You might have heard that our very own E-SQP, Katie, achieved the highest mark in the country for her professional E-SQP exam set by AMTRA. Katie’s score outclassed those of hundreds of other students taking the exams last year. Her success means that she joins the limited number of people in this industry who are able to prescribe medicines outside veterinary practices.

Supplement Solutions Katie

So here at Supplement Solutions, Katie can help you formulate a year round worming programme or help you out if you are unsure which wormer your horse needs.

Things are always changing in the equine industry and this is no different for wormers! New research and developments mean that a strategic approach to worming should be used, when at all possible. This involves regular faecal egg counts, tapeworm testing and a treatment for encysted redworm in winter. This method ensures horses are only treated when necessary, helping to keep them happy and reducing the risk of resistance.

We spoke to Katie about her top tips for a successful worming programme:

1. Ensure to treat for encysted small redworm with a moxidectin or fenbendazole based wormer in Winter, when it is cold and frosty. Many owners forget this but this is in fact the most dangerous type of worms found in horses. When it is cold and frosty the redworms burrow into the gut wall. This then causes problems in spring when the weather warms up and they emerge on mass. Treating with a moxidectin or fenbendazole based wormers such as Equest, Equest Pramox or Panacur Equine Guard kills the worms whilst they are in the gut wall meaning they cannot emerge in spring.

Faecal Egg Count

2. Testing kits are so widely available now, so use them! Testing before treatment means that horses are not wormed unnecessarily which helps to reduce the chance of resistance to wormers. Relatively new to the market is the EquiSal saliva tapeworm test kit, this should beused every 6 months and treatment for tapeworm given if necessary. We realise that testing instead of treating can be daunting but give us a call or e-mail me as I am more than happy to help!

Here at Supplement Solutions we can provide both faecal egg counts and tapeworm tests with results given by phone or e-mail.

3. Many horse owners do not realise the dangers of under dosing their horse with a wormer. Under dosing can leave worms in the horse’s system and if this happens often these worms will become resistant to wormers, which is not good! Weighing a horse on a weigh bridge is obviously the most accurate method but this isn’t always possible.

If you don’t have access to a weigh bridge use this calculation:

1. Place the tape measure around the horse’s heart girth and note the length in centimeters 2. Then measure the length of the horse from the point of shoulder to the point of buttock, keeping the tape measure against the contour of the horse’s side 3. The horse’s weight is then calculated using the following formula

Horse Weight Formula

4. Keep a record of you horse’s worming history. This not only makes my job so much easier but you also know where you are to avoid duplication treatments!

5. If you have any questions contact me by phone (01995 671787) or e-mail: Katie@supplementsolutions.co.uk. I am more than happy to chat worms!