They can be. The intestinal parasites of horses evolved with horses and have therefore become fairly hardy. Horses used to range large tracts of land, and parasite eggs had to be pretty resistant to the environment for the horse to be infected. Under modern horse-keeping practices, horses are kept close together in more lush environments….arrangements that can concentrate the number of parasites, which can infect your horse.
If your horse is parasitized, won’t it look “wormy?” Not necessarily. Certainly some horses with parasite problems are unthrifty with poor haircoats, but it is possible for your horse to be parasitized and show no exterior signs. Most horses are likely parasitized to some degree. As the number of parasites increase, the horse’s ability to use nutrients can be affected, and there can be damage to internal organs.
How is a deworming program developed? The number of horses on a property, the type of horses, and the ages of the horses are all taken into consideration when developing a program.
What should you expect from a program and how can it be evaluated? Parasite control programs rarely eliminate all parasites. The goal of most programs is to reduce the number or parasites each horse has and to reduce parasite contamination of common grazing or turnout areas. The efficacy of deworming programs can and should be evaluated by performing fecal egg counts. This is the only way to truly evaluate how effective your parasite control program actually is. With this information adjustments can be made and you will go a long way in diminishing your chances of having a colicky horse.
