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Control of strongylosis in horses by alternate grazing of horses and sheep and some other aspects of the epidemiology of Strongylidae infections.
Abstract: Alternate grazing of horses and sheep as a control measure for gastrointestinal helminthiasis was studied in three grazing experiments in 1981, 1982 and 1983. Each year a group of three mare yearling Shetland ponies, which were kept on a small pasture from spring to autumn, were compared with a similar group which grazed a similar or the same pasture until July and were subsequently removed to a similar pasture which had been grazed by sheep from April to July. In addition both groups were treated with an anthelmintic when the latter group was removed to the sheep pasture. Pasture larval counts and worm counts and, in 1982 and 1983, faecal egg counts, clinical condition, total protein, albumin and beta-globulin levels demonstrated that the groups removed to sheep pasture acquired considerably lower burdens of nematodes of the subfamilies Cyathostominae and Strongylinae, but considerably higher burdens of Trichostrongylus axei than the groups which were not moved. These T. axei infections resulted in higher serum pepsinogen levels in the former groups compared to the latter in 1981 and 1982. At necropsy an important part of the T. axei burdens and, in 1982 and 1983, the Cyathostominae burdens consisted of inhibited early third stage larvae. A total of 20 species of the subfamily Cyathostominae and 7 species of the Strongylinae were found. Generally the composition of species was in agreement with other observations in western Europe, the most common species being: Cylicostephanus longibursatus, Cylicostephanus minutus, Cylicostephanus calicatus, Cylicostephanus goldi, Cylicostephanus poculatus, Cyathostomum labratum, Cyathostomum coronatum, Cyathostomum catinatum, Cylicocyclus leptostomus, Cylicocyclus nassatus, Cylicocyclus insigne, Strongylus edentatus and Strongylus vulgaris.
Publication Date: 1986-01-01 PubMed ID: 3962151DOI: 10.1016/0304-4017(86)90037-3Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article investigates the effectiveness of using alternate grazing of horses and sheep as a method to control strongylidae infections (a type of gastrointestinal worm) in horses. The results showed a lower burden of certain types of nematodes in horses that were moved to sheep-grazed pastures, but a higher burden of a particular strongylidae, Trichostrongylus axei.
Study Design
- The research was conducted over three years and involved three mare yearling Shetland ponies each year. The pastures utilized during the study were alternated between horses and sheep starting from spring to autumn.
- In each year, the ponies were divided into two groups. One group continued to graze on the same pasture until July while the other group was moved to a different pasture that had been grazed by sheep from April to July.
- Additionally, both groups were treated with an anthelmintic (a de-worming medication) at the time the one group was moved to the sheep-grazed pasture.
Measurements and Results
- Several indicators were measured to assess the impact of the grazing strategy, including pasture larval counts, worm counts, and faecal egg counts. They also examined the ponies’ clinical condition and levels of several blood proteins.
- The results showed that the horses that were moved to the sheep-grazed fields had significantly lower levels of nematodes from the Cyathostominae and Strongylinae subfamilies. However, these horses had higher levels of Trichostrongylus axei.
- This higher burden of T. axei infections resulted in higher levels of serum pepsinogen in those horses compared to those that remained on the initial pasture.
Findings at Necropsy
- At the end of the observation period, the horses were necropsied and the burdens of the different strains of strongylidae were evaluated. It was found that a significant portion of the T. axei and the Cyathostominae burdens consisted of inhibited early third stage larvae.
- A total of 20 species from the Cyathostominae subfamily and 7 species from the Strongylinae subfamily were identified in the horses. The most common species corresponded with those observed in other studies conducted in western Europe.
Cite This Article
APA
Eysker M, Jansen J, Mirck MH.
(1986).
Control of strongylosis in horses by alternate grazing of horses and sheep and some other aspects of the epidemiology of Strongylidae infections.
Vet Parasitol, 19(1-2), 103-115.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4017(86)90037-3 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Albendazole
- Animal Feed
- Animals
- Benzimidazoles / therapeutic use
- Blood / parasitology
- Blood Proteins / analysis
- Cambendazole / therapeutic use
- Environment
- Feces / parasitology
- Horses / parasitology
- Parasite Egg Count
- Pepsinogens / blood
- Sheep / physiology
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / blood
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / parasitology
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / prevention & control
- Strongyle Infections, Equine / transmission
- Strongyloidea / pathogenicity
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Forteau L, Dumont B, Sallé G, Bigot G, Fleurance G. Horses grazing with cattle have reduced strongyle egg count due to the dilution effect and increased reliance on macrocyclic lactones in mixed farms. Animal 2020 May;14(5):1076-1082.
- Saeed MA, Beveridge I, Abbas G, Beasley A, Bauquier J, Wilkes E, Jacobson C, Hughes KJ, El-Hage C, O'Handley R, Hurley J, Cudmore L, Carrigan P, Walter L, Tennent-Brown B, Nielsen MK, Jabbar A. Systematic review of gastrointestinal nematodes of horses from Australia. Parasit Vectors 2019 Apr 29;12(1):188.
- Hinney B, Wirtherle NC, Kyule M, Miethe N, Zessin KH, Clausen PH. A questionnaire survey on helminth control on horse farms in Brandenburg, Germany and the assessment of risks caused by different kinds of management. Parasitol Res 2011 Dec;109(6):1625-35.
- Larsen MM, Lendal S, Chriél M, Olsen SN, Bjørn H. Risk factors for high endoparasitic burden and the efficiency of a single anthelmintic treatment of Danish horses. Acta Vet Scand 2002;43(2):99-106.
- Eysker M, Mirck MH. The distribution of inhibited early third stage Cyathostominae larvae in the large intestine of the horse. Z Parasitenkd 1986;72(6):815-20.
- Nielsen MK, Pyatt A, Perrett J, Tydén E, van Doorn D, Pihl TH, Schmidt JS, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Beasley A, Abbas G, Jabbar A. Global equine parasite control guidelines: Consensus or confusion?. Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2025 Aug;28:100600.
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