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Project WORMS

This collaborative project working with CVS, IVC, BEVA, and James Crabtree (Equine Reproductive Services) has surveyed owners of horses and studs about their use of wormers.

Haven Veterinary Group (Web)-102215 WORMS.jpg

Project WORMS stands for ‘Working to Overcome Resistance and Make for a Sustainable future’.

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This project is an ongoing collaboration between several large veterinary groups and organisations, including VetPartners, CVS, IVC, BEVA and Equine Reproductive Services. Project WORMS recognises the need to work together to protect equine health and welfare and tackle the growing resistance to worming products. A responsible approach to the use of wormers is crucial to maximise animal welfare and ensure we have effective products available in the future.

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Owner Survey

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  • There were 4232 usable responses

  • Only 22% of owners alternate or co-graze their horses with ruminants

  • 73% of owners 'poo-picked' (removed faeces from pasture), of which 86% did this twice weekly or more

  • Alternate/co-grazing and poo-picking are effective methods of worm control, so there is opportunity to increase these and improve worm control

  • Less than 5% of owners had experienced any suspected worm-related illness in any of their horses

  • 85% of owners had regular faecal worm egg counts (FECs) on their horses, though 30% of owners gave anthelmintics at least annually regardless of any test results

  • Owners who sought advice on worming from their vet were significantly more likely to have regular FECs, and to make decisions on worming based on these.

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For more information please access the published results for parts one and two of the owners survey:

Stud Survey

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  • There were 56 useable responses

  • 36% of stud farm owners/managers reported perceived parasite-related illness on their farms in the past year

  • 28% reported anthelmintic resistance on their property

  • 32% of farms never poo-picked, 89% harrowed paddocks and 57% co-grazed with ruminants

  • The most common choice of anthelmintic for mares was a moxidectin-praziquantel combination, and the most common choice for foals was fenbendazole.

  • Parasite-related disease and anthelmintic resistance appears to be common on stud farms, but the findings highlight key opportunities to increase effective control methods, decrease practices which could increase parasite transmission and refine anthelmintic use.

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Both parts one and two of the stud survey were accepted for publication by BEVA. These can be accessed here:

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Next Steps

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  • We are now continuing the collaboration and asking livery and competition training yard owners/managers how they control worms on their yard. This survey has recently closed, and we have begun work on the analysis.​

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At VetPartners we are fortunate to have an engaging and approachable Clinical Board Support Team (CBST) with both clinical and extensive research experience. To learn more about the work of the CBST and how they empower our teams to undertake clinical quality improvement and research, click here.

To find out more about the work we do visit VetPartners Learning or email us at clinical.board@vetpartnersgroup.com

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