Lazy B Ranch

04/23/2023

*** WORMING PART 3 - 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!

1. Redworm can kill your horse.

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

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

4. 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.

5. 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.

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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. There is a very new blood test for all stages of redworm, including encysted. I have not yet used this, 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.

13. 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!

14. 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.

15. Herbal wormers do not work.

16. 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.

17. 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.

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 just being introduced for 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. Still a lot of research to go I think!

EDIT: obviously the blood test for encysted redworm is not new now, but I still haven’t used it, as we know how inaccurate ELISAs can be, and redworm can, and will, kill.

Happy reading!

Feel free to share, as this is really something that all horse owners should know!

And it’s a good time to worm for encysted redworm, around about NOW!

04/23/2023

04/09/2023

This!

03/21/2023

🔴RevitaVet can be used on existing problems as well as a daily preventive maintenance device!🐴

02/26/2023

Good info

In horses, guttural pouches can be the source of various bacterial and fungal infections. A veterinarian explains how empyema, chondroids, mycosis, and other conditions can afflict these structures.

02/06/2023

01/18/2023

Good to know

LETS TALK ABOUT ULCERS AND ALFALFA!!!!

Thought this was neat and worth sharing🤔

Alfalfa and horses with ulcers
Research from Texas A&M University shows that feeding alfalfa to horses with the potential to be high performers either prevents or is therapeutic in treating stomach ulcers.

Something in alfalfa hay tends to buffer acid production, said Dr. Pete Gibbs, Extension horse specialist. Feeding grain, confinement, exercise and overall environmental stress factors are thought to cause ulcers, he said. Studies have shown that horses will heal if provided less acidic diets.

In the research, 24 quarter horses from 12-16 months old were separated into two treatment groups. One group was fed Bermuda grass hay and the other fed alfalfa hay to meet the daily roughage needs. The yearlings received forced exercise during the study. The horses were examined internally with an endoscope at the beginning and end of two 28-day trials.

It's commonly thought that horses turned out on pastures are better off than those that are confined. However, if grass hay is the only hay they are fed, horses can still get gastric ulcers, he said.

In this study, ulcer scores increased when alfalfa was removed from the horses diets, and they were turned out on pasture. Under the ulcer-scoring system, 0 signified no ulcers, with severity increasing to level 4.

Further work is needed to look at horses with varying degrees of ulceration to better determine the full extent to which alfalfa or alfalfa-based products might help from a feeding management standpoint.

Based on what we know right now, for horses that are kept in confinement, eating feed and getting forced exercise, it makes sense to consider some alfalfa as part of their diet, he said.

Until further research is done, he recommends, horses weighing between 1,000-1,300 pounds should be fed about 1 pound of alfalfa after a grain meal.

Follow this link: http://agnews.tamu.edu/showstory.php?id=224

12/27/2022

The 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗲 is a very large muscle that extends from its tip, which you can see, to the hyoid apparatus and its attacement to the ramus of the mandible at the back.

It is the most sensitive part of your horse's mouth and the most prone to injury.

The tongue is vital for swallowing and influencing the hyoid apparatus

Like any other muscle, restriction or tension within it can induce a muscular chain reaction. Chronic pain in the TMJ, loss of weight, head shaking, resisting pressure from the reins, hollow back, and aggressive behavior just to name a few.

The sensitivity of the tongue is a very important consideration when fitting a bit. An ill-fitting or harsh bit or excessive pressure on the bit from your hands can cause pain and discomfort. In some cases it can result in tension throughout the body and poor performance.

Same goes for stud chains in the mouth or under the chin.
Bemer cuffs are great to help ease pain and repair damage in this area by simply placing under the halter.

12/26/2022

How does your horse stay warm in the winter?

*Please read the whole post before jumping to conclusions - by no means am I telling you not to blanket - every horse is different!*

Thermoregulation is a process that allows mammals to maintain their core body temperature. Due to fluctuations in the ambient temperature, horses will use physiological and behavioral adaptations for heat production or heat dissipation in order to maintain their core body temperature within a narrow range. Focusing on the cold climates (as we are sitting at [feels like] -29°F right now), there are a few physiological adaptations the horse may use including shivering, vasoconstriction, and adaptations to the hair coat including piloerection and hair coat length. Commonly observed behavioral adaptations include facing away from the wind, using solar radiation, or increasing consumption of fiber, often fed in the form of hay, for fermentation.

However, most of these physiological processes come at a cost due to something known as the lower critical temperature (LCT). The LCT is the ambient temperature below which an animal will require additional metabolic heat production to maintain their core temperature. The further below the LCT the ambient temperature gets, the more energy the horse needs to expend to maintain their core body temperature. The LCT changes based on age, precipitation, season, and hair coat length among other variables, but the LCT for horses with a dry, winter coat has most commonly been reported between 5°F (in cold climates) and 41°F (in mild climates). We often use 18°F as a benchmark.

So what does all of this mean? Well most horses do a great job at thermoregulation when given the tools they need. Below 5°F, and especially when precipitation is observed, it is recommended that horses have access to a 3-sided shelter with a roof as well as additional hay to help heat their internal furnace via fermentation and provide additional calories in the process.

It is also important to note that some horses may do better with some assistance such as hard keepers, underweight horses, aged horses who might have trouble consuming adequate forage, horses with an improper hair coat, etc. So just because one horse is fat, happy, and unbothered by the cold, it doesn’t mean every horse is!

So as the temperatures fall, see what your horse is doing to respond! It is pretty neat to see all the things they are naturally designed to do to conserve heat and stay warm! And if you have any questions on whether your horse may need assistance, I recommend reaching out to your veterinarian for guidance!

12/07/2022

I use it daily.
I have a mare that is not fond of loading.
It has really helped her relax and step right up

🔴 The Poll Cap™ addresses these common ailments and problematic areas:
-Stiffness
-Headaches
-Stress
-Teeth grinding
-Behavioral problems
-Head tension & head tilting
-TMJ
-Frontal sinuses
-Poll area
-1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae

12/06/2022

I’ve been using these products on my clients horses and my personal horses getting great results. Contact me if you have any questions or would like me to do a demo

.com

🎄🎁Christmas shopping?🎁🎄 Check out the hock saver set!

11/10/2022

Great pictures

11/03/2022

🔴The Tendon/Shin Saver addresses these common ailments:
•Sore shins
•Suspensory & other ligaments
•Deep and superficial flexor tendons
•Bowed tendons
•Splints
•Gaskins
•And more!