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sophia
20 Sep 2009 02:07
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Hi there,
My cob or galloway here is Aus is kept in a small field which is bare (no grass) all his feed is supplemented and he is let out a few times a week onto grass. He has recently lost condition and I suspect my worming cycle isn't quite right for him. I will be getting the vet to do a health check but just thought I'd ask how often he should be wormed considering he is kept in a small field (or holding paddock). I'm not used to having horses kept in such small yards but he is founder prone I thought it was better to be safe than sorry.
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pepper93
20 Sep 2009 20:10
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Well, firstly you need to make sure he is getting enough to eat seeing as he is on a bare paddock, so that means plenty of hay/haylage and then feed as necessary.
I know a pony who is stabled 24/7 all year round as she was at deaths door with laminitis and she is fed hay and feed and she is out pony clubbing and looking fabulous with that regime.
So if you weigh your horse and work out how much 1% of his bodyweight is (this is what hay he should be getting minimum per day) and then make sure you are feeding that - probably a bit more seeing as he has lost weight.
You can consult your vet with this as well when he comes out - its good youre getting him looked at.
As for worming, we started a worm count program which may be of interest to you and they tell you if your horse needs wormed or not and even what sort of wormer you should use.
Alternatively you can get your vet to make up a worming program for you. We use westgate labs for our worming program.
Hope this helps.
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Horse Hero Guru
21 Sep 2009 19:51
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Hi Sophia
Pepper93’s suggestion about getting a worm count is an excellent one. Your vet should be able to do this for you if there are no specialist services offered in Australia. It is pointless worming when there is no need to do so and it can help the worms build up a resistance to the drugs most commonly used to exterminate them. Having said that I would advise that you worm against tape worm in the autumn and spring.
Your horse is losing weight because he is not absorbing sufficient food. Whether this is because of parasites taking his food or his teeth being bad so that he can’t chew it or whether he is not being fed enough or one of many other reasons is something you have to decide yourself (with the help of a vet if it becomes worrying).
With your founder (laminitis) problem you are doing the best thing possible in keeping him in a bare paddock. I would be careful about letting him on to grass once or twice a week – the sudden change in diet could itself trigger an attack. It would be better to feed hay to supplement his diet or alternatively to consider strip grazing him with electric fencing so that he only gets a (very small) amount of new grass each day. You can then adjust the amount to maintain his weight and control the founder. Another alternative is to let him have daily access to the grass for an hour or so a day but make sure that he is wearing a grazing muzzle so that he cannot eat too much!
I think that there is a typo in Pepper93’s reply, as a horse should eat about 2% of their bodyweight each day.
I am sure that with a bit of trial and error you will be able to help your horse put back on the weight he is losing – but don’t forget to keep him slightly thin or you will have another bout of founder!
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