Horse Info

Tag: horse health

  • Horse Deworming Basics: Fecal Testing, Timing, and Common Mistakes

    You’ve got two deworming charts in your hand from two barn friends, and they conflict in almost every month. One says dose every eight weeks no matter what. The other says never deworm without a fecal. If you want evidence instead of aisle opinions, build your plan around testing and response, not habit.

    For most adult horses, targeted deworming beats blind calendar dosing. Start with a fecal egg count (FEC), then treat based on shedding level, management risk, and veterinary guidance. Typical adult shedding buckets are often under 200 EPG (low), around 200–500 (moderate), and over 500 (higher), though your clinic may use slightly different thresholds. Horses in the same pasture can sit in different buckets, which is why one-size schedules miss the mark.

    Sample handling affects decisions more than owners realize. Collect fresh manure, bag and label it, keep it cool, and submit promptly. Heat and delay can distort results. If your horse is due for spring or fall planning, pair the fecal with a quick management review: stocking density, manure removal frequency, pasture rotation, and travel exposure all change parasite pressure.

    Timing should follow risk windows, not nostalgia. Many farms reassess in spring and late season, then adjust based on results and conditions. Young horses usually need tighter oversight than mature adults. Frequent travelers and horses in high-turnover boarding settings often need more frequent review than closed-herd horses.

    Product selection should be deliberate. Different drug classes have different strengths and resistance patterns. Rotating products without data can create the illusion of control while performance declines. Ask your vet to match product choice to current evidence and local resistance experience, then document exactly what was used and when.

    Confirm efficacy when indicated. A fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) compares pre-treatment and post-treatment egg counts over the recommended interval for the product used. If reduction is poor, that is actionable information—not failure. It tells you to adjust strategy before months are lost to ineffective dosing.

    Dosing errors are common and expensive. Underdosing supports resistance. Estimate body weight realistically (tape minimum, scale if available), set paste dose correctly, and confirm the horse actually swallowed it. “Some came out but probably enough went in” is not a reliable treatment record.

    Also avoid over-attributing vague signs to parasites. Tail rubbing, loose manure, weight changes, and dull coat can have multiple causes including diet, dental issues, skin irritation, ulcers, pain, or metabolic disease. Deworming is one tool, not a universal fix. If signs persist, escalate to veterinary workup instead of repeating random tubes.

    Keep a simple parasite log: date, FEC value, product, dose, and follow-up result when run. That record becomes your farm-specific strategy over time and prevents repeat guesswork when staff or routines change.

    When the aisle advice gets loud, remember this line: test first, treat with purpose, and verify it worked.

  • Horse Colic Early Warning Signs: What Owners Should Do in the First 30 Minutes

    You’re in the aisle at night, your horse has pawed twice, looked at his flank, and walked away from hay. This is the point where first-time owners lose time hoping it passes. Early colic often starts quiet, and the first 30 minutes are where outcomes improve when you act fast and communicate clearly.

    Pull feed now. Keep water available unless your vet says otherwise. Then gather objective data before symptoms escalate. If safe, check heart rate, respiratory rate, and temperature. A resting heart rate often sits around 28–44 bpm in adults; persistent elevation into the 50s with pain behavior raises urgency. Respiratory rate commonly falls around 8–16 breaths per minute. Temperature is often near 99–101.5°F. Look at gum moisture and color, then capillary refill (target roughly 1–2 seconds). These numbers don’t diagnose colic type, but they tell your vet how fast this is moving.

    Now check output and trend. When was the last manure pile? Are balls dry, small, scant, or absent? How much water was consumed since the last check? Note feed changes in the past week, recent travel, stall rest, or weather shifts that could reduce intake. One accurate timeline beats ten guesses: “noticed at 10:40 p.m., pawing/flank-watching, no grain interest, HR 52, one small dry manure pile since dinner.”

    Call your vet early with those specifics. Waiting for violent rolling before calling is a common, expensive mistake. If you board, notify staff immediately so someone can monitor while you handle communication and prepare transport if advised. Keep one caller, one handler, and one note-taker to avoid mixed messages.

    Manage environment while waiting. Keep the horse in the safest controlled area with good footing. If your vet advises walking, use short controlled walks to reduce dangerous rolling behavior, not nonstop forced marching. Walking is risk management, not treatment. Avoid crowding the horse with helpers and avoid noise escalation that increases stress.

    Skip risky improvisation. Don’t dose leftover medications without explicit veterinary direction. Don’t administer random oils or internet mixtures. Don’t assume brief quiet periods mean resolution; colic pain can wax and wane. Recheck behavior and vitals every 10–15 minutes so you can report trend, not a single snapshot.

    Escalate immediately for repeated down-and-up attempts, persistent rolling, heavy sweating without work, visible abdominal distension, no manure with worsening pain, or heart rate climbing despite rest. Those are not “wait and see” signs. Have halter, lead, records, and trailer plan ready before your vet arrives so no time is lost if referral is needed.

    After the incident, build your baseline before the next one: normal resting heart rate, normal manure pattern, normal water intake, and where your emergency tools are stored. Keep vet numbers in phone favorites and on the stall card. In emergencies, prepared owners make cleaner decisions faster.

    At the stall door when you’re deciding whether to call, remember this line: off feed plus repeated pain signs means call now and sort details with your vet on the way.