Equine parasites cause significant welfare harm when burden is high. Evidence-based targeted selective treatment replaces calendar-based worming to preserve anthelmintic efficacy while protecting welfare.
Equine parasites represent a significant welfare threat when burdens are high — large redworm larvae migrating through mesenteric arteries cause arteritis and life-threatening colic; cyathostominosis causes severe, rapidly deteriorating colitis. At the same time, indiscriminate calendar-based worming drives anthelmintic resistance, threatening the efficacy of the drugs that protect horses from parasite welfare harm. Targeted selective treatment — using FEC monitoring to treat only horses who need it — protects both individual horses from high burdens and preserves drug efficacy for when it is genuinely needed. This is a welfare intervention that protects both the present and the future.