Internal Parasites of Horses

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There are several major internal parasites (worms) of horses, and control is aimed at reducing their numbers at certain stages in their life cycles. These stages will vary with the seasons, which, in turn, can vary with the geography and climate where you live. A seasonal approach to deworming is always more effective than routine intervals because parasites must return to the environment between successive generations.

Some horses develop natural resistance. While one horse has egg counts that aren’t problematic, another horse in the same pasture, same conditions, same age, may have a tremendous number of worms. Just deworm the wormy individuals. With resistance issues we now face, we should stop treating horses so frequently and only focus on treatments that are absolutely necessary.

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Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

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