There seem to be 2 main schools of thought here...
1. De-worm every 8 weeks, rotating the med types
2. Do fecal egg counts to find out whether horse sheds/what they shed and create de-worming schedule accordingly.
I continue to hear that #2 is the way to go if you can, according to most vets because well, it's less $ and meds pumped into your horse's system AND (more importantly) the worms are becoming resistent to certain med types due to overuse.
The barn I'm boarding at now uses method #2. Every other barn I had ever been at used #1. The difference seems to be the barn size. At those I've boarded at who de-worm every 8 weeks, there were 40+ horses. The one I'm at now has I believe between 16-19, so a lot smaller. So maybe the smaller barn with less horses is better able to manage #2?
What are your thoughts on the 2 main schools of de-worming? And for anyone who also does #2, can you give me any additional info about it (just because I love to learn!)? :wink: All I know is that when I moved my mare in, she had to get a fecal egg count done before she could go out with the other horses...and she was a 0 shedder (yay!) so she was put out with them once that was confirmed.
That was a few months ago, and when I went to the barn this week they were all being de-wormed. I asked the barn manager how often they de-worm and he said just twice a year with egg counts being done in the spring to determine whether that needs to change for any of them. He really knows what he's doing so I'm not questioning that at all...just interested in gathering up some more knowledge!!
1. De-worm every 8 weeks, rotating the med types
2. Do fecal egg counts to find out whether horse sheds/what they shed and create de-worming schedule accordingly.
I continue to hear that #2 is the way to go if you can, according to most vets because well, it's less $ and meds pumped into your horse's system AND (more importantly) the worms are becoming resistent to certain med types due to overuse.
The barn I'm boarding at now uses method #2. Every other barn I had ever been at used #1. The difference seems to be the barn size. At those I've boarded at who de-worm every 8 weeks, there were 40+ horses. The one I'm at now has I believe between 16-19, so a lot smaller. So maybe the smaller barn with less horses is better able to manage #2?
What are your thoughts on the 2 main schools of de-worming? And for anyone who also does #2, can you give me any additional info about it (just because I love to learn!)? :wink: All I know is that when I moved my mare in, she had to get a fecal egg count done before she could go out with the other horses...and she was a 0 shedder (yay!) so she was put out with them once that was confirmed.
That was a few months ago, and when I went to the barn this week they were all being de-wormed. I asked the barn manager how often they de-worm and he said just twice a year with egg counts being done in the spring to determine whether that needs to change for any of them. He really knows what he's doing so I'm not questioning that at all...just interested in gathering up some more knowledge!!