{"id":31089,"date":"2021-09-08T09:56:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T08:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/?p=31089"},"modified":"2021-09-08T09:56:31","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T08:56:31","slug":"horses-deworming-misconceptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/horses-deworming-misconceptions\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Misconceptions About Horses Deworming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><i>When we say to you &#8220;horses deworming&#8221;, you answer &#8220;Too easy! I know that by heart&#8221;. Well, there are <strong>many preconceived ideas about deworming.<\/strong> If you don&#8217;t know everything, it&#8217;s also because the studies that encourage us to change our practices are recent and it takes a little time for the right reflexes to take hold. Let&#8217;s look at it in detail.<br><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:8px\">Cover Picture : <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vitalherbs.be\/fr\/nos-articles\/2013-10-06-les-vermifuges-de-synthese-stop-ou-encore\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.vitalherbs.be\/fr\/nos-articles\/2013-10-06-les-vermifuges-de-synthese-stop-ou-encore\" target=\"_blank\">Vitalherbs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Preconceived idea when you hold us\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Table des mati&egrave;res<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#8220All-horses-should-definitely-be-dewormed8221\">&#8220;All horses should definitely be dewormed.&#8221;\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#8220We-need-to-deworm-horses-that-live-in-the-pasture-more-often8221\">&#8220;We need to deworm horses that live in the pasture more often.&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#Horses-deworming-are-the-only-treatment-that-exists-for-parasites8221\">\u00ab\u00a0Horses deworming are the only treatment that exists for parasites.&#8221;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#8220Parasites-can8217t-do-much-harm-to-my-horse8221\">&#8220;Parasites can&#8217;t do much harm to my horse.&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"8220All-horses-should-definitely-be-dewormed8221\"><b><i>&#8220;All horses should definitely be dewormed.&#8221;\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wrong! &#x1f6ab;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t panic if you find a single egg or worm in the manure. <strong>Horses naturally have worms in their digestive tract.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The issue resides in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>quantity,<\/strong> which is not too hard too understand<\/li><li><strong>quality<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>And there, it is a little more complicated\u2026 Focus, I explain!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Nice and bad worms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are actually <strong>two types of parasites<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>The &#8220;nice parasites&#8221;. <\/strong>They are sensitive to dewormers and therefore die easily.<\/li><li>And the <strong>&#8220;bad parasites&#8221;<\/strong>. They are chemo-resistant, i.e. they have the ability to resist dewormers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Both categories are the result of a <strong>biological adaptation phenomenon<\/strong>. Each time a horse is given deworming medication, a <strong>&#8220;selection pressure&#8221;<\/strong> is created. It is a bit like the law of the fittest. We kill the weakest (our &#8220;nice parasites&#8221;) and only the most resistant survive (our &#8220;bad parasites&#8221;). We select little by little at each deworming the \u00ab\u00a0worst\u00a0\u00bb parasites which reproduce between them, giving new resistant parasites etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>So? Horses deworming or not? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, we deworm, but in a<strong> reasonable way<\/strong>! That is to say <strong>not too frequently<\/strong> not to select the &#8220;bad parasites&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The miracle solution to keep all worms from becoming &#8220;bad resistant worms&#8221; <strong>is sensitivity refuges!<\/strong> It&#8217;s a bit of a barbaric term but you&#8217;ll understand. A sensitivity refuge is a horse with little or no treatment that harbors &#8220;nice parasites&#8221; that are sensitive to dewormers. You read that right, there are horses that you can choose to treat very little or not at all against worms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>How to know if you should deworm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s simple. You just have to do what is called a <strong>coproscopy, or fecal egg-count (FEC)<\/strong>. This is a sample of dung, which is sent to the laboratory so that they can count the parasite eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your horse (adult) has <strong>less than 200 parasite eggs per gram of fecal matter<\/strong>, it is not dewormed. He becomes a refuge of sensitivity and all the equines of the world thank it because it contributes biologically to guarantee the survival of the equine species. It&#8217;s as simple as that. &#x1f44c;&#x1f3fc;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The future is <strong>selective horses deworming<\/strong>. Well, except for foals and yearlings for whom strategic deworming is recommended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"362\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-1024x362.png\" alt=\"FEC, a technique to know if horses deworming is necessary\" class=\"wp-image-31093\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-1024x362.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-300x106.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-768x272.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-604x214.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1-850x301.png 850w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/copro-1.png 1037w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"8220We-need-to-deworm-horses-that-live-in-the-pasture-more-often8221\"><b><i>&#8220;We need to deworm horses that live in the pasture more often.&#8221;<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wrong!<\/strong>\u00a0&#x274c;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a tendency to think that horses living 100% in the pasture are more parasitized than those living in a box-paddock. Therefore, we tend to deworm them more often. In fact, it <strong>all depends on the living environment<\/strong>. For example, a horse that lives in a large, well-maintained pasture will be less parasitized than a horse that lives in a stall and shares a paddock for his daily outing where the droppings are not collected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most parts of Europe, <strong>two dewormings per year are sufficient<\/strong>. However, as you have already understood, there is no general rule (as always in biology). Also, the frequency of deworming must be <strong>adapted to each horse <\/strong>according to its own sensitivity and the surrounding parasite pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-1024x196.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-1024x196.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-300x57.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-768x147.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-604x115.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1-850x162.png 850w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-1.png 1037w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>&#x26a0;\u00a0<strong>Be careful, systematically deworming 4 to 6 times a year, incorrectly adapting the dose to the weight (putting on too much or too little), treating in the middle of winter or practicing &#8220;dose and move&#8221; (treating all the horses in the same group and transferring them to a new, clean pasture) considerably reduces our dear refuges of sensitivity and therefore favors the appearance of resistance in parasites. &#x26a0;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"Horses-deworming-are-the-only-treatment-that-exists-for-parasites8221\"><b><i>\u00ab\u00a0Horses deworming are the only treatment that exists for parasites.&#8221;<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wrong! &#x274c;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In combination with a proper deworming protocol, environmental management can help reduce pasture infestation. In veterinary jargon, this is called a <strong>&#8220;sanitation treatment.&#8221;<\/strong> Among the alternatives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>No <strong>overgrazing<\/strong> (1 horse per hectare) and weekly <strong>collection of dung<\/strong> (effective but tedious!),<strong> rotation of pastures<\/strong>.<\/li><li>Alternate or mixed grazing with\u2026 ruminants and especially <strong>sheep<\/strong> that graze the grass at a lower level than the horses, thus ingesting and eliminating the infesting larvae. Nature is well done!<\/li><li>And perhaps in the near future the <strong>&#8220;biological control&#8221;<\/strong> whose goal is the destruction of the larvae of the pasture. We dream about it even if this strategy is still experimental.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"362\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-1024x362.png\" alt=\"Sheep can help reduce the amount of parasites in a pasture. This a natural way for horses deworming\" class=\"wp-image-31096\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-1024x362.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-300x106.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-768x272.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-604x214.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1-850x301.png 850w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mouton-1.png 1037w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2><span id=\"8220Parasites-can8217t-do-much-harm-to-my-horse8221\"><b><i>&#8220;Parasites can&#8217;t do much harm to my horse.&#8221;<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wrong again!! &#x274c;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a tendency to consider parasitism as a trivial disease with no major consequences. Unfortunately, veterinarians are more and more often confronted with cases of <strong>incurable parasitosis<\/strong>.\u00a0Especially when a horse is infested by &#8220;bad parasites&#8221; that no dewormer can kill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some very <strong>pathogenic species (Strongylus vulgaris)<\/strong> can migrate into the arteries of the horse and obstruct them or into the intestines and cause <strong>very severe verminous colic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Others (Cyathostoma larvae) can cause a wide range of clinical signs (diarrhea, colic) and <strong>even death<\/strong> (up to 50% mortality rate). This is why, unfortunately, resistance to dewormers can have dramatic consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"249\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-1024x249.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31099\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-1024x249.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-300x73.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-768x187.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-604x147.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1-850x207.png 850w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/vermifugation-copy-1.png 1037w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>You know by heart the famous &#8220;antibiotics are not automatic!&#8221; I will conclude with <strong>&#8220;sensitivity refuges are better than deworming!<\/strong>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, familiarize yourself with <strong>FEC<\/strong> and <strong>practice a selective and reasoned deworming<\/strong>. Don&#8217;t hesitate to talk about it with your veterinarian. They will be the best person to advise you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\"><strong>Marine Slove<\/strong><br>Veterinarian<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#e9e9e9\">Two very interesting articles to read: &#8220;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/equipedia.ifce.fr\/en\/equipedia-the-universe-of-the-horse-ifce\/health-and-animal-well-being\/care-prevention-and-medication\/prevention\/well-reasoned-de-worming-program-fundamentals-and-good-practices\" target=\"_blank\">Deworming<\/a>&#8221; et &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/equipedia.ifce.fr\/en\/equipedia-the-universe-of-the-horse-ifce\/health-and-animal-well-being\/care-prevention-and-medication\/prevention\/fec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FEC<\/a>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>Sources and images<\/strong><br>&#8220;Les parasites digestifs des \u00e9quid\u00e9s: transmission, m\u00e9thode de lutte, chimior\u00e9sistance\u201d, 2011, <i>J. Guillot, M. Krarip Nielsen, A. Meana Manes, F. Beugnet<br><\/i>worm by Sean Maldjian from the Noun Project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we say to you &#8220;horses deworming&#8221;, you answer &#8220;Too easy! I know that by&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/horses-deworming-misconceptions\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":30952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6177],"tags":[10404,10405,6706,6530,10403],"yst_prominent_words":[753,6356,805,1052,811,815,855,2111,1075,8336],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31089"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31089"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31105,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31089\/revisions\/31105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31089"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=31089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}