Modern veterinary medicine, and natural horsemanship have designed a vast amount of approaches to controlling worms.
With so many various advancements with deworming; How do you choose which path to take?
Such a variety of treatment courses are at our disposal in today’s society. What truly makes the difference? Conventional drug deworming, as well as Holistic dewormers, both have become a solid choice in the current horse community.

Many traditionally trained veterinarian’s continue to favour the approach to deworming of continually giving small doses of dewormer to your horse(s) continuously to prevent parasites from maturing. Others who promote drug dewormers stress about drug resistance; recommending only deworming when absolutely necessary. Many equine enthusiast’s appreciate and advocate for a more natural ‘back to basics’ horsemanship; will create their own dewormer recipes from herbs and other natural anti-parasitics.
For more informations on the many worming choices; check out Dr. Mark DePaolo’s article: http://hl.depaoloequineconcepts.com/?q=node/1

Most Importantly the entirety of society has realized the importance of routine fecal examination counts.
To gain a better understanding on the method used most commonly today for FEC testing; click throug to this link: http://www.pathintl.org/images/pdf/conferences/national/presentations%20for%20web/2011/Parasite-Control.pdf

    Here are some solid options in FEC testing kits on the market today:
If you want to perform your test completely without the help of your veterinarian we suggest http://eggzamin.com/
However, if you the idea of staring through a microscope at organisms in your horse’s feces doesn’t appeal to you; these company's offer you the ability to send your sample away for results:
http://www.horsemenslab.com/  - (mention NAG Bags at the checkout to receive 1 free fecal count with orders of 6 or more tests.)

https://www.parascreen.com/order-parascreen-e/
https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/equine-fecal-test-kit-10409


How did you choose? Why? How often? Do you ever worry about the adverse affects of your deworming routine? How do you prevent, or correct them?  
Continue the discussion in the comments below ! #NAGwantstoknow

• Horses use energy to stay warm and energy is produced from the fibre "HAY" intake. Making sure that your hay suits your horse's needs and requirements depending on age, breeding, and work load, and taking the cold temperatures into account will help. We recommend having a hay analysis (they are not costly and are easily performed) - See this page in our website for hay testing details.
 
• Remember, grains are more work for a horse's digestion, which takes energy. This is how a horse heats himself in the winter - with energy - so slow down on concentrates, as good hay and fibre foods with fresh water are the basics and help keep your horse stay warm in winter.

• Most will need a routine check up with your vet or equine dentist to insure of no sharp edges and other issues that could cause your horse's health to suffer this winter. Horses can develop very sharp edges and can cut and or ulcer his own cheeks or tongue and cause eating dysfunctions. These sharp edges are also very hard on slow feeding nets.

Feeding Hint for Slow Feeding Nets
We have many customers that do not use the hay nets or round bale feeders all summer and now start to load them up to use.

REMEMBER:  You must feed loose hay for at least a week, especially in the colder climates, even if your horse has used this system last year, or even last month.

WHY?  Horses, like us, enjoy a change in feed and are ready for their hay change over, and can sometimes want more than a graze from the first hay of the season. So use some loose hay and you will have much success in slow feeding.

Freezing Nets?

• If possible, feed round bales on top of some straw, hay or shavings as this will insulate your bags from freezing.

• If your bales are stored outside and have hard frozen edges, you must roll this off the bale, as the horses will have a very difficult time getting the hay out of the net, which can cause damage to the nets, in frustration and hunger.
 
• Never let the N.A.G. Bags round bales become totally empty, flick out the remainder and then refill the round bale nets - this will help with nets not freezing to the ground.

• If the ropes are becoming hard to untie and are freezing, try to dry them out - if the moisture is out of them they will not freeze.  Also, you can flip the bales over so that the ropes are under the hay - this also helps to keep them insulated, and you can even place a bag over the rope end.

• For the smaller hanging nets and day bag users, you may now choose to add the clip or ring to the bag top - this helps with fast and easy up and down without trying to untie a knot that has been pulled tight and/or frozen.

By Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.

Equine Cushing’s disease, scientifically referred to as pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), is typically an age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Many horses will develop Cushing’s as they get older, but the symptoms come on so gradually, the disease often goes unrecognized. Usually around the age of 15 the risk becomes greater; however, younger and younger horses are developing PPID, which is a disturbing trend.

PPID is a progressive disorder, meaning it gets progressively worse over time. Cushing’s is not fatal in and of itself, but rather from the conditions it can lead to if left untreated, such as infections, muscle wasting, colic, and of course, laminitis. There is no cure, only treatment. However, by reducing oxidative stress, it is possible to slow down its progression.

The pituitary gland is at the forefront of the disorder

This gland is suspended from the hypothalamus at the base of the brain. One of three lobes in the gland, the pars intermedia is responsible for equine Cushing’s disease; it produces adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), the regulation of which is at the heart of the Cushing’s problem itself.

When a healthy, non-cushingoid horse experiences some type of stress (e.g., related to intense exercise, pain, or an empty stomach), the hypothalamus releases corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH). CRH signals the pituitary gland (pars intermedia) to release ACTH, which then stimulates the adrenal gland to secrete the stress-hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol is involved in releasing glucose out of glycogen stores to provide energy.

To bring cortisol levels back to normal, cortisol will stimulate certain neurons in the hypothalamus to produce the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine, in turn, tells the pituitary gland to stop secreting ACTH, which then causes cortisol production from the adrenal gland to subside.

However, with oxidative stress over a period of time, those dopamine-releasing neurons become fewer and fewer in number. The hypothalamus is no longer able to produce enough dopamine; without adequate dopamine to signal it to stop, the pituitary gland continues to pump out ACTH. An increase in ACTH then leads to an increase in cortisol levels, which in turn causes the pituitary gland to hypertrophy or enlarge.

What is oxidative stress? Elevated insulin, excess body fat, mental and physical stress, as well as environmental toxins can all lead to oxidative stress, resulting in the creation of a large number of proinflammatory molecules known as free radicals. These free radicals are volatile molecules that can destroy every kind of tissue, not just the dopamine-releasing neurons. In the specific case of Cushing’s, progressively higher levels of oxidative stress damage the dopamine-releasing neurons until they can no longer function properly. Obesity is one cause of oxidative stress, though elevated insulin can occur in the underweight horse as well. The diagram below illustrates this progression when body fat is regionally stored (indicating insulin resistance).

The key to slowing down this progression is reducing oxidative stress

While most cases of PPID eventually require pharmaceutical treatment with pergolide, or its trademarked version, Prascend, other management approaches should always be implemented as a first line of defense. Reducing oxidative stress can slow down the destruction of dopamine-promoting neurons and therefore diminish the progression of Cushing’s disease. This can be accomplished by reducing inflammation-producing body fat (if the horse is overweight), modification of mental, physical, and environmental stressors, and feeding an anti-inflammatory diet.

Restricting forage is incredibly stressful. And yet, this is the way many horse owners attempt to help their horses lose weight. The cascading negative effects of stress exacerbate this endocrine disorder in an already compromised horse into one with a higher risk for laminitis. Please read the article, "Bring Back the Horse's Instincts" for more information, as well as books in the Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series for a detailed, easy-to-do approach to weight loss through free-choice forage feeding.

Don’t neglect exercise. It not only burns calories, but exercise makes cells more receptive to insulin, allowing the horse’s body to burn fat. The blood insulin level declines, thereby reducing inflammation and the risk of laminitis. Exercise also helps protect muscle mass (which the cushingoid horse is losing). Finally, it makes your horse more sensitive (less resistant) to leptin, a hormone that is supposed to tell your horse to stop eating.

Decreasing inflammation through the diet

You’re probably already paying close attention to the non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) in the diet. That’s important to help reduce insulin secretion. But, here are a few pointers to reduce inflammation:

• Antioxidants neutralize damaging free radicals that can diminish dopamine-releasing neurons. Some examples include vitamins E and C, as well as lipoic acid, grapeseed extract, boswellia, and curcumin.
• Omega 3s reduce inflammation whereas too many omega 6 fatty acids increase it. Ground flaxseeds or Chia seeds are particularly high in the essential omega 3 fatty acid, alpha linolenic acid (ALA). Fish oils contain omega 3s as well, and are worthwhile in extreme inflammatory states.
• Protein quality makes a difference in the horse’s ability to produce and repair tissue as well as maintain healthy endocrine and immune systems. To achieve this, a variety of complementary protein sources must be included in the diet. Strive toward feeding several types of grasses and consider adding some whole foods such as ground flaxseeds, split peas, copra meal, whey protein isolate, hemp seeds, and Chia seeds.

Bottom line...

PPID becomes progressively worse over time as dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain are damaged by oxidative stress. Through attention to damaging aspects of your horse’s lifestyle, diet, and environment, this neurodegenerative disease can be significantly slowed down.