april 2014
DESCRIPTION
Equine newsletter April 2014TRANSCRIPT
Many horses on well managed properties will go the entire grazing season without developing a high worm egg count and do not need to receive any anthelmintic treat-ment through the grazing season. Worm egg counts should be repeated every two to three months through the grazing season, ideally all horses on the premises should be tested. Picking up droppings, field rotation, quaran-tine of incoming horses and grazing with ruminants all play their part in this control. When wormers should be used A single dose of wormer that will treat all types of parasites and stages of growth should be considered in the autumn. This is mainly to treat any cyathostomins (small red worms) that may have encysted but on well-managed properties with little or no expo-sure even this may not be necessary. Routine treatment for tape-worm once or twice per
year is advisable. Young stock are the ex-ception as they are at risk from infestation with the roundworm and a small worm called strongy-loides (large red worms), the control of both of these requires routine dosing. If you want to discuss how this affects your premises, please speak to one of our equine vets about the best plan for you.
* See details of the current worm egg count offer over the page.*
Thirty years ago, worming plans were drawn up to try to control the large red worms that were thought to be a major cause of colic. The advice was to worm every six to eight weeks throughout the season. Large red worms are now seldom seen and their association with colic is not as clear as was thought. It has been realised that such heavy use of wormers has led to drug resistance developing so new strategies have to be adopted to safeguard the drugs that we do have. Horses have evolved with their parasites so they may benefit from their presence, as a stimulus for their immune health. Controlled numbers of parasites are considered to be normal. Worm egg counts We have been encouraging owners to send in droppings for faecal egg counts and it is surprising how many have been negative.
APRIL 2014
24 hour Emergency Service
Contact us:
TOWNHEAD VETERINARY CENTRE Townhead Farm, Newbiggin, Stainton, Penrith, CA11 0HT Tel: 017684 83789 [email protected]
PARAGON VETERINARY GROUP Carlisle House, Townhead Road, Dalston, Carlisle, CA5 7JF Tel: 01228 710208 [email protected]
LONDON ROAD SURGERY 87 London Road, Carlisle, CA1 2LG Tel: 01228 591005
WORMING ADVICE PAUL MAY
MRCVS BVMS
Lifelong care for animals
providing clinical excellence, knowledge and experience.
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Looking through the
microscope at a worm egg
Surgical removal of a
roundworm impaction
Condition scoring is an easy way to help manage the weight of your horse or pony. Through condition scoring we are basically assessing the fat cover of the horse. The most widely used condition scoring system was devised by Carroll and Huntington (1988). They devised a grading sys-tem from 0 (very poor/ emaciated) - 5 (very fat/ obese). The system looks at three areas of the horse - neck, back/ ribs and pelvis. Each area is scored individually then the average from the three scores is taken for an overall condi-tion score. It is important to use your hands to feel the fat cover as well as your eyes. You must also be objective and not too leni-ent regarding your horses current body condition! 0 - Very poor
Neck - marked ewe neck. Narrow and slack at base.
Back and ribs - skin tight over the ribs. Spinous proc-esses sharp and easily seen
Pelvis - angular pelvis - skin tight. Deep cavity under tail and either side of croup.
1 - Poor
Neck - Ewe neck. Narrow and slack at base.
Back and ribs - ribs eas-ily visible. Skin sunken either side of backbone. Spinous processes easily defined.
Pelvis - rump sunken but skin supple. Pelvis and Croup well defined. Deep depression under tail.
PARAGON VETERINARY GROUP
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CONDITION SCORING KELLY SMITH
BSc (hons)
2 - Moderate
Neck - narrow but firm.
Back and ribs - ribs just visible. Backbone well cov-ered. Spinous processes felt.
Pelvis - rump flat either side of backbone. Croup well defined, some fat. Slight cavity under tail.
3 - Good
Neck - no crest (except stallions). Firm neck
Back and ribs - ribs just covered - easily felt. No ‘gutter’ along back. Spinous processes cov-ered but can be felt.
Pelvis - covered by fat and rounded. No ‘gutter’. Pelvis easily felt.
4 - Fat
Neck - slight crest. Wide and firm
Back and ribs - ribs well covered - need firm pressure to feel. ‘Gutter’ along backbone.
Pelvis - ’gutter’ to root of tail. Pelvis covered by soft fat - felt only by firm pressure.
5 - Very Fat
Neck - marked crest. Very wide and Firm. Folds of fat.
Back and ribs - ribs buried - cannot feel. Deep ‘gutter’. Back broad and flat.
Pelvis - deep ‘gutter’ to root of tail. Skin distended. Pel-vis buried - cannot feel.
Ideally condition scoring should be performed at least once a month along with weight tape measurements.
*WORM EGG COUNT PROMOTION* During March and April we will be running another of our
popular worm egg count offers. Samples will be tested for £9.00 per horse and all positive counts will receive a
FREE Eqvalan Wormer. Worm egg counts are a great way to prevent the
un-necessary worming of your horses and help to reduce the chance of wormer resistance.
Please drop samples off at Newbiggin or Dalston and make sure they are clearly labelled with your name,
contact phone number, the horse name and age. Once the sample has been examined we will call you with
the results and further advice.
*EQUINE BREEDING BROCHURE 2014* The 2014 Equine Breeding Brochure is now avail-able. If you would like a copy posting or to discuss
Artificial Insemination please contact Kelly on 017684 83789 or [email protected]
*SPECIAL OFFER FOR 2014* DISCOUNTED MICROCHIPPING
For the whole of 2014 we will be inserting micro-chips for the discounted price of £12.00. This
applies to equines of any age. For further infor-mation about micro-chipping please visit
www.paragonvet.com.
*HOLIDAY LIVERY* With onsite experienced equine vets and nurses as well as specialist equine facilities and 20 acres of individual paddocks we can provide excellent care for your horse,
pony or donkey whilst you are on holiday. We offer several different packages ranging from full turn
out (seasonal) to full time stabling and we are always happy to adapt to your horses’ specific needs whether in full health or in need of extra care. For further details or a brochure give us a call and speak to one of the equine
team. The brochure is also available at www.paragonvet.com