Worming your horse naturally

The experience that led me to experiment with other methods:

I purchased a 2 year old unhandled Filly from the far north in Nz. By unhandled I mean never touched whatsoever. She grazed in a herd of horses and other farm animals in a 100 acre paddock with access to native trees weeds and heavily grazed grass in a warm climate.

This filly took a shine to me as I did to her.. After halter training her, brushing and basic handling I decided to worm her with a broad-spectrum horse wormer as her coat was very dull. This resulted in her scouring, worse than a cow on fresh lush pasture.

My next step was to bring her home where I could isolate her in her own paddock and obtain a dung sample for fecal egg count testing. I’d learnt many moons ago at university that we were low in differing worming products, so testing was paramount in order to isolate what you were targeting, reducing the number of worming sessions needed and also to avoid animals becoming resistant to wormers.

I sent her sample & my older horses also as he had been grazing on the same property. This vet who specialised in worming horses was renowned nationally as being the best choice. Results came in via email. My older horses worm count came in at zero. My mare came in at 500.

There was no list of what a good safe level of worms were or any information like that. Nor were their any specifics as to what type of worm I was targeting.

Very disappointed by the return information as I’d recommended this lady to many over the years, I decided to call her. At this stage I had 2 weanlings on my property also.

So apparently 0 isn’t an ideal level of worms either much to my surprise. 500 turned out to be medium amount. What scared me most was my mares’ worms were strongyles!! The worst most resistant worm to be rid of.

So, the vet gave me the name of the wormer I should use. She suggested I give anything containing Moxidectin. & to give it to my older horse also. She also stated my weanlings needed to be wormed 6 weekly til the age of one. This did not feel right to me. Worm yes, but that often? I drenched the two older horses. Much to my dismay they both scoured worse than a cow. Upon relaying this information, I was then informed of how the strongyle worms affect horses & that basically that’s all there was to offer, much of the same treatment & reaction from a resistant worm and a resistant horse. I have also read fecal egg counts are unable to detect Encysted Strongyle worm larvae. These are believed to be the reason horses can die when traditional wormers are used as they can go onto cause parasitic colitis. Then you read about the Panacur Bomb which can save a worm burdened horse but destroy their digestive system.

When you collect your sample for vet analysis, you use only 4-5 nuggets which also could be questionable.

About this time I recall reading how old horsemen wormed their horses with tobacco. One of my mares is partial to a bit of tobacco leaf whilst we are out riding.

Lots to take in & consider.

From then I decided to look at other avenues which I’m so glad I did.

Here’s my recipe:

Monthly over every full moon, ( this being the easiest time for bodies to excrete parasites ) I gave my horses one of the following;

Homeopathic horse worm ( very small dose only )
Food grade Diatomaceous earth
A small amount of Mugwort (generally when flowering or the young tips of the plant)
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Homeopathic Farm Worm (drops only according to body weight)
Ground flax seed
Toetoe pronounced Toytoy
Red Matipo
Wormwood (very small amounts dried)
Garlic granulated or wild onion (garlic given every day is said to deplete Vitamin A. Therefore, I generally only use as a wormer for 5 days in a row over the full moon
Citrus leaves
Activated Charcoal
Thyme
Ground up pumpkin seeds
Tobacco weed leaf only
13-14 days later I repeat the worming method but use something different in order to eradicate the parasites eggs.

So, if you’re going to ask me which combinations or dosages, don’t.

I’ve grown most of the plants listed. Due to my horses being raised on their mums in amongst our native fauna & flora I trust their instincts. I hand graze them offering them the opportunity to eat a little of these plants and tree’s watching what they choose to forage, which season and how much.

If they refuse the mugwort or flaxseed, it’s a learning curve for me as to their needs.

In addition to these methods:

I feed my horses & other farm animals Livamol bio worma sporadically after worming
Feed mature long grass preferably with seed heads rather than short grass
Cross graze my land with sheep and goats
Rest paddocks for a minimum of 6wks before a horse goes back in there
Free range chooks break up dung piles exposing them to sunlight but not dragging the manure all over the entire paddock.
Feed Slippery Elm if a horse does have an adverse reaction to one of my worming methods. I keep feeding it until they come right again.
Offer Koromiko also if they appear to have a gut upset
I throw seaweed straight from the beach onto my land especially before a big storm.
Feed what’s in season, puha, cleavers in spring along with seasonal fruit all year round.
I avoid too many processed feeds. Preferring to soak whole oats & give a salt & mineral lick. As I believe a healthy wholesome diet is part of the parasite puzzle.
Watch your animals graze in the paddocks especially in amongst trees. I notice one animal from a herd will seek out the charcoal from a burnt log, lying down in amongst the ash & licking the burnt wood. Then to find out at a later date, one of charcoal’s medicinal uses is anthelmintic or anti-parasitic
Any sickly horses that come into my care are walked around the weeds and purposely grown plants to observe what they crave most.
Anything with ongoing viruses or sickness is generally a susceptible host to parasites. On occasion I will make up a decoction for these animals from raw garlic, honey, water & my apple cider vinegar. In this instance it’s given daily & topped up with water until it’s fed out between 4-5 wks. I find this a great immune booster.

So on my own anti-parasitic journey I discovered the only horse on my property who was resistant to traditional wormers was also very sensitive gut wise. However, being a good doer & of mixed breed she always looked well covered never a light weight.

One full moon, I’d discovered homeopathic horse worm which listed P Strongulus & Strongorloid as some of its ingredients. Being a large mare, I added quite a few drops to her feed.. Well, what resulted scared me. I thought I’d killed my horse. Much to my horror, She scoured black sticky slimy bowel motions that stuck to her legs & tail like glue. This substance was so thick I was unable to wash much of it off. Immediately I gave her slippery elm, fresh plantain & Koromiko. This obviously soothed her gut. Along with a fresh paddock of long mature mixed grasses.

Since then, we have come along way. Last spring I was able to give her an allopathic wormer Equimax. For the first time in years there were no side effects. Most months I ‘drench’ my animals with something for 4-5 days.

I’m sure there are loads of other plants, trees, weeds and foods that will also be classed as anthelmintic or anti parasitic. Seems to be a lot that are understudied as to their medicinal uses.

The scotch thistle with the beautiful bright purple flower that our horses seem to be able to pick & eat so delicately I’ve been told has the best medicinal properties and a cure all by the locals.. so that is one I will delve into & learn about.