There are over 150 internal parasites. Equine parasites are silent killers. The most common of which are worms.

They can result in substantial damage to your horse before you even realise they are present. Worms can weaken the immune system, rob the horse of nourishment and cause a gastro-intestinal damage, including colic and intestinal rupture.

There are various types of worms;  large strongyles (otherwise known as bloodworms), small strongyles, roundworms, bots, tapeworms, threadworms and lungworms.

Any or all of these parasites may simultaneously exist in a particular horse but can be at various phases in their life cycles. This greatly influences the type of worming program needed to appropriately combat them.

Some of these internal parasites can lay over 200,000 eggs in one day so infestation can escalate quickly.

How worms affect your horse.

Some can destroy tissues and vital organs, while they travel throughout the body of the horse in order for their life cycle to be completed.

Horses can be suffering severe damage from these parasites without showing any external symptoms. Common symptoms to look out for include;

  • Dull, rough haircoat
  • Reduced energy
  • Loss of weight
  • Coughing and/or nasal discharge
  • Rubbing of tail and hairloss
  • Colic
  • Depression
  • Decreased appetite
  • Unthriftiness or loss of condition
  • Diarrhea

One of the techniques to an effective programs in controlling equine parasites is the fecal examination which simply requires taking 2-3 fresh balls of feces to the veterinarian for tests. This basic procedure can pinpoint the specific horse worms that a particular horse is infected of. By making a count of the kind and number of internal parasites present in the feces, a recommendation by the veterinarian as to the appropriate equine worming program for your horse.

Resistance of wormers

Worms can develop resistance to some medications. To avoid this from happening, it’s important to have a horse wormer rotation and a combination of different dewormers that target different parasites.

A two-in-one combination of Ivermectin and Praziquantel provides maximum worm control in just a single dose! Broad spectrum dewormers are  able to target more than one single type of worm - making them the obvious choice to start your treatment with.

Help your horse avoid irreversible damage from worms - treat your horse with a broad spectrum dewormer today!