Deworming Foals & Young Horses

Guidelines for deworming horses have recently been updated by the AAEP. Here is a summary of deworming guidelines for foals and young horses.

During the first year of life foals should receive a minimum of four anthelmintic treatments. First deworming should be carried out at about 2-3 months of age, and a benzimidazole drug is recommended to ensure efficacy against ascarids.

Second deworming is recommended just before weaning (approximately 4-6 months of age). An extra treatment can be justified before weaning if the time period between the two treatments exceeds 3 months.

At weaning,FECs (fecal egg counts) are recommended to determine whether worm burdens are primarily strongyles or ascarids, to facilitate the right choice of drug class.

Third and fourth treatments should be considered at about 9 and 12 months of age, respectively, and treatment should primarily be targeting strongyles.

In areas, where tapeworms are present, a tapeworm-directedtreatment should be included in the 9-month treatment, or before the end of the first calendar year.