 |
Re: [RC] Endurance horse Worming - heidiHello everyone, I am new and had a couple questions on worming the endurance horse. I have been worming my horse every three months with no Tube worming at all but now that I have started training I would like to know more about the recommended routine. How often are Endurance horses paste wormed? How often are Endurance horses Tube wormed? Is it better to have the Endurance horse on a daily wormer? Thank you! Newbie Jen Endurance horses are housed under different conditions, just like other horses. Deworming schedules need to be formulated based upon the area the horse lives in (how big), the exposure to other horses in that space, the time of year, and the parasite life cycles of that locale. In addition, the deworming schedule needs to be tweaked around competitions. In this day and age, there is no reason to "tube worm" ANY horse, IMO. The drugs currently available in paste form are far better than most of what we used to use to "tube" horses. If horses are in crowded circumstances or have an unknown deworming history, then it is a good idea to start off with a 5-day fenbendazole purge. After that, an appropriate rotation for the above conditions should be worked out with your own veterinarian. It may range from once or twice a year for a couple of horses turned out on virtual range conditions to every 3-4 weeks for horses in crowded circumstances. I personally don't recommend the daily dewormers for endurance horses. Although the "evidence" is anecdotal, I've seen too many previously colic-free endurance horses go onto a daily dewormer and then suffer a bout of anterior enteritis at a competition (this is a pretty rare type of colic in which the small intestine kind of shuts down, and fluids back up into the stomach) to make me trust daily dewormers for endurance horses. They are great for broodmares and youngsters in high-exposure situations. I don't know why this happens (or if it is coincidental), but I can only theorize that the daily dewormer makes some change in the gut flora. You also should try not to deworm a horse within the week prior to a competition. There ARE changes in the gut each time you deworm, and you don't need that sort of variable on top of hauling and competing. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|