Health Management

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Health Management

• Internal External Parasite Problems

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Internal Parasites

• Lives part of life cycle inside host
• More than 150 types of internal parasites
• Few internal parasites cause serious damage
• Most internal parasites live in digestive tract,
  lungs, bloodstream or body cavity
• Extent of injury depends on
• Kind of parasite
• Numbers involved
• Length of time inside host

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Internal Parasites

• General Life Cycle
• Eggs pass out in the feces and deposit on
  pastures
• Eggs hatch on pasture, become infective larvae
• Equine ingests larvae on grass stems
• Immature parasites (larvae) migrate through body
  tissues
• Mature parasites live in digestive tract, lay eggs

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Types of Internal Parasites

• Large Strongyles (Bloodworms)
• Pose most serious threat
• Migrate within artery walls from digestive tract
  to heart
• Cause damage to arteries, equine bleeds
  internally and dies

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Types of Internal Parasites

• Small Strongyles
• Spend life cycle in intestinal walls
• Cause ulcerations in intestinal walls, interfere
  with digestion
• Do not attach to intestinal linings, Do not suck
  blood

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Types of Internal Parasites

• Ascarids (Large Roundworms
• Largest internal parasites
• Grow up to 15 inches long (pencil)
• Affect equine less than 2 years old
• Damage heart, liver, lungs cause blockage of
  S.I. resulting in colic or death

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Types of Internal Parasites

• Pinworms
• Big nuisance, little damage to digestive system

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Types of Internal Parasites

• Bots
• Flies that lay eggs on equine
• Eggs hatch into larvae, ingested by equine
• Other eggs hatch, larvae crawl into mouth from
  nostrils and lips where they mature in gums and
  membranes of inner lips
• Bots referred to as mature larvae that attach
  to lining of stomach
• Bots can block entrance to the S.I. Causing
  stomach to rupture

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Internal Parasite Management

• Proper manure disposal
• Removal on weekly basis
• Composting prior to spreading (heat kills eggs)
• Proper pasture management
• Use temporary pasture ( if possible)
• Frequent mowing
• Rotational grazing
• Separate pasture for young and old
• Avoid overstocking

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Internal Parasite Management

• Never feed off ground, use troughs
• Regular deworming schedule
• Ivermectin controls all common internal
  parasites.
• Paste dewormers administered easily
• Most effective administration is by stomach tube,
  veterinarian required
• Feed additives may be effective

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External Parasites

• Annoy equine
• Infect with deadly diseases
• Leave equine weak, lower feed efficiency and
  produce raw sores

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Common External Parasites

• Ticks
• Transmit disease (I.e.African Equine Fever)
• Lice
• Found on neglected equine, spread quickly
• Biting louse and suckling louse
• Mites
• Mange very contagious
• Separate infected from healthy equine, use
  different grooming equipment

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Common External Parasites

• Gnats
• Bloodsuckers, cause extreme itching
• Mosquitoes
• Carry viruses and bacteria diseases (I.e.Equine
  Infectious Anemia (Sleeping Sickness)
• Flies
• Annoying, may transmit stomach worms form equine
  to equine
• Female screwworm flies lay eggs in fresh wounds,
  hatch into larvae that feed on tissue resulting
  in sores

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External Parasite Management

• Regular removal of manure, stall bedding
• Maintain fresh water supply
• Chemicals as repellants, control methods
• Regular insecticide applications
• Biological controls predator wasps, reduces
  need for chemical control
• Mechanical controls face masks, keeps flies
  away from mucous mmbs on the face