Strongyles

Symptoms

A chronic, irritating cough but little symptoms otherwise.

Cause

Large strongyles and small strongyles can cause spasmodic colic, weight loss and depression when present in large numbers. The horse gets infected from larvae on the pasture, which these releases eggs whilst in the gut which are passed with the faeces, and hatch into larvae so the cycle continues.

Treatment

A suitable worming plan, anthelmintic drugs and faecal egg counts can all lower the worm burden. Pastures should be kept clean with all faeces collected and rotating pastures may also help.

Please remember this information is provided as a guide only and professional advice should be sought before any diagnosis or treatment is applied.