Worming practice and routines have changed a lot over the last few years due to a worrying increase in wormer resistance. We are now encouraged to only worm our horses after a high test result and most of you will likely be giving your horses multiple tests throughout the year, including saliva samples for tapeworm. But this is the time of year where those rules differ slightly.
Encysted small redworm
This type of worm is one of the most dangerous worms to infect our horses and unfortunately, the usual poo sample and saliva tests don’t pick them up. There is a relatively new Blood Test available for owners who are concerned about wormer resistance. However, this test isn’t completely fool proof. It won’t give you a yes or no answer as to if your horse has encysted small redworm, it will just tell you how likely it is your horse has it. It also has to be performed by a vet, so is a more expensive option. Because of this, the guideance is to worm your horse December/January time.
It’s also worth mentioning that at no point in the year do we really test or treat our horses for Bot Flies (unless you have seen eggs on your horse.) Worming to treat encysted small redworm also helps to protect against bot flies. So it can be a 2 birds and 1 stone situation.
What wormer do I need to use?
To treat encysted small redworm you want to use a moxidectin wormer, (Equest.) This will treat both the encysted small redworm and bot larve. Alternatively you can use Equest Pramox, which will also treat Tapeworm if needed.
I typically worm Scottie at the start of the new year, before our first saliva & poo test at the end of March.
Last Updated on 20/12/2024