At 21:06:39 on 08.02.11, jo b wrote:
hi all, i'm trying 2 decide if i should worm or get egg counts done and worm only as and when needed. has any1 tried the egg count thing and how did u get on? i'm also not keen on vaccines but have never had horses b4 so would like advise about alternatives, i dont want 2 take any risks!! i treat my dogs and myself with homeopathy but havent had the chance 2 used it with horses yet, cant b easy giving a horse remedys lol!

At 21:21:34 on 08.02.11, NMH wrote:
I used just to follow a worming schedule but now I get egg counts done (as well as poo-picking) - it can save money (eg my older one needs worming less often- they seem to build more resistance to worm burden as they get older); no-one wants to give an unnecessary chemical; it's better for the environment (many modern wormers kill dung beetles etc); & worming only when necessary is meant to make worms less likely to get wormer-resistant which is REALLY important. Vaccines are a separate matter; there is NO proper veterinary evidence that alternatives to vaccines work; tetanus is a horse-killer & there's no evidence the vaccine is at all harmful. You would never forgive yourself if your horse got tetanus. Flu- you take your choice, but if you ever want to compete at many levels/venues you have to have the vaccine, & again there's millions of doses given to horses every year & no harm done, whilst a bad attack of flu can render your horse damaged longterm, &/or off sick for a long time. Horsey neighbours might not thank you either! -indeed one of the ways vaccines work in the long run is by making diseases really rare! Smallpox & (almost) polio have been pretty much eradicated as human diseases by vaccination programmes - how many lives/how much misery has that saved?!!