Seasonal Changes - What they mean for the equine.

by Tracey - WHP Practitioner
(Espiritu del Viento, Casares)

March/April is not only the time of new buds on trees and chicks in nests, it is a change of season that can affect horses in many ways. They are loosing their winter coats and with temperatures up and down can be prone to colds. It is a time when their fibre feed may be changed from winter stored dry to fresh spring grass. Both these can cause stress in a horse. Some showing now outward signs at all, whilst others may have clear tell-tale event lines appearing in their hooves or behavioural changes that an owner will notice in their horse.
This can be a time for internal parasites to infest the intestinal tract. Daily cleaning of stalls is a must. For the paddock kept horse, poop picking, harrowing, rotating and leaving fallow are all ways to avoid a worm burden in your horse. What should be on your equestrian calendar for this time of year (and again in the autumn) is worm testing. Far better to know if you need to worm or not, rather than dosing your horse with anti-parasite products unnecessarily. Having counts will also let you know if your worming program is successful. If the result of a faecal egg count is high you must consult with your veterinarian for a suitable worming schedule.
For a reliable service, that gives two counts for each sample visit;
Worm testing Service

For more information on other topics visit;
Horse Livery Spain