27/11/2024
🪱🪱Winter Worming🪱🪱
Worming in autumn and winter is a bit different from the summer as worms change their lifestyles to survive the cold. 🥶
Unfortunately, this means an extended stay inside our horse’s guts which can cause painful colic episodes if not treated.
Worms are becoming more resistant to our wormers so testing before worming is really important in adult horses to make sure we only worm when needed!
Redworms hibernate in the lining of the large intestine over the winter.
In the spring they all emerge at the same time which can can cause severe colic signs.
Whilst hibernating the worms don’t lay eggs so a traditional worm egg count will not accurately tell us if your horse needs worming . A blood test can be used to measure exposure to redworms instead.
For horses who have had high worm egg counts during the summer the risk of redworm exposure is high so these horses should be wormed after the first frost.
Tapeworms have a 6-month lifecycle. 4 months of their life is spent developing in forage mites on the grass, these microscopic mites are then eaten by horses allowing the tapeworms to finish the last part of their lifecycle. Tapeworms release body segments instead of loose eggs so don’t show up on faecal worm egg count. We use a saliva test to check levels of tapeworm.
If you have any questions or concerns about worming please call the office on 01905 773262 so we can advise you on testing and the best wormer for your horse.
