Monday, April 30, 2018
Vaccinate Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases and Rabies
Follow the link to read an important message about vaccinating your horse against mosquito-borne diseases and rabies.
Updating your Vaccination Program
The American Association of Equine Practitioners is an
excellent source of veterinary information for horse owners. The Association posts recommended guidelines
periodically based on information they have gathered from equine veterinarians
across the United States. Core vaccinations
are Eastern/Western Equine Encephalomyelitis, Rabies, Tetanus and West Nile
Virus. These are the annual vaccines recommended
to be given to horses no matter their location.
Risk-based vaccinations are those that may not necessarily be given to
all horses everywhere, but it is important
to discuss with your veterinarian whether or not you should be using some
of these in your program. There are
numerous risk-based vaccines, but they include familiar ones such as botulism, rhinopneumonitis,
and equine influenza, and less familiar ones such as anthrax and even snake
bite.
I encourage all horse owners to visit this site and become
familiar with their “Principles of Vaccination” as well as the different
vaccines before updating or developing your vaccination program with your
veterinarian.
https://aaep.org/guidelines/vaccination-guidelines
Monday, April 23, 2018
Founder and Lush, Spring Pastures
You’ve likely been cautioned before about allowing your
horse to have access to lush pastures due to the fear of founder. Maybe you have event experienced these
problems yourself. Let’s take a moment
to discuss founder and lush forages.
Laminitis and Founder
Often times, the terms laminitis and founder have been used
interchangeably. However, they are not the
same thing. The laminae are the support structure
within the hoof, between the hoof wall and the coffin bone. Laminitis occurs when the laminae become
inflamed and begin to separate from the coffin bone. If the coffin bone becomes displaced or
rotated, then founder has occurred. Not
all horses that experience laminitis founder, but all horses who founder have
experienced laminitis.
What do spring pastures have to do with anything?
A cause of laminitis is a diet with high levels of non-structural
carbohydrates (NSC). Lush, spring
pasture growth is often higher in NSC than mature forage. Cool season grasses, such as fescue, are more
likely to accumulate NSC than warm season grasses, like bermudagrass. NSC is also more likely to accumulate when
forages stop growing or are experiencing stress. With the up and down temperature patterns we
have seen this spring, forages are going through periods of rapid growth followed
by slow growth, which is likely to cause more accumulation of NSC. Take steps to introduce spring pastures slowly. You can find some good tips at http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/managing_horses_on_spring_pastures.
Additionally, ponies, overweight horses, horses with cushing’s
disease, or horses with a history of founder are more likely to have problems
with laminitis and founder, so extra precautions should be taken.
You can find out more about laminitis and founder at https://www.clemson.edu/extension/publications/files/livestock-forages/lf10-laminitis-in-grazing-equine.pdf.
Monday, April 16, 2018
New School of Thought on Parasite Management
Often as the Small Ruminant and Equine Extension
Agent I get calls regarding horses and parasites. In recent years the industry
has begun to see a shift in the way we approach and handle internal parasites
of many species, particularly horses. In the past, parasite
management in adult horses was largely based on knowledge that is now considered to be outdated.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the new approach to parasite management
in adult horses. It is important to note that these are merely researched based
suggestions and it is still important for one to work closely with their veterinarian
in developing a farm specific parasite program.
In order to fully understand the scope
of the parasite issue, horse owners must understand the parasites at hand,
dewomers, and resistance. It is important to understand why these changes in
parasite managment have occurred. Recent research has demonstrated the
following:
1.
Switch
in type of parasite focus. Large strongyles have for the most part been
eradicated and new parasites of focus are small strongyles and tape worms. A
recent survey performed in the Southeast United States, focusing on small
strongyles, found that 95% of herds demonstrated a resistance to panacur, 53%
of herds were resistant to Anthelcide ® and 40% of herds were resistant to
Strongid ®. Horse owners should note that small stronglyes affect all grazing
horses so focus should not be for complete eradication but rather to treat only
when needed. Small stronglye parasites are low pathogenic, meaning they only
produce a disease when parasite loads are high.
2.
Increase
in anthelmintic (dewormer) resistance across the board, which is the ability of
worms to survive treatment; this problem has occurred due to old school of
thought where one should rotate type of dewormer every two months and the lack
of accurate dosing resulting from not having a true weight of the horse.
3.
Adult
(over age of 3) horses vary greatly in regards to needing to be dewormed due to
immune response.
Dewormers can be grouped
into 3 drug classifications: Benzimidazoles, Pyrimidines, and Macrocyclic
Lactones. Knowing the drug classification of a dewormer can help owners to stop
rotation of dewormers. The table below
denotes these classifications and common horse dewormers that fall into their
category.
Drug Class
|
Common Dewormers
|
Benzimidazoles
|
Fenbendazole
(Panacur ® ) and Oxybendazole
|
Pyrimidines
|
Pyrantel
(Strongid ® )
|
Macrocyclic
Lactones
|
Ivermectin
and Moxidectin (Quest ® )
|
There are many factors to consider when
developing a parasite management protocol for your farm. When working with your
veterinarian these are a few things horse owners should take into consideration:
1.
Ivermectin
is a larvicidal (will kill larvae) and a boticide. If used every 6 months large strongyles
will be eliminated from your farm. It is equally important when introducing a new horse on farm
one should deworm them immediately, stall them for a minimum of 4 days to
prevent worm contamination.
2.
Horses
develop an immunity to roundworms.
3.
Eggs
can last for years in the environment so preventing contamination is essential.
4.
Perform
fecal egg counts. Fecal egg counts will provide one with the type of parasites
and load of parasites. Knowing what worms and how many are present one can
determine how to treat or even if treatment is necessary.
5.
Fecal
egg count reduction tests can provide horse owners with information necessary
to determine if a dewormer is still working on farm.
EPG = Egg Per Gram
EPG Pre-treatment – EPG 14d post-treatment x 100 = FECRT
EPG pre-treatment
6.
Products
containing praziquantel (Equimax ®) are effective against tapeworms. Tapeworms
are carried by the pasture mite which dies after first hard frost. So, deworming
with a product containing praziquantel is recommended yearly.
7.
Pasture
management is a vital aspect of parasite management. Overpopulating and
overgrazing pastures will inevitably lead to parasite transmission. Picking up manure piles in
pastures instead of dragging them are now considered better options to reduce contamination.
Labels:
dewormer,
deworming,
horse care,
horse management,
horse parasites,
Pasture Care,
resistance,
wormer
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