happy new horse day?
You finally found the horse you want to buy and you can’t wait to get them settled in and start enjoying your new partnership. But don’t let them jump in with the herd too soon! No matter the size, breed, or workload of a horse, all equines are at risk of internal parasites and it's impossible to just look at them and say whether or not they're carrying disease or unwanted passengers of the parasitic kind!
FIRST - BEFORE THEY ARRIVE
If they return a medium or high worm egg count result (>200epg) and need a worming treatment, we would also advise a reduction test 10-14 days to check wormer efficacy and help inform you about any potential wormer resistance.
Plan ahead! It could take a 2-3 weeks to go through this process to ensure your new horse isn't bringing unwanted passengers with them and to give you the information you need to plan the right worm control programme for them in the future.
NEXT - KNOW THEIR PARASITE RISK
A new horse coming into a herd, however well it seems, should ALWAYS be quarantined and tested to help protect the herd and your grazing from potential infection. The British Horse Society recommend keeping horses separate for at least 21 days as a biosecurity measure against serious diseases such as Equine Flu, Herpes and Strangles. It might be inconvenient but worth it in the long run to keep everyone happy and healthy.
Best-practice approach is to also plan a test-based programme for every horse in your care. The interval of testing should be based on a horse’s relative parasite risk profile. To calculate this we can use a useful tool developed by an organisation called CANTER (Controlling ANTiparasitic resistance in Equines Responsibly).
A broad range of risk factors influence a horse’s susceptibility to parasite infection, such as clinical history, age, test result history and environment. Use the link to the assessment tool below to determine if your new horse is low, medium or high risk of parasite infection.
This allows us to devise a tailored parasite control plan for the year ahead, ensuring that testing and treatments are aligned with your horse’s specific needs. Try to be realistic; there’s no blame in having a horse in a higher risk category. Being honest will help you to put measures in place to protect their health.
A HEALTHY FUTURE
Parasite control isn’t a one-and-done process. Regular WECs throughout the grazing season are essential for staying ahead of parasites. A mature, healthy horse can follow a very simple pattern of testing and dosing.
There are two tests that should form the basis of an effective targeted worm control programme – worm egg counts for redworm and roundworm and the EquiSal saliva test for tapeworm. Both tests give statistical results for the levels of parasites present that can be used to determine whether the horse needs treatment or not. You may also need to consider bots, pinworm, lungworm and liver fluke in your programme if you suspect a problem.
Veterinary advice recommends that all horses are regularly tested throughout the grazing season. A tailored worm control plan should include:
- Worm egg counts every 8-12 weeks to monitor strongyle egg shedding.
- Targeted tapeworm testing every six months, as tapeworms do not show in WECs.
- A risk-based approach to encysted small redworm, assessed in winter to either test and/or treat.
- Good pasture management, including regular poo picking and sensible grazing strategies.
The following programme is a good basis for a healthy adult horse:
Foals, youngsters, neglected or older horses and other high risk horse's will require more attention and frequent testing to ensure any parasite burden doesn't get out of hand.
Worming is only required if the tests indicate infection above a certain level. An explanation will be given by the laboratory to help you decide whether to worm or not. Alternatively you can ask us for advice and we'll discuss your horse’s test results in the context of worming history and general health, and can then advise on an appropriate wormer to use if this is required.
PASTURE MANAGEMENT MATTERS
Testing alone won’t control parasites; good pasture management is equally important.
- Poo pick regularly: Remove droppings from fields at least twice a week to reduce the number of infective larvae.
- Avoid overstocking: Overstocked paddocks increase the risk of worm exposure.
- Rotate grazing: Resting or rotating fields helps break the lifecycle of parasites.
Good parasite control is an essential part of your new horse's care routine; take the first step toward smarter, more sustainable parasite management.