What Are the Advantages of Feeding a Daily Wormer to Horses?

Protect your horse against parasites by gaining the health and beauty advantages of feeding a daily wormer. Worm living in the digestive tract can cause serious illnesses, as well as weight loss, diarrhea and poor coat condition. Once a foal reaches between two and three months old, mix these medications with their feed. Types of horse parasites include large and small strangles, pinworms and roundworms.

  1. Prevention of Migration and Colony Formation

    • Parasites enter the horse through the mouth and nostrils. They come from infested water, grass in pastures, feeds containing eggs and exposure to the feces of infected animals. The greatest internal damage to horses occurs when the larvae migrate from the stomach into the blood vessels. Illnesses from migrated worms include intestinal blockages and pneumonia from parasites that reach the lungs. Daily wormers have the advantage of killing parasites before they get a chance to migrate or form colonies.

    Weight Gain and Maintenance

    • Symptoms of worm infestation include weight loss, colic and anemia. Horses lose weight and cannot regain it, no matter how much quality feed they consume. Daily wormers that kill parasites on a regular basis have an advantage over the purging types, which can miss encysted worms. Encysted parasites include small strongyle worms. These parasites take up residence in the intestinal walls and only become active later, when favorable conditions awaken them, avoiding treatment by one-shot worming medicines.

    Improved Appearance and Behavior

    • While appearance is a secondary consideration to health, the outwardly visible parts and behavior of a horse, such as hair, eyes, color and gait tell much about the his internal condition. Horses taking daily wormers are free from most kinds of parasitic infestations. They eat well, absorb the nutrients from their feed properly and display vibrant good health in their shiny, soft coats and bright eyes. Horses in good health have ribs that are not visible, but can be felt on applying a slight pressure of the fingers. Animals with visible ribs are underfed, or suffering from worm infestations.

    Cleaner Stalls and Usable Manure

    • Manure from horses taking daily wormers only contains dead parasites, not live worm eggs. This absence lowers fly populations in stables and stalls and reduces the smell of the manure. Cleaning out stalls becomes less unpleasant. Manure that's free from worm contamination is more easily disposed of. Its fine to use as fertilizer, if the daily wormer used is a chemical such as pyrantel tartrate. This is because the chemical disperses safely in the presence of sunlight and causes no harm to the environment.