Tapeworms are white, flattened, segmented worms. There are no separate sexes, in order to reproduce each segment produces eggs and once the segments become full of eggs they are shed and are passed out in the horse’s dung.
Eggs are produced by an adult worm between one and two months after the horse ingests the infected mite.They have small heads and no mouthparts. They are usually found at the junction of the small and large intestine in the horse, they use four suckers on the side of its head to attach themselves to the gut wall. When they attach themselves to the gut, they can cause bowel irratation, rupture or twisting of the intestine. A horse infected with tapeworm is more likely to develop ileal impaction colic than a non infected horse, and is eight times more likely to experience spasmodic colic.
The worm does not feed from the horse, the worms feed by absorbing food from the lumen of the intestine and can grow up to 20cm in length as a mature adult.
Tapeworm can cause colic, sometimes fatal, by blocking blood vessels. A research showed that over 20 percent of cases of spasmodic colic are related to tapeworm burden in the UK. The worm stays in the same area of the gut, the narrow junction between the small and the large intestine and that is the reason for colic.
Tapeworm infection occurs all year round. This is because the forage mite not only lives on pasture, but also survives perfectly well in hay and on bedding, for this reason, six monthly dosing (at double the standard dose for Pyrantel based products) is an essential port of any worming programme.
Eggs are produced by an adult worm between one and two months after the horse ingests the infected mite.They have small heads and no mouthparts. They are usually found at the junction of the small and large intestine in the horse, they use four suckers on the side of its head to attach themselves to the gut wall. When they attach themselves to the gut, they can cause bowel irratation, rupture or twisting of the intestine. A horse infected with tapeworm is more likely to develop ileal impaction colic than a non infected horse, and is eight times more likely to experience spasmodic colic.
The worm does not feed from the horse, the worms feed by absorbing food from the lumen of the intestine and can grow up to 20cm in length as a mature adult.
Tapeworm can cause colic, sometimes fatal, by blocking blood vessels. A research showed that over 20 percent of cases of spasmodic colic are related to tapeworm burden in the UK. The worm stays in the same area of the gut, the narrow junction between the small and the large intestine and that is the reason for colic.
Tapeworm infection occurs all year round. This is because the forage mite not only lives on pasture, but also survives perfectly well in hay and on bedding, for this reason, six monthly dosing (at double the standard dose for Pyrantel based products) is an essential port of any worming programme.