Most Common Worms in Horses

The scientific advancement has not left medicine field behind including pet medications. Due to the innovation and advancement in veterinary arena, worm control in horses has been possible, and has become easier and simpler. Like dogs and cats, horses too get intestinal parasites. They are silent killers and can cause intense damage to internal system of horse and worsen their health conditions.

Infestation affects horses adversely resulting into dull coat, unthriftiness, colic and sometimes, even death. There are numerous causes, due to which horses suffer from intestinal infestation.

Mostly this infection is caused, when these parasites eggs and larvae are deposited onto ground in manure through infected horse. While grazing, your horse swallows these eggs and larvae resulting in gastrointestinal worm infection.

Most Common Worms in Horses

Around 150 species of intestinal worm infect horses. Here are just a few of them, which are most common.

  • Bloodworms or redworms
  • Round worms
  • Small strongyles
  • Tapeworms
  • Lungworms
  • Pinworms
  • Threadworms
  • Bots

Among all these worms, the four most important worms that commonly infest horses are bloodworms (long strongyles), small strongyles, roundworms and tapeworms.

Common Symptoms to detect worm infestation

  • Lethargy or depression seen in your horse
  • Decreased stamina
  • Dull and rough coat
  • Unthriftiness or loss of weight
  • Slowed growth in young horses
  • Pot belly especially in young horses
  • Colic
  • Diarrhea
  • Decreased Stamina

If any of these symptoms are seen in your horse, consult a veterinary for diagnosis of internal parasites.

Treatment options for Horse Worms

Dewormers are an ultimate solution for treating gastrointestinal worms in horses. Different types of dewormers are useful for worming treatment.

Earlier, wormers were induced into horse through tubes. It was necessary to pass a naso-gastric tube to administer these dewormers. However, in recent years, oral paste anthelmintic has become popular, which when administered correctly and fully swallowed, are quite effective as tube administration.

The release of multi-spectrum allwormers has even made the treatment quite easy to treat multiple worms in horses. Whether it is about treating bloodworms in horses, tapeworm or any other internal parasite, allwormers work effectively and kill these worms. Moreover, for different intestinal worms, vet recommends different treatment.

However, tapeworm treatment for horses is affordable these days due to heavy research in finding affordable solutions. Health problems caused by tapeworms or any other worms are due to heavy infestations. This can be treated and controlled with a single treatment of dewormers. Anthelmintic oral treatments help to remove various intestinal worms successfully. With regular treatment, you can safeguard your pet horse from internal parasites ruining their health.