WISE OWL Equine

25/01/2025

10/01/2025

09/01/2025

09/01/2025

*** ENCYSTED REDWORM ***

I first posted this in 2019, but after reading a LOT of worrying comments recently about how people don’t worm their horses at all, as they do worm egg counts, I thought it was time to do a little encysted redworm refresher, with some updates!

1. Redworm can kill your horse.

2. You need to worm for encysted redworm AFTER they encyst, and before they emerge, so NOT in the Autumn! Wait for a good, frosty cold spell.

3. Encysted small redworm are NOT DETECTABLE in worm egg counts.

4. The larvae of small redworm, “encyst” or burrow into the gut wall. These can cause fatal consequences when they re-emerge.

5. Redworm appear as tiny pieces of thread in your horse’s droppings. They are very short and thin, and can be hard to see. They are white if they haven’t yet fed, and red if they have fed.

6. A horse can appear completely normal and healthy whilst carrying a large redworm burden. However, weight loss and diarrhoea may be early indicators; don’t ignore these signs.

7. Most wormers DO NOT target encysted redworm. Only TWO do: Fenbendazole and Moxidectin.

8. Lots of combination wormers contain IVERMectin. This WILL NOT have any effect on encysted redworm. The only wormer that contains MOXIDectin, is EQUEST. The Pramox (blue) version will treat tapeworm at the same time. Don’t use Pramox if you have treated separately for tapeworm, or used a saliva or blood test for tapeworm. Use the normal Equest (green) if this is the case.

9. Redworm are eaten by the horse during grazing. The larvae start to burrow into the gut wall as temperatures drop. Treating for encysted redworm whilst temperatures are warm, is not the optimal time, as the larvae may well not have started to encyst. Treating after a few hard frosts, also reduces the level of reinfection from larvae already on the fields.

10. The larvae stay in the gut wall during the winter, and are then triggered to emerge from the gut wall as the temperatures warm up in the Spring. If the horse has not been treated for redworm during this redworm “hibernation” stage, he/she is at risk of developing CYATHOSTOMINOSIS.

11. Cyathostominosis has a mortality (death) rate of up to 50%. It presents as colitis; profuse diarrhoea and colic. Contact your vet immediately if you see these symptoms in your horse at any time of year, but it is more likely to be due to redworm if this occurs in the Spring.

12. Ensure you have treated for encysted
redworm before temperatures start to increase as Spring arrives, incase of a large encysted redworm burden that may suddenly emerge.

13. There is a blood test for all stages of redworm, including encysted. This detects antibodies, so may be positive if your horse has had a high burden in the past 6 months, even if he currently doesn’t, but worth discussing with your vet. I would not be recommending this route for high risk redworm horses ie horses in herds with no poo picking, or rescue cases.

14. 5 day Panacur Guard (Fenbendazole) is the only other wormer that can treat the encysted stage of redworm. There was widespread resistance to this wormer, and a huge move towards everyone using Moxidectin for encysted redworm. It is my wormer of choice for very sick or poor horses, due to its milder action over 5 days. However, there is some evidence that it may cause more damage to the gut than Moxidectin, so more research is definitely required!

15. Poo picking daily is perfect pasture management, but does not mean that your horse is worm free! You still need to egg count/blood test for all worms and/or worm.

16. Herbal wormers do not work.

17. Worm egg counts do not detect encysted redworms (or tapeworm/bots/pinworm). I realise I am repeating myself, but this is something that lots of people still do not realise.

18. Do not UNDERDOSE when worming, as this will aid resistance. If in doubt, add 50kg to the weigh tape weight of your horse. Wormers are very safe with regards to toxic doses.

19. The Mole Valley wormers are NOT the same as Equest!!!! I saw this misinformation posted yesterday! They contain Ivermectin, which will NOT treat for encysted redworm.

20. Do NOT overuse Equest. Moxidectin (Equest and Pramox) should only be used ONCE in a 12 month period. So know when to use it!

This is not an exhaustive review of redworm, and I may add to the list if I think of anything else, but I hope this is of some use! Worming regimes and what worm egg counts detect, seems to cause lots of confusion amongst horse owners, and even yard owners.

Blood tests currently used for tapeworm and redworm, measure antibody levels to the worm. The saliva test also measures antibodies. The concern here would be false positives. This means the test coming back as positive when your horse has been clear of the worm in question for months. Antibody levels remain high for months following successful treatment for the worm being tested for. However, a negative obviously means the horse has been clear for a good few months, and would not need worming.

Happy reading!

Please share, as this is really something that all horse owners should know, and still don’t!

No prizes for spotting the hundreds of redworm in this photo!

08/01/2025

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07/01/2025

30/12/2024

If you or your horse prefer a non competitive environment we have Horse Agility Certificate Courses! These are available to non members (members don’t forget your club discount) via the shop. A perfect last minute Christmas pressie!

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28/12/2024

A letter from Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D. The issue is still free choice forage feeding. I respect and honor the way horses are made—they are different—unique, really. In a suitable, native environment, they are quite capable of taking care of themselves. They are free to eat and roam and, well, be h...

20/12/2024

Something we should all think long and hard about

Do I see things differently ??? Am I the issue??? Do I just not see the humour that others find in the countless reels of supposedly horses doing funny things ???

It is often said that to make a good horror movie you just need to select the right music yet it seems in the horseworld to make the nightmare for the horse seem palatable for the human a good soundtrack will do

I see horses weaving yet add a good upbeat tempo and it becomes a dancemove, I see horses self mutilating but a laughing soundtrack and it's funny that a horse is biting it's chest holding the skin between the teeth like a flesh covered self soother

Horses bucking, horses rearing, horses pulling back so hard they fall over, horses in arenas like a circus animal that we forgot to liberate along with the lions, tigers and elephants the crowds oooh at a horse laid on its back with a human stood on it I simply feel sorry for the animal we hold in such reverence and wonder yet often treat so appallingly

Humans not reflecting on their behaviour, only finding get out clauses to continue to the abuse arguing wether one or two bits is enough to put in the horse's mouth, is the noseband to tight, is the stride right yet all the while the tongue goes blue as the horse struggles to breath with the head cranked in with no relief just so the human can claim another trinket to put on their trophy shelf

What are we doing to an animal we claim to love so much??? Why can't we just be better? It isn't hard to do, we all have a choice to make everyday, we know the difference between right and wrong yet wrong is chosen more than right

Often people are led to believe if you are kind you are inviting a dangerous animal into your domain that will plot and plan to kill you, if you don't teach your horse to do a.b. or c it will die. It's scaremongering and keeps you from seeing the true picture of what we put the horse through

Take the horse out of the equation and place any other animal in its place we would be horrified at some of the things that is done and in plain sight.

16/12/2024

“How to teach your horse to trust you”
You cannot teach trust.
You cannot learn trust.
You can only give trust.

So how does trust actually look like?

A horse that got startled but immediately turns, secures and looks for reassurance in the handler with active communication

How does learned helplessness look like?

A horse that’s suppressing any bodily reaction, seems unbothered and uninterested in the surrounding or trying to increase the distance to the handler slowly but steadily.

The goal is not to shut a horse down - to make them NOT react. You can ask that a robot but not a living being.

The goal is to GIVE them trust - not to take their nature away.

However, it is possible to shut a horse down. And certain schools of horsemanship have made that their primary focus through psychological techniques.
But just because it works doesn’t make it ethical. It just offers a quick fix for a human made problem for which the horse must bow.

To teach trust you must give choice first.

Learn to see the difference - and ask yourself are you really okay with horses being horses?
Or are you afraid of their reactions, wanting them to shut down to make YOU feel safe?

So don’t talk about trust if you’re not understanding what that actually means - especially from the horses point of view.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk about how I can’t stand those flags on sticks wiggling around anymore.

14/12/2024

*** COLIC MYTH - IT’S ESSENTIAL TO WALK ANY HORSE SHOWING SIGNS OF COLIC ***

I’ve unfortunately seen 5 colics in the past two weeks, so I thought I’d start some colic posts again.

I think one of the main myths surrounding colic, is that you must walk them, even if they don’t want to walk. There are definitely some types of colic when movement is good/essential for the horse, but there are equally many occasions when it’s actually detrimental to keep the horse moving.

Before knowing whether or not you need to keep your horse moving, you need your vet to diagnose what is causing your horse to colic. If your horse has a classic “twisted gut” then no amount of movement will help. In fact, forcing horses to walk if they’ve got intestinal torsion will result in extreme pain. If surgery is an option, then continuing to walk a horse with intestinal torsion (twisted gut) will also wear him out, and potentially cause even more damage to the gut itself, reducing the odds of surgery being a success.

My general rule of thumb for any colicking horse is to allow them to do what they want to do whilst waiting for the vet. If they are standing quietly, then that’s perfect. If they are down in the field then I do normally advise getting them up and to somewhere easily accessible for the vet. If they are thrashing about in a stable and could hurt themselves, then getting them out and into the safety of a lunge pen or arena is a good idea, as long as you don’t risk injuring yourself. If they want to march around, then let them walk. It’s a complete myth that a horse rolling around will result in him twisting his intestine; we’d obviously be seeing hundreds of colic cases daily if this were true.

To conclude, walking a horse with colic MAY be advisable, but you need your vet to diagnose the cause of the colic first. If your horse is reluctant to walk, then definitely don’t force them to move.

22/11/2024

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Dynamic Dogs Massage

22/11/2024

This is a thought that has come up in the Relax & Reset Challenge, and I thought it was a good thought worth sharing for everyone.

When the poll releases, the head and neck will lengthen and lower. But just because we ask for the head to lower, doesn't mean that they release their poll. What we are after is relaxation in the poll (and, subsequently by trickle effect, the rest of the body), not a position in the head. The head position changes as a 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭, not as a 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭.

If they lower their head without releasing the poll (as we see so often in many "put your head down" programs) they can be holding tension in a false relaxed-appearing posture. This is obedience, often without acceptance. Position without release. And this will always end up showing up in the rest of the body at some point, also.

Proper work is a form of bodywork. Improper work causes us to need bodywork (or overlook that and try to force more obedience later down the road).

Something to think about...

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💥 You can still join us for the FREE Relax & Reset Challenge by registering at RelaxResetChallenge.com