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wormers-direct.co.uk
[SMALL
REDWORM] [TAPEWORM] [BOTS] [HAIRWORMS] [ASCARIDS] [PINWORMS] [ROUNDWORMS]
[LUNGWORMS]
ARTHROPODS
BOTS (Gasterophilus)
Bots are not actually
worms as they are in fact flies. Bots are an internal parasite of the
horse as part of their lifecycle involves internal development. The fly lays it's
eggs on the abdomen, legs and throat of the grazing horses in late
summer. When they are then licked off by the horse the larvae
are stimulated and the larvae
hatch and burrow into the lining of the gums. They migrate to the stomach
after about one month which becomes inflamed and ulcerated and eventually (some 10 months later) are passed out in the
dung. Bot eggs can be seen on the horses coat
during summer and early autumn and can be removed with special bot
knives or bot scraping blocks. The entire population of Bots reside in
the stomach over winter so that is why traditional thinking was to treat with
Ivermectin or Moxidectin based products preferably in December or
January as the adult bot flies are killed of by freezing temperatures
but as weather patterns are changing leading to milder winters
without early frosts it might be advisable to treat twice per year.
If treatment is given before the bot flies have stopped egg laying
then the larvae will still be capable of causing damage throughout
the winter and into spring. If treatment is delayed until after the
first frost, then the larval stages burrowing in the horses mouth
and stomach, are capable of causing problems. Therefore it is
important to use products capable of killing all stages of bots
perhaps during summer and autum whilst the flies are still active
and then again later in the winter after a true hard frost.
[SMALL
REDWORM] [TAPEWORM] [BOTS] [HAIRWORMS] [ASCARIDS] [PINWORMS] [ROUNDWORMS]
[LUNGWORMS] |
