And here we go with wormer’s. The first thing to remember about worming is that it is a VITAL part of horse care, If not carried out or not carried out correctly it can come with big consequences the worst of which being the loss of the animal. Worms can and will affect all types of horses and ponies and even donkeys it makes no difference if they go out for an hour a week or live out full time. Here is a list of things you can do to minimize the risk of worms. 1, Try not to have too many animals in a field, Ideally if living out you need approx 1 acre per horse in summer and more in winter if not giving hay or feed. 2, Remember to rotate your grazing land and to rest it for as long as possible each year (ideally 6 mths being grazed 6 mths resting- or break up in to smaller time periods depending on your land) 3, You can graze sheep on the land to help with the pasture and help keep the worm count down. 4, When using paddocks (day turn out) try to clear out the manure as often as possible. Daily is best 5, Worm all the animals in the same field at the same time with the same product and make sure new horse’s are wormed and do not go out for 48 hours. Types of worm’s Here is a brief outline of the main slippery little things. Small Redworms (Cyathostomum spp.) Life cycle 5-18 weeks. They live in the horses large intestine and are the most abundant type of worm making up to 90% of the horse’s worm population. . Large Redworm (strongylus spp) Life cycle of 6-11 Months. They live in the horse’s gut wall and mesenteric artery Tapeworm (anoplocephala perfoliata) This little sucker is one of if not the hardest to diagnose. Tapeworms live in the mid part of the gut. This worm requires very direct worming and you must check the dosage rate for the wormer for your horse. Lungworm (Dictyocaulus arnfieldi) As the name suggest this worm lives in the lungs. This worm is more commonly found in donkeys and has a life cycle of 2-4 months. Pinworm (Oxyuris equi) Life cycle of 4-5 Months. This worm lives in the Large intestine and rectum with eggs, also around the anus. Threadworms (strongyloides westeri) Life cycle 8-14 Days. This worm generally affects young foals as natural immunity develops around 6 Months of age, this worm lives in the small intestine, Large Roundworm (parascaris equorum) Life cycle 10-12 Months. This worm generally affects foals and horses under 18 months of age when natural immunity starts they live in Small intestine. Bots (gastrophilus spp) This is the most common parasite of the horse’s stomach and the adult stages are horse bot flies (big flies look similar to wasps without the color). Life cycle is 1 generation per year. Treatment. So that is your main list of worms to worry about and now down to the medicine to kill the little things. There are 4 main types of chemical drugs to control worms and every wormer has 1 or more of these chemicals in it to make it effective. So here they are but remember new products are being released all the time so you have to keep up with them as well. 1, Macrocytic lactones ( ivermectin, moxidectin) this treats bots, Small redworms, Large redworms and lungworms and is in the following BRANDS of wormer’s Ivermectin, Eqvalan, Furexel, Equest and Equest Pramox, Eraquell, Panomec, Bimectin, Noromectin, Vectin, eqvalan duo and equimax. 2, Praziquantel, this treat ALL 3 species of Tapeworms and is in Equimax, Eqvalan Duo, and also Equest pramox and equitape. 3, Pyrantel embonates, this chemical treats Large roundworms, Large redworms, Small redworms, seatworms/pinworms, and all tapeworms. And can be found in Strongid P, Pyratape, exodus and Embotape. 4, Benzimidazoles which treats large and small redworms, and roundworms. And can be found in Panacur and Telmin. As well as Eqvalan What to use and when….. So you now know what wormers help control what worms and also where each of the worms like to live in your horse/pony and also the life cycle. The life cycle is VERY important as all wormers have a certain time they work for. Some work for 8-10 weeks and some up to 90 days. You need to be sure you are worming often enough with your chosen wormer. General worming is carried out in January – March, May – September Tape worms need to be dealt with in April, October Encysted Redworm in November And the Bot worm after the first hard frost in December. A routine wormer would be the ones in the Marocytic lactones group of wormers. REMEMBER to check how long the wormer you chose works for and also make sure you give the correct amount for your horse. This can be made easier by getting a weight tape from your local feed store or on-line and using it to find the correct weight of your horse. Some wormers only do horses up to 575KG some go up to 600KG a few can treat as much as a 700KG horse. So make sure you check and give an accurate dose. Now we have sorted out worms, I hope you all feel happier about the situation. Be sure with a little bit of planning and a lot of scientific know-how we can win the war on worms and have long and trouble free existence with our horse/ponies. Look forward to next time.