Endoparasites of horses

Nematodes:
o Roundworm (Parascaris equorum)
 Definitive host – Horses
 PPP – 12 weeks
 Found in small intestine
 Clinical signs
o Associated with migrating larvae (liver
and lungs)
o Foals/Weanlings – potbelly, unthrifty appearance,
intermittent colic, constipation, or diarrhea, coughing
o Adult horses usually have no clinical signs and have very few
worms
 Mode of infection
o Ingestion of infective ova on pastures and stalls -> Larvae
migrate (liver and lungs) -> coughed up and swallowed. Eggs
are sticky and remain viable in environment for months to
years
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation
o Rough brown thick-walled oval to round egg with single celled
zygote; 90 – 100 m
 Treatment
 Pasture management steam cleaning in stables and fenbendazole
 Resistance shown to *moxidectin *Ivemectin

o Small strongyles (Cyathostomes or cyathostomins)

 Definitive host – horses
 Found in large intestine and cecum: adult penetrate
mucosa
 Hypobiosis
 Will stop life cycle and egg production if the
weather isn’t ideal
 To ensure survival of the parasite offspring
 PPP – 40 days
 Clinical signs
o Unthrifty appearance
o Poor performance and intermittent colic in young horses
o Sometimes diarrhea
  Mode of infection
o Horses eats the grass and ingests L3 stage larvae -> L3 larvae
penetrates the intestinal wall -> L4 larvae develop into adults
lays eggs -> eggs pass out in the feces -> Egg develop into L1,
L2 and then L3 stage larvae -> back on the grass
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation
o Ova are 90 x 50 m with smooth thin wall surrounding 8-16
cell morula; size of egg varies with species
 Treatment
o Resistance to pyrantel pamoate and fenbendazole in some
larva
o Moxidectin for adults and encysted larva
o Selective treatment of infected horses
o Most horses over 4 yrs of age have resistance to reinfection
o Control:
 Pasture management

o Large strongyles (Strongylus vulgaris, Strongylus edentates, Strongylus equinus)

 Sometimes called bloodworms, sclerostomes, red worm
 Definitive host – horses
 PPP – 6-11 months
 Found in large intestine and cecum
 Adults are destructive feeders
 Larvae migrate extensively through various organs =
significant damage
 Especially pathogenic in foals and yearlings
 Strongyles vulgaris migrates through the cranial mesenteric artery and its
main branches
 Clinical signs
o Colic
o Anemia
o Weight loss or poor weight gain
o Hind-limb lameness
o Death
o Aneurisms and infarcts caused by larval migration
 Mode of infection
o Horses eats the grass and ingests L3 stage larvae -> L3 larvae
penetrates the intestinal wall -> L4 larvae develop into adults
 lays eggs -> eggs pass out in the feces -> Egg develop into L1,
L2 and then L3 stage larvae -> back on the grass
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation
o Ova are 90 x 50 m with smooth thin wall surrounding 8-16
cell morula; size of egg varies with species
 Treatment
 Moxidectin to kill larva and adults

o Pinworm (Oxyuris equi)

 Definitive host – Horses (common in young horses)
 PPP – 5 months
 Found in Colon, cecum and rectum
 Adult females up to 15 cm; Males less than 1.0 cm in
length
 Clinical signs
o Pruritus of perianal region + tail rubbing
 Mode of infection
o Gravid female migrates to the anus and lays her eggs in
clumps in a yellowish grey gelatinous material on the perineal
skin -> After completing her egg laying, the female passes out
of the anus and dies -> The eggs attach to feeding troughs,
walls and floors of stables and are then ingested.
o Eggs become infective in 4-5 days
 Diagnosis
o Scotch tape across anus
o Gentle scraping of perianal skin with tongue depressor and
lube
o Rarely, eggs in fecal flirtation

 Treatment
o Fenbendazole

o Threadworm (Strongyloides westeri)

 Definitive host – Horses (common in young horses)
 PPP – 7-10 days
 Found in small intestine
 Slender hair like worms; less than 1.0 cm long
 Clinical signs
 o Adult horses rarely harbour these parasites
o Rarely cause a disease
o Diarrhea, coughing, weight loss in some foals
 Transmission
o Trans-mammary – direct
o Skin penetration
o Ingestion of infective larvae
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation
o Eggs are always larvated (50 x 35m)
 Treatment
 Lvermectin
 Oxibendazile
 Deworm mare with ivermectib 24 hours after giving birth

o Lungworm (Dictyocaulus arnfieldi)

 Definitive host – donkeys and foals
 Usually not in adult horses
 Common in USA in wet area
 PPP – 5 to 6 weeks
 Found in Bronchi and bronchioles
 Clinical signs
o Coughing
o Dyspnea
o Anorexia
o Secondary pneumonia
 Life cycle
o Larvated eggs are passed in feces -> Egg hatch -> Larva
migrates around the body until they reach the lungs ->
mature adults copulate and females lay eggs in lungs -> Eggs
are coughed up and swallowed the GI and are passed in feces
 Diagnosis
o Baermann technique to look for larvae
 Treatment
 Ivermectin

o Stomach worm (Habronema spp., Draschia spp.)

  Definitive host – horses
 Larvae can be sometimes found in conjunctiva and skin
 Intermediate host – House fly/ Stable fly
 PPP – 2 months
 Clinical signs
o Conjunctivitis if larva are deposited in eye conjunctiva
o Summer sores caused by larvae deposited by flies
o Gastritis
o Tumour-like growths
 Life cycle
o Adult live in stomach, copulate and lay eggs -> Eggs are
passed in feces -> Eggs hatch and larva emerge -> At the same
time, flies lay eggs in feces and those eggs hatch and larve
emerge -> Fly larva ingests Habronema/Draschia larva ->
migrate to the mouthparts of the fly -> passed on to the
horse when the fly feeds on wounds, lips, eyes and nostrils or
horses ingests fly
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation (50-80 m)
o Gastric lavage
o Skin lavage
o Skin scraping to look for larva
o Skin biopsy
 Treatment
 Ivermectin
 Fly control

o Skin Nodular worm (Onchocerca spp.)

 Definitive host – Affects horses, cattle, sheep and goats
 Intermediate host – Culicoides spp., biting midges, other biting insects
 PPP – 6-12 months
 Clinical signs
o Lameness caused by inflammation of ligaments and tendons
o Eye problem
o Skin lesions
 Life cycle
o Adult live-in ligaments and produce microfilariae that migrate
to dermis layer of the skin -> Fly bites host and ingests
microfilariae -> develop into larva, inside the fly -> larva is
transferred to definitive host during a blood meal -> larva
migrate to ligaments
  Diagnosis
o Skin biopsy to find microfilariae
 Treatment
 Difficult
 Prevention is key! (Control files)

o Eyewoem (Thelazia lacrymalis)

 Definitive host – Affects horses
 Intermediate host – face fly
 PPP – 6-12 months
 Clinical signs
o Chronic conjunctivitis with ocular
discharge
 Life cycle
o Female worms live in the ocular area and release larvae in the
ocular secretions -> Larvae ingested by the face fly (Musca
autumnalis) -> Larva mature and are deposited onto a new
horse when fly feeds on eye secretion
 Diagnosis
o Adult worms are rarely seen
o Look for larvae in ocular secretions
 Treatment
 Mechanical removal of worms
 Topical organophosphates
 Fenbendazole PO
 Must control flies

o Tapeworm (Anoplocephala & Paranoplpcephala)

 Definitive host – horses
 Intermediate host – Forage mites
 PPP – 2 months
 Found in small intestine, large intestine, cecum
 Clinical signs
o Usually none in light infections
o Ulceration and inflammation of gut
o Intestinal obstruction in heavy
infections
o Colic
  Life cycle
o Adult live in guy and lay eggs -> Eggs are ingested by forage
mites -> Eggs hatch inside the mite and release a single
cysticercoid larva -> Mites are ingested by horses while
grazing -> Cytercercoid larva mature into adult tapeworm and
live in gut
 Diagnosis
o Proglottid segements in feces
o Fecal flotation
o Maybe not be many eggs in feces
o Ova might be spherical or flattened on one side
 Treatment
 Praziquantel
 Pyrantel pamoate (double dose)

Protozoa:
o Coccidia (Eimeria leuckarti)
 Definitive host – horses
 PPP – 15-33 day
 Found in small intestine
 Clinical signs
o Usually none
 Mode of infection
o Ingestion of sporulated oocysts
 Diagnosis
o Fecal flotation
o 85 x 55 m

o Eyewoem (Thelazia lacrymalis)

 Definitive host – opossum
 Intermediate host – many animals (cats, skunks, raccoons)
 Dead end host – horses
 Implicated in equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM)
 PPP – 6-12 months
 Clinical signs
o Severe neurological signs in horses
 Life cycle
 o Infected opossums shed eggs in feces -> eggs are ingested by
intermediate or dead-end host -> intermediate host develops
sarcocysts in skeletal muscle -> muscle is ingested by the
opossum and life cycle is completed
 Diagnosis
o Difficult
 Treatment
 Ponazuril

o Horses bots (Gastrophilus spp.)

 Definitive host – horses
 PPP – 1 year
 Clinical signs
o Often none
o Gastritis, enteritis, stomatitis
 Life cycle
o Fly lays eggs on horsehair -> Eggs hatch ->
Larvae migrate to mouth and stay there for
approx. 1 month then travel to Stomach,
small intestine
o Larvae 2 cm (reside inside horse for 8 to 10 months)
o Attached by hooks
 Diagnosis
o Egg on hair
o Larvae in feces
 Treatment
 Ivermectin or moxidectin
 Remove all eggs from horses’ coat
 Control the flies

We must minimize resistance

- Deworm adults only If they have heavy burdens
- Deworm while on pasture and observe period of effectiveness for individual dewoemers
- Use correct dosage of dewormed using a girth tape measure
- Ensure horse receives ALL dewormer
- Do not rotate dewormers every few months
- Deworm new arrivals and do not allow access to pasture for the first 3 days after
deworming
- Pasture management:
 Pick up manure
 Stocking density -> 1 horse per 2 acres
 Rotate pastures
 Reserve cleanest pastures for young stock