16/03/2022
💊🐛 We've talked a lot about resistance to wormers recently because, just like with antibiotics, our wormers are becoming less effective. Worms are developing resistance to the chemicals we have available to treat them and growing numbers are no longer susceptible. This is extremely worrying because without effective treatment our horses are at risk of serious parasitic disease and death.
How does wormer resistance happen? The more we use these drugs and expose the worms to the chemicals, the more quickly resistance develops. So, this is a very serious threat to our horses. But neither is it enough to simply widen the gap between treatments. At around 4-6 weeks from egg to adult, the lifecycle of the small redworm, is one of the quickest which means that a brewing parasite challenge can quickly get out of hand.
📅 Instead we need to be turning to targeted control, using worm egg counts every 8-12 weeks and other diagnostic tools wherever possible to reduce the frequency of chemical doses. This will go a long way to helping to prolong the life of our wormers.
For free, no obligation, vet approved advice, contact our expert SQP's and together we can agree the the best parasite control programme for your horse's health.
