It's BOT season folks! Here's some great information from the WORM CHECK lady
Apparently, it’s March... already!?
Our wonderful, tidy calendar says it’s autumn now too. And so here is my annual “It’s not actually autumn yet – don’t deworm your horses straight away!” spiel.
Autumn is the No. 1 time of year to worm your horses because it ties in best with breaking the bot-fly life cycle. A botfly’s lifecycle is 12 months, so treating just once a year will break that lifecycle (and over time decrease botfly populations). By mid-autumn/early winter, the entire population of bot flies will be inside your horse, which means you can target all the bots on your property with a single dosage of a boticide dewormer (ivermectin, abamectin, moxidectin).
If you deworm your horses too early in autumn, you will not be targeting all the bot flies as they are often present well into autumn, laying eggs on your horse's coat. If you deworm on the 1st of March, there will be bot flies, and subsequently, bot eggs and larvae that come after the treatment and will remain within your horse for the year.
Therefore, hold off on the autumn deworming a little longer, if your horses are in good condition. Wait until the nights cool down and the bot flies disappear before deworming – and make sure that the dewormer you purchase is active against bots, otherwise it will all be in vain. If your horses need to be treated now, do so, but make sure you target bot flies again in early winter.
It's BOT season folks! Here's some great information from the WORM CHECK lady
Apparently, it’s March... already!?
Our wonderful, tidy calendar says it’s autumn now too. And so here is my annual “It’s not actually autumn yet – don’t deworm your horses straight away!” spiel.
Autumn is the No. 1 time of year to worm your horses because it ties in best with breaking the bot-fly life cycle. A botfly’s lifecycle is 12 months, so treating just once a year will break that lifecycle (and over time decrease botfly populations). By mid-autumn/early winter, the entire population of bot flies will be inside your horse, which means you can target all the bots on your property with a single dosage of a boticide dewormer (ivermectin, abamectin, moxidectin).
If you deworm your horses too early in autumn, you will not be targeting all the bot flies as they are often present well into autumn, laying eggs on your horse's coat. If you deworm on the 1st of March, there will be bot flies, and subsequently, bot eggs and larvae that come after the treatment and will remain within your horse for the year.
Therefore, hold off on the autumn deworming a little longer, if your horses are in good condition. Wait until the nights cool down and the bot flies disappear before deworming – and make sure that the dewormer you purchase is active against bots, otherwise it will all be in vain. If your horses need to be treated now, do so, but make sure you target bot flies again in early winter.