Deworming Horses

[LaurenHW]

Tess, Femaie Horse
23 years old

My friend got her 2 Horses and the Rescue is officially begun! Sadly the Rescue they came from underfed them and there's a huge infestation of worms in most all the Horses. The worms are visible and large.They are hungry all the time. Poor babies. They arrived so happy and started eating all day both days and napping in the sunshine. We are wondering if there is something less toxic than the standard issue Horse Dewormer?

What can we give if there isn't a more safe/less toxic protocol to mitigate the toxins?

We are making sure they get probiotics, plenty of free feed and keeping all manure cleaned up so they cannot continue to eat their manure. These Horses are underweight. Many thanks.

@Dr. Jean Hofve

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Gosh, I haven't dealt with horses since vet school! In my experience with small animals, natural dewormers seem to work more slowly and gently, and perhaps less reliably. For such severe infestations, definitely consult with your local equine vet, but a heavy-duty dewormer may be justified. It may be easier to deal with re-balancing the gut afterwards than let the nasties get any worse (which they inevitably will!). Especially with homeopathy, we treat the symptoms we see--so unless there is an obvious adverse reaction to de-worming, I think letting the body adjust on its own unless and until it *needs* help is best. Their systems may be so over-joyed to get rid of the worms that no other treatment will be necessary! But I bet there are smart horse folks on the list who are more up on this topic than me!

 

[PatriciaG]

Tess, Femaie Horse
23 years old

My friend got her 2 Horses and the Rescue is officially begun! Sadly the Rescue they came from underfed them and there's a huge infestation of worms in most all the Horses. The worms are visible and large.They are hungry all the time. Poor babies. They arrived so happy and started eating all day both days and napping in the sunshine. We are wondering if there is something less toxic than the standard issue Horse Dewormer?

What can we give if there isn't a more safe/less toxic protocol to mitigate the toxins?

We are making sure they get probiotics, plenty of free feed and keeping all manure cleaned up so they cannot continue to eat their manure. These Horses are underweight. Many thanks.

@Dr. Jean Hofve

i am sorry that i'm just seeing this now.
i would not use a commercial de wormer with these horses.
a heavy parasite load treated with a commercial dewormer can lead to colic due to the quick die off of the parsites and the distress that causes in the gut. the fact that these horses are in poor condition as a result of the long term infestation is another red flag to me re a commercial deworming.
i would use food grade diatomaceous earth given on their food. i'd start slowly with a small dose ( a teaspoon or less) once a day and gradually increase the amount up to a tablespoon or 2 ( depending on how they're doing) over a period of a couple weeks. it will take longer than a commercial wormer but will eleminate the parasites over time. i have used diatomaceous earth exclusively for years to worm my horses and they have no parasites. they get more in the warmer months when they are grazing and less in the winter.
it also seems to help the older guys to move better.
best of luck!
keep us posted.

 

[LaurenHW]

i am sorry that i'm just seeing this now.
i would not use a commercial de wormer with these horses.
a heavy parasite load treated with a commercial dewormer can lead to colic due to the quick die off of the parsites and the distress that causes in the gut. the fact that these horses are in poor condition as a result of the long term infestation is another red flag to me re a commercial deworming.
i would use food grade diatomaceous earth given on their food. i'd start slowly with a small dose ( a teaspoon or less) once a day and gradually increase the amount up to a tablespoon or 2 ( depending on how they're doing) over a period of a couple weeks. it will take longer than a commercial wormer but will eleminate the parasites over time. i have used diatomaceous earth exclusively for years to worm my horses and they have no parasites. they get more in the warmer months when they are grazing and less in the winter.
it also seems to help the older guys to move better.
best of luck!
keep us posted.

Thank you @Dr. Jeff will pass along. She did use Ivermectin dewormer. lmk if you have any homeopathic to help mitigate any adverse effects. Thank you. The Horses seem to be doing well. I gave them PEMF and energy healing sessions Monday.

 

[PatriciaG]

Thank you @Dr. Jeff will pass along. She did use Ivermectin dewormer. lmk if you have any homeopathic to help mitigate any adverse effects. Thank you. The Horses seem to be doing well. I gave them PEMF and energy healing sessions Monday.

Glad to hear the horses are doing well!

 

[Dr. Christina]

Doing PEMF and energy healing daily will be an excellent way to help these horses heal.

Head to Holistic Horsekeeping | DVM Madalyn Ward Provides Holistic Horse Care Information - Dr. Madalyn Ward was a holistic equine practitioner for decades and has written a lot of information, including her book Holistic Horse Care and her book on how to best understand your horses strengths and weaknesses by understanding their Chinese Medicine constitution - Horse Harmony. This blog is more for healthy horses, and does have information that could help your friend.

And Dr. Joyce Harman is another excellent holistic, now retired, equine vet who has products and great info at her site.
And a search gave this page with several articles on equine parasites. She is also a totally reliable resource.

Dr. christina