Equine Mega Worming

We diligently worm our horses with the change of seasons. Some horses get wormed monthly, weekly, and even daily. Wormers are so common place; the cost of worming a horse is cheaper than having the old-fashioned fecal check done to see if your horse even has worms. Would we take an aspirin if we didn't have a headache? No. Then why are we treating our horses for a condition that they might possibly not even have? It is mind boggling that this mega-worming frenzy has become such common practice. Where does it end? Scientific speculation is that we are going to end up with super resistant, super worms. What will we do for our horses then?

Some boarding stables have strict rules about worming and the boarders are expected to comply. For stables where the horses are all turned out on the same pasture, this is a must according to the farm managers. They say you can't worm one horse unless you worm them all. I disagree. I think we need to get back to doing fecal checks on a routine basis. I think the fecal checks should be affordable. We need to re-establish a common-sense practice of only worming the horses that need wormed, and not medicate the others just because they happen to be in the vicinity.

To the horse persons lucky enough to have their own farms and their horses in the back yards, approaching this mega-worming issue becomes easier and I encourage you to talk to your veterinarians about worm management. As an added note here for those that farm organically, when you worm your horse or medicate them in any way, the subsequent resulting manure should not be composted. It is no longer a base for healthy, organic decomposition and future fertilization.

MaryAnn Myers is an equestrian, horse trainer, and environmentalist. She is the author of equine novels, "Maple Dale," "Favored to Win," "Maple Dale Revisited," and newly released, "Ellie's Crows." She lives with her family on an organic farm in Northeast Ohio, that houses rescue dogs and retirement horses. For more information about MaryAnn visit... http://www.sunrisehorsefarm.com

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