The University of Kentucky’s Gluck Equine Research Center is releasing 18 educational videos to inform horse owners, farm managers and veterinarians about best practices in equine parasitology. The series will become available over the course of a few months, beginning in October.
According to Martin Nielsen, creator of the videos and the Schlaikjer professor of equine infectious disease, the videos will be especially relevant and important to those who answer "yes" to any of the following questions: Do you deworm at the first frost? Do you keep your horses stalled following deworming? Do you treat wormy-looking horses with a half-dose of dewormer? (Spoiler alert: "Yes" is the incorrect answer to all of those questions.)
Nielsen’s videos fall into one of three categories: short videos addressing common misconceptions about parasite control; longer educational videos outlining important concepts in parasite control, and videos that inform viewers about current findings, research needs and the importance of the University of Kentucky’s equine research herds, the announcement said.
“As a university researcher, I have an obligation to communicate about my area of research to the public. I am constantly searching for the most efficient way to do so. In this day and age, it seems obvious to communicate about these things on social media,” Nielsen said. “I hope to get some useful information into the hands of horse owners, farm managers and equine veterinarians — and to build some awareness about some of the work we do at the Gluck Center.”
Topics that will be covered over the next several months include:
- Parasite control philosophy;
- Deworm debunk: Deworm at first frost?
- Deworm debunk: Drug rotation;
- Parasite refugia;
- What’s the right dewormer?
- Deworm debunk: Five-day dewormers;
- Deworm debunk: Diatomaceous Earth;
- Pasture hygiene;
- Deworm debunk: Confining horses;
- How the weather affects parasite transmission;
- Pasture management;
- Deworm debunk: Daily dewormers;
- Deworm debunk: Parasite egg counts;
- Single horse considerations;
- Does my horse have worms?
- Deworm debunk: Checking the label, and
- The complexity of resistance genetics.
“I wanted to try and address common misconceptions and myths in equine parasite control,” he said. “In this series, I’ll address one myth or misconception at the time, and in 45 seconds or less, I will explain why it is exactly that: a myth or misconception. These will be interspersed with a few longer videos providing more background information and highlighting recent research findings.”
Those interested in viewing the videos can follow the Gluck Center on Facebook @GluckEquineResearchCenter, on Twitter @UKGluckCenter or at https://horseparasites.ca.uky.edu/.
