>> Planning a targeted worming programme

If the subject of worming leaves you feeling confused, bored or less than enthusiastic then you are not alone. Times are changing and we can no longer rely on traditional methods from the past. Worm egg counts give us a very effective tool for running a simple and effective worming programme. This is called ‘Targeted worming’

Why we need to change to targeted worming.
In recent years we have all become familiar with the idea of a rotational worming programme where different wormers are used at specific times of year to treat particular parasites. Normal practice was to change the main drug used each year, but in order to cover all possibilities you would still need to use particular products for treating tapeworms and encysted redworm. This can get very complicated indeed!

Resistance to wormers.
However the main problem with such comprehensive programmes is that the worms are getting clever and evolving to become resistant to some worming drugs, especially those which have been around for a long time. This means that you can no longer rely on keeping your horse worm free purely by giving him wormers. Not only that, the overuse of the currently effective products on the market can only lead to more resistance problems in the future, a very worrying prospect for all horse owners. There are no new wormers coming along so it is vitally important that the very good products we have available are kept effective by only giving them to the horses who need them. We need to find out which horses need worming, and we can easily do that by using tests to form the core of the worming programme.

Using worm egg counts
Basing your worming on faecal egg counts, or worm counts as they are known, can work really well and prove cost effective too. If you keep one or two horses at home and have full control over their wefare it is really easy to do this and with a little organisation it can work well in other situations too. All that is really needed is for one person to take control and, if you are on a yard, to make sure everyone joins in.