I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t take the proper measures. I suspect that it would be unbearable around here. I know that there are products on the market – this includes sprays that are carcinogens. We use green based sprays on the horses. It’s a tough call because the carcinogenic stuff actually works a lot better.
We don’t have bot flies here. Bot flies lay little yellow legs on horses’ legs. The horses rub their legs and ingest the eggs, which hatch into parasites that if left untreated can kill them. And we don’t have deer flies, which are large and hurt horses and humans when they bite.
We also don’t have parasite infestations. We used to deworm the horses once every two months, but we don’t do this anymore. I pick up the poop, which is a source of parasites, before they ingest it. We sent poop in for fecal testing, it all came back negative. Our veterinarian once took a sample into a class he was teaching and he could not find a single egg or parasite.
Giving a horse dewormer can, over time, cause the parasites to become resistant to the chemicals that are used.
If we were to graze our animals where other horses have been, we’d deworm them. The last time we did this was three years ago. Raudi grazed in the Saddle Up grass paddock during the second day of the CTR. She didn’t get to finish because she had a girth sore.
Gosh, I sound self-righteous. Well, I can afford to be. When it comes to animal care, I’m on top of it.
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