worming question

I'd say at the same time would be more effective. If you do it a week before your horse has time to pick up worms again from the paddock before he moves.
 
please do the first option.

I will give you my reasoning, it is very old school to do the worm and move technique but it is no longer recommended because it is a sure fire way to increase drug resistance in the worm population. I hope I can explain this.

Right now you have a population of worms, most, hopefully all will be killed/paralysed by the drug you use. However there may be a few that are resistant, as it stands they are a small percentage of the worm population in your field and hence arent hugely increasing in size and hopefully dieing out.

If you treat then move to clean pasture then your entire population of worms on the clean pasture will be the resistant type which enables them to proliferate and become the dominant type as they have no competition.

I hope that makes sense. I get this from a well respected parasitologist.

We really want to do everything we can to prevent the development of resistance to the drugs we do have as we dont have many and if you get a resistant population on your land it can cause real problems. It hasnt yet in this country for horses, but it has in sheep and it has for horses in mexico.

If it doesnt make sense let me know and I will try again!
 
Sorry, I don't undersand that. Could you explain again.
confused.gif
 
I can try!

in your field at the moment you have a mixed population of worms all with different genes in the horse, and hence in the eggs that it has shed onto the pasture

some of these worms may have a gene mutation that makes them resistant. but they are not selected for, they just live in this mixed population so they may account for for example 1% of the population (prob much less)

when you treat with a drug you would only get the resistant worms surviving.

So if you then moved a horse onto fresh pasture it would only have worms in it that were resistant to that drug. So all of the eggs it expels are resistant to the drug you used, so all of the infective larvae are resistant to that drug, they therefore increase in number much quicker than if they were in a mixed population as it means the only larvae that your horse will pick up will be resistant.


OP I am not sure a week later will help much actually, from this point of view you would be better to move then worm a week later.

FWIW I have 4 1 acre paddocks, I dont time my worming with when they move at all.
 
Our feilds are poo picked all the time, although horses always pooing, so you cant win, just been able to do none with snow, so field they are in is going to be harrowed, just couldnt decide when/ how would be better.


So i shall move them over and then worm after this.

Thanks!! Kind of confusing about the larvae, but i get it, if i kill em and move, ill only take the ones that dont get killed by wormer across to other field, making them stronger.

EEK!! Mutant worms!
 
yup you got it
smile.gif


hopefully you wont have any mutants but better to be safe and if you are poo picking as we do you arent likely to have a lot about anyway!
 
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