Handbook of Worms in Horses - Ciska Ketelaar

This clear manual provides a great deal of knowledge about worms, worm infections, preventive measures, deworming agents, worm resistance and manure research. And is therefore the most complete reference work on worms, manure research and worm prevention for horses in Dutch. With the knowledge in this manual you can do manure research yourself and only deworm when necessary.

This handbook is a must for all horse owners and especially for anyone who manages a pasture themselves and wants to have more knowledge and influence on worm infections and deworming policy.

With the increasing worm resistance, it is a must for every horse owner to know when deworming is necessary, with which deworming agent and how to take preventive measures. The richly illustrated book describes in detail how to perform manure research at home. For veterinary experts, the book contains the latest insights from scientific literature and special manure research methods explained step by step.

Horses are never free of worms. It is precisely the many blind dewormings that have led to worm resistance. Most horses (80%) do not need deworming. Every horse and every stable are unique, which means that the approach to worm prevention is also different each time. Preventive measures can also reduce future worm infections.

For horse owners, veterinarians (assistants) and paraveterinarians, this book contains the latest insights from scientific literature and special manure research methods explained step by step.

The Handbook of Worms in Horses consists of five parts:

1. About worms in horses.
2. Worm prevention.
3. Getting started with manure research.
4. Recognizing worms and eggs.
5. Future of worm management.

Part 1 – About worms in horses

• The origin of deworming agents and how deworming was done in the past.
• How worm infections occur, which horses are most susceptible and which situations influence worm pressure.
• The description of the worm species (small and large bloodworm, roundworm, tapeworm, pinworm, foal worm, horse botfly, liver fluke, lungworm, neck worm, stomach worm, hairworm) with their life cycle, clinical picture, diagnosis and treatment.
• What dewormers are available, how they work and which worms they kill.
• How worm resistance develops, which worm species are resistant to which deworming agents and how worm resistance can be measured.

Part 2 – Worm Prevention

• The changing deworming policy from preventive to selective deworming and how selective deworming slows down worm resistance.
• The correct deworming with weighing or estimating the horse weight. How to deal with the deworming of pregnant mares and foals. What complications can arise after deworming.
• Why manure testing with selective deworming does not completely prevent worm infections and whether annual blind deworming is necessary.
• Pasture management is, in addition to manure research and selective deworming, very important in the fight against worms. In order to determine when mowing and dragging is best, insight is needed into how bloodworms survive in the pasture, when the worm pressure in the pasture is highest, what the contribution of dung beetles is and which grazing systems there are. In addition, many tips to keep the worm pressure in the pasture low.
• Stable hygiene and composting of the manure heap until it is parasite-free.

Part 3 – Doing your own manure research

The next part deals with the practice in which step by step is explained how to do a faecal examination at home. In addition to the standard faecal examination method according to McMaster, special faecal examination methods are also available for the veterinarian (assistant) and paraveterinarian: sedimentation method for liver fluke and Eimeria, larval culture for distinguishing between large and small bloodworms, adhesive tape method for pinworm, Bearmann technique for lungworm and Dorsman method also for liver fluke. In addition, there are two faecal examination methods that require a laboratory centrifuge to test worms with a low excretion, namely modified Wisconsin and combined sedimentation-flotation methods.

Part 4 – Recognizing Worms and Eggs

Part four deals with recognizing adult worms in feces and identifying worm eggs under the microscope. Under the microscope, many non-parasitic objects can also be seen that look like worm eggs but are not. Common non-parasitic objects are illustrated for easy identification.

Part 5 - Future of Worm Management

The final section describes the future of worm management regarding new deworming agents, increasing worm resistance and what promising research will provide solutions.

About the author Ciska Ketelaar from Mesttest.com

Ciska Ketelaar (1964) is a chemical engineer and veterinary naturopath. She is the owner of Mesttest.com and webshop FECtest.com. Together with her husband, Dr. Klaas van Gorp (1965), she provides training on worm prevention and manure testing to horse owners, stable owners, horse professionals and veterinary practices. Their mission is to keep horses healthy and slow down worm resistance.

Specifications

ISBN Hardcover	978-3-00-059725-1
Printing information	1st edition - hardcover, 200 pages, Dutch
Description	200 full-colour pages, richly illustrated
Author	Ciska Ketelaar