Recently a client asked if it's possible for a horse to pick up worm larvae or worms from eating hay, and if so, even if larvae are dead, could they cause a parasite problem? Upon further discussion, she mentioned that she was aware of the serious problems that could be caused by dead blister beetles in hay (every horse owner should know about blister beetles-see the University of Illinois Extension article for more information) and wondered if it was possible for dead worm larvae to pose a similar but far less serious health threat. The short answer "No."

On March 7, 2012, parasitologist Dr. Martin K Nielsen commented on the likelihood of parasite acquisition from hay on Horsetalk.co.nz in response to a question from another horse owner who was also concerned about the same issue.

Horses cannot pick up larvae or worms from hay. Horses must be grazing in a pasture where eggs from horse droppings hatch, become larvae, and climb the grass stalk where they will be devoured by a grazing horse. Once ingested, the worm life cycle begins again. In the unlikely event that there are dead worms in the hay, they will not present a problem.

In theory, it is possible for hay that is harvested from fields where young horses were recently pastured to contain round worm eggs. Additionally, some articles have suggested that where horses have been recently pastured, soil-dwelling oribatid mites might possibly find tapeworm eggs to eat, which then develop into infective larvae. The 2008 Tapeworm Special Report (PDF) sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health noted that "the presence of the types of oribatid mites associated with the equine tapeworm life cycle has not been proven in hay, straw, or wood products, or in aquatic environment." So, these two scenarios are unlikely to occur.

Facebook-timelines, profile vs. page-sheesh, it's enough to make your head spin. What's more, there's even a hot debate regarding which term is correct-defriend or unfriend-though the results are the same.

To comply with Facebook's policy regarding personal profile pages (for individuals with friends) vs. pages (for business for people to "like"), we created a Horsemen's Laboratory page with vanity url. However, because we've heard and read various posts about the migration tool that moves friends to fans (now "likes") being a bit quirky, we elected to leave our friends where they were at our old page and hoped that they would visit the new page.

Now, we are offering a little more encouragement to get folks to move over to and "like" the new Horsemen's Laboratory page--the first 10 posts in response to our question about deworming experiences will receive a free fecal egg count kit. The new page is where we will be posting announcements, updates, and special offers.

We will also be doing some "friend management' in the near future to help with transitioning to the new page, so please defriend, unfriend (whichever term you prefer) us at the old Horsemen's Laboratory profile---our feelings won't be hurt.

Speaking of friends, if you have friends with horses, we hope that you will tell them about us and invite them to visit our new page.

Back to top 

Horsemen's Laboratory appreciates being mentioned around the web. We're committed to helping horse owners protect their horses from worms, but we're also committed to educating horse owners about the importance of selective deworming based on a fecal egg count. Others are also spreading the word about the new deworming protocol. We hope you will take the time to visit the sites below (listed in alphabetical order), "search" for deworming, and read what others are saying. If you have questions about sample collection, deworming, or fecal egg count results, Dr. Byrd can answer those questions and provide guidance.

• Equine Chronicle Online 
• Equimed 
• Holistic Horse
• Horsechannel.com 
• My Horse Daily 
• Soulful Equine 
• Stable Management
• Thoroughbred Times 

Back to top 

Horsemen's Laboratory Attended the FDA Meeting in March

On March 5 and 6, 2012, Horsemen's Laboratory attended the FDA Public Meeting on Drug and Resistance in Ruminants and Equines. Dr. Byrd offered statistics collected over many years about positive fecal egg counts. The public was invited to attend.
See list of presenters and PDFs of their presentations.

Reminder: Test Results by Email Only Beginning April 1

Beginning April 1 all test results will be sent by email only in PDF format unless a client does not have an email address. Clients who do not have email addresses will continue to receive a U.S. mail copy.

See details about the FDA meeting.

Back to Top