How To Prevent Parasites From Harming Your Horse

Like all animals, horses are susceptible to getting diseases, some of which may be life threatening. As the owner, it is your responsibility to understand many of the common diseases horses suffer from, and how you can either prevent or control them. Below is a description some parasites which are harmful to horses, and what you can do to fight them.

Parsites are microscopic organisms which live a part of their lives inside other organisms. They can live in the internal organs or tissues of a horse. Over time these parasites can cause irreversible damage to the organs in the horse, and it is estimated that there are at least 150 different parasites. Despite this, the most common parasites which effect horses are ascarids, threadworms, strongyles, and botfly larvae.

Strongyles are parasites which are found in horses the most often. While large stronglyles have been eradicated by the medical community, small strongyles is very dangerous. If you notice that your horse has diarrhea, a loss in weight, or anemia this is a sign that they could be infected with small strongyles. The best way to treat this is to use antiparasite compounds. This will quickly destroy the parasites.

Ascarids are a type of roundworm which is often found in young horses. Adult horses have a natural immunity to this, and it is often seen in foals which are two years of age. Ascarids can be very large, some growing as large as 15 inches. Ascarids cause severe physical damage such as digestion problems or fatigue.

Stomach bots are the larvae of botflies. They will lay their eggs in the hair of the horse, and will hatch when the horse licks that part of the body. They then move into the tongue and will eventually attach themselves to the lining in the stomach.  Threadworms which effects foals which have just been born. After these parasites have entered the foal's body through its skin, and will move to the small intestine. Though the foal will eventually become immune, it may cause problems with diarrhea which are not easily treated.

To prevent foals from becoming infected with these parasites, it is best to treat mares with antiparasite compounds within one day of them giving birth. This will help stop the spread of these diseases. Keeping the stall clean is an important part of preventing disease. Manure should be removed on a regular basis. Horses should be grouped together by age. If they do become infected, uses antiparasite or anthelmintics will destroy these parasites.