'What is the Best Way to Worm?'

What is the Best Way to Worm?

By PACowgirl at 10/01/08 15:59

I have heard many different things about the proper way to worm or what worming schedule to use. It always seems arbitrary like someone just pulled months from a hat rather than having a logical reason for choosing a certain time of year. Some people, I think, worm excessively, to the point that I think they may be actually harming their horse rather than helping. But on the flip side, I think some people do not worm their horses enough. We need to find a happy medium with sound evidence for when whe should worm and why that specific time is important.

I received a sound piece of advice from a veterinarian (some vets are just as bad as owners for suggesting over worming), that you should always worm right after the first heavy frost. This makes sense because if you think about it, the cold tolerance for most insects does not extend into the times when it will frost. There are not an abundance of insects which means the likelyhood of your horse getting worms is less. If you worm right before the first frost, your horse may get infected or reinfected before the insects die or hibernate or whatever it is that they do. In any case, make sure to make educated decisions about worming your horse.

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