Control of intestinal parasites in horses

Abstract

INTESTINAL parasites are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in horses of all types. The prevalence of many intestinal helminths is high and, within any population of horses, certain individuals can harbour large numbers of parasites, which may lead to disease. There is widespread misunderstanding and ignorance about parasite control strategies among the horse-owning public, with the consequence that many horses are unnecessarily exposed to pathogenic burdens of intestinal parasites. It is the duty of all veterinary surgeons engaged in equine preventive medicine to be able to give sound advice to horse owners on the best anthelmintic strategy for their particular situation. This article reviews the problems of the control of intestinal parasites in horses, discusses some of the pharmaceutical and managemental control measures that can be used, and offers advice on putting this information into practice.