small redworm infestation the mass emergence of the worms can lead to a condition called larval cyathostominosis, causing diarrhea and colic in horses and a 50% mortality rate.

It is imperative to use a wormer that targets encysted small strongyles, and a 5-day course of fenbendazole for horses are labeled for the treatment of small strongyles. It is also recommended to consult your veterinarian on developing a worming program since many parasites are now known to have developed resistance to fenbendazole.

It is priority to treat your horse for small strongyles. When it comes to affordable and effective treatment for encysted small strongyles trust fenbendazole AbFen from Abler.