Getting to the bottom of a wriggly problem
by our Horse Manager Michelle
Did you know that there are some twenty or more internal parasites that can affect horses? Some of these feed on the lining of a horse’s intestines, and some attach by strong suckers to the gut and cause irritation and some wander around through the tissues of the horse. Worms or internal parasites can cause a variety of problems in your horse.
The simplest signs include not putting on weight, dull coat, reduced appetite, mild colic or anxiety and an itchy backside.
We recently had our horses tested and unfortunately, the worm count for our horses was quite high. While this is not great, after a presentation of the Worm Ed programme at the latest NZRDA Coaching workshop, North Shore has now enrolled in this targeted worming programme for our NSRDA horses.
It involves having each of the horse’s poo samples tested and an individualised treatment designed for them. Follow up analysis is also done to check everything is on track. It has been quite funny trying to grab a sample from each horse in response to calls from the volunteers as they announce who has done what and where!
In addition to the worming programme, we are also putting our neighbour’s cows through the horses’ grazing areas to be a vacuum cleaner for all worms in the paddocks. After they have done their job, we will also be bringing sheep in to stay as cross grazing is the best way for continued management of worm burden or excess worms on a property.
Naturally, these programmes costs money to administer. If you would like to donate once or regularly to keep our horses healthy, head over to our How you can Help page here
Thank you!
Michelle
