If any horses have been rubbing their tails, it’s the new moon right now and a great opportunity to get at pin worms by giving your horses a garlicky feed (as much FRESH, FRESH, FRESH – note the word FRESH? – garlic as they will still eat the feed – which depends on the size of their feed. I find horses on small feeds start rejecting it at much more than a heaped teaspoon). Washing their hindquarters completes the pin worm treatment , cos’ the little beggars can be outside the horses butt.
You cannot always see them, they can be under the hair, close to the skin.
The fresh garlic is important because freeze dried garlic has been associated with calcium problems according to a Kentucky Equine research centre advisor that I was talking to some years ago.
And fresh or not, do NOT use garlic all the time. Using it all the time stops it from working on worms effectively. Also it is high in Vitamin C and because horses manufacture their own Vitamin C – a constant sourse of Vitamin C from the outside makes them reduce their OWN manufacture, so you are wasting your money PLUS losing a great source of Vitamin C support at times of stress and lousy weather.
And the timing of doing this garlic and washing pin worm treatment is important because these particular worms are easier got at around the new moon. Other types of worms I get at on the full moon when they are more easily got at, but these pin worms are definitely easier got at on the new moon – which is right now.
I use a dollop of plain wool wash in the water and a bit of neem oil, though I think any kind of oil will probably do the trick. Neem oil acts on the hormones of the insect, so just in case, I wouldn’t use it if I was pregnant or wanted to be.
I wash thoroughly the whole hindquarters, making sure to get right down to the skin, around the anus, between the legs and soak the tail all the way to the bone all round the tail.
Pin worms don’t cause physical harm inside the horse but can drive them nuts enough to kick a lot if they get a big infestation and of course, they make them rub their tails.
And chemical drenching has little effect on the little beggars. One of my students had her vet prescribe 5 full doses of ivermectin drench – 1 per day for 5 days in a row and STILL had her horse showing bad infestation again within a couple of months – and the garlic and washing works and doesn’t damage the insides of the horse and it’s cheap too.
So now is the time to get at them!
Just how much fresh garlic should I feed and for how long – I have a feeling my horse will try & pick it out but I am definately going to try this as we grow our own garlic!
Lucky you! How much garlic you feed depends on how big your horse’s feeds are and your horse’s own personal tastes. For a 1 dipper feed (I have fat horses!)I would start at about a teaspoon of fresh garlic. (Remember, according to Kentucky Equine Research Centre, dried garlic has an adverse affect on mineral absorption, I forget which one off the top of my head on my day off! 🙂 I have had one horse reject a teaspoon as too much and others would happily eat stronger doses. I do the garlic feeds for a couple of days around the new moon if horses show me they are itchy around their tails at that time. DO NOT feed garlic in every feed – it’s like you waste its efficiency and then it won’t work when you DO need it, like when you want to boost the immune system for travelling or for specially nasty weather or stress or illness or worming.