What damage can WORMS do?
Worms like redworm and ascarids feed off the horse itself by sucking the blood of its gut wall. If the horse loses a lot of blood it can feel very poorly and lose weight.
Tapeworm, like in this picture, on the other hand eat the food within the gut that’s meant for the horse, depriving it of nutrients this way. Large numbers of any worm species can block the gut, causing colic, which is a serious and potentially fatal tummy ache.Â
The larval stages of some worm species cause additional damage as they also move around the horse’s body, getting into the lungs (ascarid), blood vessels (large redworm) or burrowing into the wall of the intestines (small redworm) which, as you can imagine, also creates serious problems for the horse.
Common symptoms to look out for include coughing, colic, lack of energy and weight loss.