Natural wormers

[Tricia Beech]

Hi. Can anyone tell me where i can find out more about natural worming. Someone at our yard has suggesed that we consider this method, but I would like to find out more obout it first. I can foresee a few problams on such a big yard ie. some do not poo. pick there fields which i would of thought was the first thing to do if you want it to be a success.

[Wally]

The closest to natural worming I would consider is sending off poo samples to be tested for egg counts, then you can assess whether or not to worm.

Worms can cause such terrible problems, from giving them belly ache to actual death or lifelong problems.

With all the choice of modern drugs available I would not consider skimping on worming.

[ponyvet]

I would only advise people to consider so called "natural worming" if they owned their own yard, and had very few other people involved. Everyone must take their share of the responsibility and in my experience on livery yards that's impossible. Also every time a new horse comes in it will need to be wormed and quarantined, and the new owner must be committed to the plan as well.

Realistically it's a very difficult thing to manage, and just sounds nicer to us than "pumping horses full of drugs". Wormers are designed not to have many systemic effects, as they are aimed at damaging the worms, which have a different biology to the horse. The wormers are designed to be excreted through the intestinal tract, not digested or absorbed so are actually a very low risk.

Emotionally we all like to think we can treat our horses as naturally as possible, but in some ways I think that's a problem. Worms are really not something to mess about with and unless you can be sure of everyones cooperation don't try anything unusual.

I expect it's difficult enough to make sure all the owners on the yard worm their horses properly. If so, they'll never manage to stick to a natural worming schedule.

[H & Bailey]

hi I think that poo picking should be done inconjunction with a proper worming schedule as worms can cause nasty internal damage.
I have also heard that farmers feed turnip as this is a natural type of wormer????
Mixed grazing also helps keep worms down as cows and sheep carry different worms which are killed in the horses stomach if picked up and vice versa.Dont put donkeys in or you risk lungworm.

[ponyvet]

The turnip thing is rubbish, except in the sense that farmers move sheep onto turnip fields for a change from their usual pasture! :D I don't know if any farmers think it helps their worm burdens, which it may do as I imagine that turnip fields have low worm burdens as they are only grazed for a few weeks each year.

I agree that proper worming with drugs is really the best way to approach the problem, but some people don't like the idea of using them and so it's a good idea to have an alternative plan for those people. I don't think it works quite as well, but can be ok if done properly.

[Gill]

Actually worming according to the worm count is also 'proper' worming and can work very well. Much research has been carried out by the Liverpool University vets on this subject and lots of info on how to apply it to different situations can be found on their web site www.diagnosteq.com
There are no new worming drugs so we need to take care that the excellent ones available at present will continue to be effective in the future, by not overworming our horses.
www.westgatelabs.com
I would also add that we do counts for many large yards who seem to manage their worming programmes very well indeed.

[MadWoman]

I once heard of an old P2P trainer who wormed his horses by giving them a quid of chewing tobacco every month - he swore by it.

Think I'll stick to my normal worming programme, though!

[ponyvet]

I do agree that using worm counts works well, so long as you have good compliance!! That's often a problem in livery yards, so it's not as easy!!

Also have just read some info, and noticed that most of the avermectins are derived from bacterial chemicals, so does that count as natural or not??

[Catherine]

and I am clearly in a minority here!

I have my horses' worm counts done regularly at Westgate Labs and only worm in response to the results, but then I am lucky enough to have just my horses on our land, and no changing faces (bums?) bringing in unwanted guests.

I find that doing the worm counts instead of routinely worming them every six to eight weeks is far cheaper, and I know who to treat with how much and what type of wormer. The only time I have changed this routine is when dealing with a mare and foal/youngster, or with my 29 year old who needs a more "heavy-handed" approach to her worm control.

I guess you could adopt my method only if everyone in your yard is working together to keep the little blighters to a minimum. But I hate to think how many days a week I'd be wandering around with a wheelbarrow clearing up after seven bums!

[lleeaannee]

Don't mess around with it as its a slow and painful death if intestinal damage occurs.

Lorna's (the lady who's horses I ride) first pony died of intestinal problem due to his previous owner not worming him. Lorna wormed him while she had him but it was not enough.