Horse Worming Schedule

See also: Horse Wormers (Manufacturers) | Horse Wormer (Chemicals) |Horse Worms

Horse Worming Schedule
There are many different worming programme's and products available so you need to consult with your veterinary surgeon who will be able to advise you on an appropriate worming program precisely tailored for your horse with any specific requirements that you may have, for example taking into account the age of your horse.

There are several worming options available, the most popular are tactical, strategic and targeted:

Strategic Worming Administering drugs at specific times during the year, depending on the results of a faecal egg count and blood test for Tapeworm.
Tactical Worming - This is the process of treating horses all year round with special attention at certain times of the year for treating specific types of worms for optimal treatment.
Targeted Treatments - This is when drugs are administered at certain times of the year in order to treat specific worms.

Strategic Worming
With a strategic worming program your vet will need a sample of your horses droppings and will do a blood test at intervals throughout the year. A strategic worming program targets the worms that are present in your horse, if worm counts are low there may be no need to worm at all and if the count is high specific worms can be targeted. Strategic worming can reduce the amount of chemical wormers that are needed in a year.

The faecal examination will show what eggs are present and therefore which parasites need to be targeted.
The blood sample will test to see if Tapeworm are present and therefore if they need to be treated.

Tactical Worming
With tactical worming you choose one type of chemical group of wormer for example Macrocyclic Lactones to be your routine wormer for the whole year that will treat for Small Strongyles (Small Redworm) in particular and also in most cases some of the other worms as well.

This routine wormer should be given approximately every 6 to 8 weeks or at the interval suggested by the manufacturer. So for much of the year you will be using the same wormer with the use of different wormers being added at certain intervals to target specific parasites.

Ensure that you correctly weigh your horse so that the correct dosage can be given.

During the summer months change the active ingredient of your chosen chemical group.

Every year change the chemical group that you choose to avoid resistance to the wormers from building up.

Follow the manufacturers guidelines as to the dosing amount.

An Example Of A Tactical Worming Plan
To give you an idea, here is an example of a tactical worming plan, obviously you will need to read the manufacturers guidelines very carefully with regards to the amounts and frequency that each wormer should be given as some can be 6 weeks and others can be 10 weeks so it is very important to check first.

January - Tactical worming
February - Treat for encysted Redworm
March - Tactical Worming
April - Treat for Tapeworm
May - Tactical Worming
June - Tactical Worming
July - Tactical Worming
August - Tactical Worming
September - Tactical Worming
October - Treat for Tapeworm
November - Treat for encysted Redworm
December - Treat for Bots

Good Pasture Management

Consult your vet who will advise you on a worming program.
Send off a faecal sample, which will be able to tell you how worm ridden your horse is and if there are any worms that need to be specifically targeted.
Where possible rotate pastures on a regular basis.
Where possible put sheep out to graze on the horse pastures as they will eat the infective larvae without being infected themselves and therefore help to lessen the worm burden in the field by inactivating the larvae.
Thoroughly clean and disinfect stables and stalls on a regular basis.
Regularly remove droppings from the fields.
Harrow the fields on a regular basis to help destroy the infective larvae.
Where possible try not to overstock any one paddock as this increases the amount of infective larvae in an area.
Remove Bot eggs from the horses legs and coat.
Regularly check your horses over for signs of a parasite infestation and call your vet immediately if you suspect a problem.