Did you see the story from Valhalla Hill Farm about a young mare that sadly had to be euthanised due to colic? Its a stark reminder to us all on why you should worm test your horse and not just reach for the wormer.
The mare had been on an “aggressive worming program including frequent ivermectin”.
Yet, the treatment of colic was difficult due to the massive worm infestation.
The worming programme (just giving wormers) meant that the tapeworm had developed resistance to the drugs and as a result the vets couldn’t treat the tapeworm!
And the horse’s colic could not be treated effectively
And the horse had to be put to sleep.
Could this have been avoided had the owner chosen to test and treat rather than just give treatment for worms?
We believe it could have helped this horse massively!
The importance of performing regular horse worm counts has never been greater. Due to resistance increasing there are fewer drugs available that work!
That’s why we must save those drugs and use them only when needed.
And just follow a targetted worming programme based on testing first.
Without doing this we are literally fighting a losing battle and causing the loss ourselves!
This is the Valhalla Hill Farm post:
“Very disappointed – just had to euthanize a wonderful 4-year-old mare. A second colic surgery in 3 days, and we euthanized her on the surgery table because her prognosis was poor.
Her small intestine was full of these large ascarid worms, despite her being on an aggressive worming program including frequent ivermectin.
The worms likely played a role in her very severe intestinal disease and made treatment harder.
Resistance to our common dewormers is a growing problem.”
And their images from the surgery:
THIS IS WHY I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT I DO!
If a horse continues to show a worm burden I will always look at the reasons why.
And with the owners’ help, try to put in place a program of testing and worming and paddock maintenance etc. to try and rectify the problem.
Horses will always have a worm burden but…
It’s a fact that 80% of the horse population does not need to be treated for their worm burden because it is low, and only 20% have a burden that requires treatment.
This means that if horses are wormed without being tested, many of them are being given drugs that they DO NOT NEED.
It is so important that we STOP worming without a POSITIVE Faecal Worm Egg Count.
How can we educate horse owners?
PLEASE! As a horse owner/lover share this blog and read the post in the link below from Valhalla Hill Farm. Then share their post in the link below too!
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=5908433349166614&id=119719638038043
We need to continue to educate and make people aware of the problem of drug resistance.
And of course, I’m always happy to help and advise through Efecs Ltd.
Just get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.
A huge thank you goes to Valhalla Hill Farm for allowing us to share their post and images.
