The February issue of Equus magazine has a nice article on parasite prevention strategies. It does not look like they post their articles on-line (you have to buy the magazine). The article is worth reading. Here is a link to their web site. We having been preaching this same sermon for the past year. While most horse owners understand the new recommendations, especially incorporating fecal egg counts into deworming strategies, not everyone has yet heard the news. (You can spread the news by forwarding this on to your friends.) It can also be hard to change something that "has been working just fine" for the past 15 or 20 years. However, change is an inevitability of life. It has been said, if your stop changing, you're probably dead.' The looming issues of parasite resistance and the subsequent need to develop targeted deworming protocols are the predominant driving forces behind the need to adjust our parasite control strategies. The details of our 'new' deworming recommendations have been discussed previously on this blog and have been posted here on our clinic website.
We offer Parasite Control Kits that include all the dewormer you will need for your horse for the next year, labeled for what to give when, and labeled submission cups for both the spring and fall fecal exams. The package results is a signifcant cost savings verses purchasing the dewormer and fecal exams separtely. Currently the annual package is priced at just under $75. The packages can be picked up at our office or, if you request, we can bring them when we are out for your spring checkups and vaccines.
The reason I am posting about all of this now is that the last week of February is the time to do the spring fecal exams. The result of this fecal is what drives how we treat each individual horse from now until September. If you are not yet on board with the new parasite control program, right now is the ideal time to jump into the program. As always, we can talk to you in much more detail about all of this, and any unique variables that you may face on your farm, when we are out for spring checkups and vaccines.
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