Deworming your horse is an integral aspect of horse care. Illness and stress can weaken the body’s response to fight off these parasites and can awaken any dormant larvae living in your horse.

Intestinal parasites affect growth and development. If you think your horse might be suffering from a parasitic infection, we can perform fecal egg counts to detect microscopic parasite eggs and determine if any treatment is even necessary.

Interestingly, the age-old recommendation to deworm our average Southern California horse every 8 weeks has been discovered to be a poor pracitce. Most of our horses are not exposed to grass pastures and other horse’s manure, thereby minimizing contact with the infectious stages or eggs of equine parasites. Too frequent deworming has likely contributed to increasing parasite resistance to the dewormer itself. Foothill Equine recommends fecal egg count tests on an as-needed basis (annually) and paste deworming twice yearly.

Common equine internal parasites: 

  • Large strongyles
  • Encysted cyathostomes
  • Habronema and Draschia spp.
  • Roundworms
  • Tapeworms
  • Bots

Administering deworming medication

Whether purchasing your deworming medication from your vet, online, or from a local store, be sure to consult with us about which dewormer is best for your horse’s age, boarding environment, and current medical status. Different dewormers target different parasites – you cannot buy just any medication and assume it will work. It is also important to administer the dewormer as prescribed.

Please call us for an appointment or phone consultation regarding the best parasite program for your horse.