Worming for new to BF horse

[BFN]

Hello, I'm just about to go barefoot with my horse & on reading around this subject have come across wormer's, especially combined types causing foot sensitivity in some horses. The yard I'm on follows a regular worming plan 4x a year regardless, no faecal egg counts are done but the fields are religiously poo picked daily all year round. The next date for worming is due mid September, and my horse will be about 5 weeks barefoot at this time, should I go with the flow and worm and then see what happens or just treat for tape worm and egg count going forward though not sure how that would be received by the owner of the horse we share a paddock with. Do some of your BF horses cope fine with wormer's? Thank you for any advice.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I have three BF horses and they haven't (so far) shown any footyness post worming.

 

[Buddy'sMum]

My four are all unshod, I egg count and only worm if needed, although I do still worm for tape and encysted redworm in winter. Never had any footiness probs but all four got event rings on their hooves at about the time they were wormed last winter...
Suggest you have a chat with your YO, strategic worming is much better for horses than just routinely worming x times a year because that's how it's always been done. Maybe you could suggest doing FECs to check how well the current worming plan is working - if the counts all come back clear/low then surely the YO and some of the other owners will come round?

 

[Brightbay]

Feedback seems to suggest that praziquantel/moxidectin combined wormer is the most frequently mentioned culprit in footiness.

I do fecal egg counts, and then do separate worming for tapes in November using Equitape, then for encysted redworm in January using regular Equest. At the moment, that's the only worming I do - FECs are either zero or very low for the last few years. Have had no footiness problems with wormer administration since doing it this way

 

[Borderreiver]

With a new horse I would never advise waiting 5 weeks till worming. I understand that you want to fit in with the yard plan but what we need these days is a horse based plan not a yard 'one size fits all' plan. Each horse has individual needs when it comes to worm control, some never have worms and others have lots.
Your new horse might have no worm problem or might have a count in the thousands. You need to know now in case action is needed. Always test a new horse.

 

[BFN]

With a new horse I would never advise waiting 5 weeks till worming. I understand that you want to fit in with the yard plan but what we need these days is a horse based plan not a yard 'one size fits all' plan. Each horse has individual needs when it comes to worm control, some never have worms and others have lots.
Your new horse might have no worm problem or might have a count in the thousands. You need to know now in case action is needed. Always test a new horse.

Thank you, sorry I may not have been clear, the horse is not new, he's been with me a long time (14 years), he is new to barefoot and while in shoes I have not noticed any issues when wormed but on re-searching management of BF horses I came across information which suggested they can become "footy" after worming, especially with combined wormer's.
He is just off box rest after collateral ligament damage and was sound (with front shoes still on). I have taken these off now as in diagnosing this the MRI showed navicular signs in both front feet, he was not considered to be lame from these findings only the ligament issue which was an acute injury rather than chronic...but now I know about the navicular changes I can't wait for these to become an issue as they surely will hence the barefoot pathway.

 

[Dab]

Feedback seems to suggest that praziquantel/moxidectin combined wormer is the most frequently mentioned culprit in footiness.

I do fecal egg counts, and then do separate worming for tapes in November using Equitape, then for encysted redworm in January using regular Equest. At the moment, that's the only worming I do - FECs are either zero or very low for the last few years. Have had no footiness problems with wormer administration since doing it this way

^^^ditto exactly this

 

[BFN]

^^^ditto exactly this

Thank you Dab & Brightbay, I think this is what I plan to try, can I ask why you do tapeworm in November? The couple of advice pages I have seen suggest September & March, & also if you are treating for tapeworm only once a year in November do you bother with the vet doing a blood test for tapeworm at all?
Thanks again

 

[Buddy'sMum]

The Sep/March timing is just because it's tradition to worm for tape at the beginning and end of the grazing season. It doesn't really matter when you worm for tape, as long you worm at 6-month intervals, to break the worm's lifecycle. Ideally I'd do blood tests for tape but they just cost too much.