NKM Equine

01/01/2024

Useful information about Encysted Redworm that every horse owner should read

*** 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!

08/09/2022

⚠️IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT⚠️

It is with a heavy heart that I announce as from the 4th October NKM Equine will close for business for the foreseeable future.

The stresses and financial difficulties of working full time self employed with horses is just too much of a struggle for me. There are several factors which have affected this decision and it has not been an easy one, I wish the circumstances were different.

I will contact all my existing clients directly to plan for the next month ahead.

30/08/2022

Same ditch, different technique 😆

28/08/2022

Dressage today for wonderful Mr. Piglet. Our tests weren’t brilliant but he was very tired from hound exercise the day before. Behaved perfectly and that’s all that matters. I love this horse so much 😍🥰🥰

Thank you for the amazing photos

27/08/2022

Insta verses reality 😂

22/08/2022

Thank you for the wonderful photos from the weekend xx

22/08/2022

Trip to willow banks on Sunday with the gorgeous Piglet. Fantastically well behaved in his second ever dressage test, bit lethargic in the jumping but was a long morning for him.

As always so pleased with his attitude and an absolute pleasure to ride 🤎🤎🤎

Still on the market, he will make someone very very happy.

08/08/2022

Consider this; Who behaves and performs best at school, those who attend every day or those that truant regularly? Who behaves better in society, those in full time employment or those on the dole? (Forgive my generalisation). In sport who performs best, the person who practices once a week or the person who practices nearly every day?

If you want your horse to behave and perform well then give it the consistency of work that it needs and deserves. If you’re not prepared to give your horse your time don’t expect your horse to give you it’s best x x

07/08/2022

Piglet had his first trip out to Winters Equestrian Cross Country today and he exceeded my expectations!

He was confident over the coffins, great over the jumps, we only did small ones as he is still young and developing. I knew he would be unsure of the Water so we started with him on a lunge line and by the end he was confidently going in and out and even jumping in and out!

Here’s a little video of some of it, we also have some drone footage to follow.

01/08/2022

https://www.horsemart.co.uk/stunning-potential-showjumper-or-eventer-4yo-wb-x-ish-heartb/Horses/670471

27/07/2022

Piglet you are just awesome!!

First time at and he was brilliant! Even jumped the water tray every time without even looking!

Videos to follow

Thank you .showjumping for grooming and photography

24/07/2022

Buzz Lightyear you are too awesome!!

First ever ridden showing classes for horse and rider, he behaved impeccably and won his classes including qualifications for ESUK!

The last photo is the best… shows what it’s all about, the partnership and the love 🖤🤍

Well done you rode like a Pro!

Huge thank you to .arnoldx for your expertise and help to prepare for the show.

21/07/2022

No Piglet, farrier does not want a cuddle 😆

20/07/2022

Shout out to all those who worked yesterday looking after animals; horses, dogs, zoo animals all still need taking care off whatever the weather ☀️⛈❄️⛄️

18/07/2022

Pamper session for Piglet today

09/07/2022

Lovely funny card and presents (there was chocolates but they melted 🫢) A thank you from my last ever breaking livery owner 🙏🏼

06/07/2022

Took Piglet to Hill House, first time jumping fillers. Such a sweetheart, he tries his best. Still figuring out how these legs work… and not helped his rider at all! Need to jump with my eyes shut I think 🙄

06/07/2022

Gorgeous Gaia practicing her lateral work in her spare time 😆😆😆

05/07/2022

I think this is a really interesting point of view and I totally agree! So many benefits to getting a horse used to and comfortable with a “stable” routine.

28/06/2022

Breaking livery Gaia being a star out hacking, and brave with the ditch

24/06/2022

Piglet ditch training

Normally the horses happily take a lead from Buzz (our resident ditch-pert) but Piglet was adamant he didn’t want to walk through, so in this situation I just get off and lead through. No big deal, no drama (luckily I can get on the from the floor) then the confidence to go through happily.

A couple of days before we had tried with the smaller ditches which are not even ditches 🙄 and Piglet was just as worried, so again I had led him through then he was confidently going through on his own.

It’s all about giving your horse confidence, confidence in knowing the question that is being asked and confidence in their person.

22/06/2022

Horses are always learning, we are not just riding we are training all the time, they deserve for us to do it properly x

Do you want to know the secret to good horsemanship?

There are five parts, all equally important, but each one needs the others in order to be fully effective.

If you can develop each of these points, you’ll be catapulted forward in your horsemanship journey.

🐴 Feel - this is probably the hardest. And most people go through their entire career with horses having never even started to understand the concept. Feel is both the ability to communicate through energy using your own body, but also being able to read and ‘feel’ where your horses body is when riding. It has taken me years to develop the feel I have now, and it is still far from where i want it to be. It is something I work on every day.

🐴 Timing - timing is not just when to give a horse a break. It is a huge deal within each individual movement. It’s impossible to guide a foot when there is weight on that foot. Timing is about timing up with the point at which there isn’t weight on the foot you’re wanting to move. That’s tough, especially when you ride. That’s where being able to feel the hind feet is vital. Just like feel, I work on this every day, every saddle I climb into and every lead rope I take a hold of.

🐴 Consistency - once you set up a cue, your horse shouldn’t be left to guess whether you mean it or not because sometimes you apply the cue and other times you don’t. For instance, every time I ask a horse to back up on the halter, I ask for their neck to soften, their nose to give and for them to be soft l. If I do that on Monday, but let go when they brace up on Tuesday, my inconsistency will rub off on the horse. This was something I used to have real trouble with, especially when hacking out.

🐴 Knowledge - this might sound obvious, but lack of knowledge can often be a person, or horses downfall. Knowledge of the exercises that strengthen a particular manoeuvre, knowledge of how your bit, bridle and hackamore work with the tongue, bar palate and nerves in the face. Understanding body weight and the influence of it in the horse. Knowledge can be watched, read, passed on and discovered. Knowledge without the other points on this list is pretty useless. I read and watch a lot of other horsemen, regularly. Many, you’d probably be surprised at, because they’re so different to my style. Sometimes I take a technique that might be trained quite aggressively and put my own, softer approach on it. I have learned a lot this way over the years

🐴 Respect, and love for the horse. This one should go without saying, but sometimes I see trainers and owner spurring, whipping, shouting and going so crazy on a horse that it’s hard to believe they might be enjoying themselves. Having the well-being of the horse at the heart of everything else should be paramount. Having all the other points, without love for the horse might just make you really effective at Giving them a hard time.

I hope that makes sense and resonates with you all. Please share with your friends

You can, as always see more posts, plus examples of my principles at work over hours and hours of video at www.goodhorsemanshipchannel.com