How to Deworm a Horse

If your horse seems to not lose his winter coat fast enough or if he has a bit of a belly, but isn't fat, he may have worms. Horses are very susceptible to internal parasites (worms) and should be dewormed on a regular schedule. Parasites can rob your horse of his health, good attitude and performance. Deworming your horse is not difficult and can be done every day or up to every eight weeks.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dewormer
• Halter or lead rope
• Horse's approximate weight

1. Weigh your horse. You need to know his approximate weight before administering any kind of dewormer.
2. Choose what type of dewormer you want to use. There are paste wormers available in a large syringe or daily wormers in pellet form to be mixed with your daily feeding schedule.
3. Tie your horse before giving him the paste dewormer. Most horses don't like the taste of the dewormer so he may try to throw his head up in the air.
4. Set the syringe to the correct weight dosage. The numbers are printed on the syringe and are easy to read.
5. Insert the first few inches of the tip of the syringe into the corner of your horse's mouth. It should be pointed towards the back of the horse's mouth.
6. Inject the paste into the horse's mouth and remove the syringe.
7. Hold the horse's head up by pushing up from underneath his jaw. This will allow him to swallow the dewormer without letting it drop out of his mouth.
8. Deworm your horse every six weeks with a paste dewormer.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are using a daily dewormer you can still use a paste dewormer every six weeks if you choose.
• Do not let the horse drop the dewormer from his mouth. Not getting enough dewormer will effect the treatment.