Hello everyone. As we near the end of yet another week, here’s another edition of the Equine Science News blog. This week I’ll be talking about worms, genetics and how you can get involved in an equine welfare survey.

Every horse owner knows how much of a nightmare worms can be for their horses. Worryingly vets are now concerned that such parasites may becoming resistant to traditional worming treatments.

Back in May this year, the Equine Cyathostomins [aka redworms] conference was held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Terramo in Italy. This saw a host of veterinary practitioners and researchers discuss their work on worms in horses and now a Supplement entitled “Equine parasites: diagnosis and control” has been produced. This free access supplement is available for everyone to read here.

At the May meeting results were presented from a large-scale study carried out in three EU countries – the UK, Germany and Italy. Further contributions from the United States of America also expressed concern about how to control horse parasites. If worms and other parasites really are becoming resistant to traditional drugs this could be a major problem for equine health and welfare worldwide.

Sadly I don’t have the space to outline all of the results discussed in the Supplement, so I thoroughly recommend that owners take a little look at it – although the articles are pretty science heavy in places! However, a quick summary of the three-country study is that scientists studied over 1700 horses from 102 yards (988 horses in Italy, 396 in the UK and 320 in Germany). They found that single/multiple drug resistance in equine redworms was found in all of the countries and that the most effective drug was generally macrocyclic lactone anthelmintics, commonly referred to as Ivermectin in wormers. What the scientists also believe is that it is important to develop sensible management practises to help minimise any spread of worms between horses. Regular poo-picking and mixed-grazing with other animals can help keep your horse worm-free when combined with the use of wormers.

Good pasture management is essential to help keep worms at bay

Personally, I recommend that all owners speak to their veterinarian to develop a worming programme that it suitable for their own horse and for their own country. For further information on the different equine worms and types of wormers available, check out this Australian website.

Since the human genome was sequences in 2001, the topic of genetics has fascinated many including those in the horse world and in 2007 the equine genome was sequenced. Researchers even understand enough about genetics to be able to research complex genetic traits in horses.

Now horse owners and breeders can get a little bit more clued up thanks to a free online webcast on equine genetic disorders which will be broadcast on October 21, at 1pm (EST).

The online presentation will provide information on genetic tests for stock horse breeds and is part of a series of webcasts called “Equine Genetics: A New Diagnostic Resource for Horse Owners”. Future episodes will look at the advances of horse genetics and how to manage conditions such as shivers.

The webcast has been produced by the University of Minnesota and Michigan State University Extension’s My Horse University, which is a national online horse management programme for equine enthusiasts.

Having only just become aware of My Horse University, I think the website is a fascinating place and full of useful information for even the most knowledgeable owners. They’ve got a selection of great archived webcasts, including some on laminitis, poisonous plants and horse stress. Check out the full list of webcasts available on their website.

Anyone interested in watching the episode on equine genetics, should register their interest here.

Image of a mare and foal taken by Kvetina-Marie and reproduced here under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Finally, there are new plans to carry out an annual equine disease survey in the UK following a successful pilot scheme by the Blue Cross.

Currently there is a 10-year Equine Health and Welfare Strategy, known as EHWS, in which the UK’s main equine charities have been looking at problems of parasites, colic and lameness in horses in an effort to improve welfare. For the last two years, the Blue Cross have been surveying horses in rescue centres but this only amounts to around 1750 horses.

Now EHWS are trying to get a broader picture so they can determine what is considered a “normal” level of welfare by understanding how often the average horse is lame.

Professor Josh Slater from the EHWS told Horse & Hound Online: “Present disease surveillance in the UK revolves around exotic ones like West Nile Virus and African Horse Sickness, and infections such as strangles. This leaves a gap in our knowledge.”

There is now a survey planned for 2010 with the EHWS seeking riding clubs, yards and colleges to participate in a website survey where they can log their horses’ medical problems throughout the year.

The charities who monitored their rescue horses during the summer months for the last two years found that lameness was the biggest problem both in 2008 and 2009, there were some big differences between the years. In 2008 obesity was the second biggest concern, but in 2009 they found instead that there had been a dramatic increase in the number of underweight horses – perhaps a reflection of more neglected horses rescued as a result of the new Animal Welfare Act.

If your based in the UK and your yard would like to take part in the 2010 survey, ring 01993 825607.

Now that’s it for the equine science news, and it’s time for this week’s trivia quiz:

Where in the horse’s body would you find the “plantar cushion”?
1. The hoof or foot
2. The neck
3. The head
4. The liver

The answer can be found on my profile page here.