At 15:23:57 on 21.12.09, plodalong wrote:
hello. please can you give me your opinion on herbal wormers? I have my horse on a livery yard and dont have any choice who shares the field. the yard owner was a dairy farmer and not very horsey. he doesnt check if people have wormed or not, he puts the pooh back onto the fields that our horses graze. I do pooh pick and have worm counts done at three monthly intervals. most of the counts are high. In these circumstances would it be ok to use a herbal wormer,instead of a chemical one.I got a blood test done to check for tapeworm. that came back clear.I would appreciate any advice offered.

At 17:39:51 on 22.12.09, NMH wrote:
Personally I'd say worm damage is too serious a matter, & common, to use anything other than proven-in-trials wormers. I'm not against herbal medicine but it needs to be proven (by which I mean proper clinical trials on a scientific protocol, anecdotal evidence just won't do) when dealing with such a life-threatening question as worm control. The dairy farmer's management sounds dire,especially if he's spreading horse poo on horse fields, & I presume you've tried to influence it, & influence or join forces with the other horse owners too. But I don't see how herbal worming, rather than conventional medicines, can help. Small redworm larvae are meant to be the most likely to cause major illness- you can't stop your horse eating them if they are (as they surely will be given the farmer's ways) contaminating the land, but you can use the wormers that deal with them: Eqvalan & Equest, & 5-day Panacur. And be sure you are giving an adequate dose, rototing them to minimize danger of resistance etc - but you are so semsible, Plodalong, you are probably doing all that. I've come late to poo picking, & have kept horses in fields like the ones you describe before I had my own land, but the evidence seems to be that keeping the land clean of worm larvae is MORE effective than any wormer can be.

At 21:33:31 on 22.12.09, HorseVet wrote:
Herbal wormers are fine but whatever you use the worming problem needs to be co-ordinated and proper pasture management put in place. Worms are frequently resistant to conventional wormers so they aren't as trustworthy as might be thought.My recommendation would be to move to somewhere where there is proper management practices in place unless you can persuade your yard owner to get their act together. Best wishes HorseVet
http://www.naturalhealingsolutions.co.uk

At 18:27:14 on 23.12.09, plodalong wrote:
thank you horevet and nhm. I think you are right .Its time to look for a new home for Bo.Things wont change here. And it a registered BHS yard.

At 01:50:54 on 30.12.09, Angwh19 wrote:
My veteran Dutch Warmblood has been on a herbal worming regime for the last 2 years- he was originally on Verm-X but I found a much cheaper alternative- http://www.folklore.directory4shopping.co.uk/horse_wormer_infomation.htm He has been on this for the last year with no problems :) The yard you are at does not sound good- when you do move it would be a good idea to give your horse the 5-day Panacur treatment then when he's due again you can start the herbal alternative- good luck!!

At 13:44:41 on 05.01.10, YasandCrystal wrote:
Hi, I have used herbal wormers for years now, but I keep my horses on my own land which is de-pooed daily. We sent one of our horses away for a few months and she came back with a high red worm count so I used Equest on her and then back to the herbal wormer and when I had a count done 12 weeks later she was completely clear. I think herbal wormers are brilliant if you are in control of your situation, but clearly you are not at your yard so I would use chemical just for now until you can move yards.

At 14:11:14 on 05.01.10, YasandCrystal wrote:
Also I meant to say that the herbal wormer I use is very reasonably priced. One tub does my 4 (2 horses, 2 small ponies) twice! for just 35.00!! and my worm counts are proof it works. It's called NoVerms (not to be confused with VermX) http://www.ellencollinson.co.uk/products Angwh19 - small world - I use Folklore (local to me) for respiratory herbs and recently for a blood cleanser for my young appy pony who tested with a positive antibodies count for a strangles test. Stuart Crisp is very helpful.

At 17:50:08 on 05.01.10, HorseVet wrote:
Yes I recommend Ellen's NoVerms and I've found it to be very good from reports I've had back. I also sell it and can ship if people have trouble sourcing it. Best wishes HorseVet
http://www.naturalhealingsolutions.co.uk

At 17:51:07 on 05.01.10, Angwh19 wrote:
He is indeed as I use herbal wormers and flea treatments for the dogs and cats from Folklore and if there's a problem I just ring him and he's very helpful!!

At 16:54:01 on 06.01.10, plodalong wrote:
thank you all for your responses,they have been very helpful.