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Getting
to know the

Enemy:
Your Horse and Equine Strongyles
By: Sam Fanelli One of the biggest struggles for horse owners across the globe is combating intestinal parasites such as equine strongyles, a nematode of the Strongyloidea superfamily. Knowing and understanding the threat that these can pose is the first and most crucial step in providing protection for your animals. Few people know strongyles are one of the most common and potentially dangerous parasites around the world, and underestimating them can even be fatal.

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For centuries, parasites have plagued doctors and their patients alike, as they continuously develop clever ways to avoid detection and destruction. Through different cloaking mechanisms and toxins, they have succeeded in averting even the strongest antibiotics and other anti-microbial agents. No parasite can fight the power of simple knowledge, however, and education about these worms medical manifestation is ultimately crucial to keeping them under control. Equine strongyles are part of the family Strongylidae and can be subdivided into large strongyles (Strongylinae) and small strongyles (Cyathostominae) based on size and behavior. Outside of the horse, these two groups behavior fairly similarly, but once they have made their way in, they take two very different approaches to infection. Large strongyles quickly migrate out of the intestine and travel through various bodily tissues for six to eleven months before settling down in the intestine again to mature and lay eggs. Small strongyles are less adventurous and instead establish a small capsule of scar tissue to take up residence in within the lining of the large intestine. This cyst provides protection of the parasite during growth as well as temporary protection of the horse before the larvae emerge to complete their maturation into adults. Symptoms are thus more variable with a Cyathostominae infection, due to these cysts that provoke such a small immune response. The number and species of strongyle truly determines the degree and severity of the symptoms, and cases can vary between mild and even deadly. These parasites can cause a range of serious intestinal damages due to migration or cyst rupture. Diarrhea, weight loss, bloating, and loss of appetite are common to both small and large strongyle infections and are common to most parasitic

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infections of the gut. The unique manner in which these pathogens live within their host, however, leads to a broader variety of more serious symptoms. The migration of large strongyles leads to swelling, inflammation, bleeding ulcers, and blood clots in the various organs and tissues traversed by the parasites. Within the dozens of species of strongyles, the most recognized and most dangerous of the large strongyles is Strongylus vulgaris (S. vulgaris). In their migration through the body, the larval stages of S. vulgaris can actually invade the lining of the arteries of the gut and cause restricted blood flow, clustered blood clots, or even infarctions (tissue death) when the worms create a blockage. In severe cases, the mesenteric artery can even rupture, and the horse will die. Small strongyles tend to cause more localized inflammation and hemorrhage after cyst rupture. The release of a large number of strongyles simultaneously can result in intense irritation to the lining of the large intestine and impaired motility of the gut in a condition called larval cyathostomosis. Strongyles as a whole cause major pain and discomfort and can even be life-threatening; thus, numerous methods to treat them exist although they possess varying degrees of success. Most broad-spectrum dewormers are marketed to treat both large and small strongyles, but these claims tend to fall short in real life application and can actually cause more problems for future infections. Out of the numerous types and classes, only two classes can actually treat the migrating larval stage of the large strongyles. These include macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin/moxidectin) and high doses of benzamidazoles (Panacur), and they are largely ineffective against small strongyles. Through years of focus on treating large strongyle infections and neglecting small strongyles, they have

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begun to build up a resistance against most dewormers, which is only improved by their ability to encyst in the tissues. Moxidectin and fenbendazole are known to be fairly effective against infections of small strongyles, so treatment is available. Avoiding an infection altogether, however, is the best method of treatment, and prevention should be a more heavy focus to eliminate this threat entirely. The infection is picked up through ingesting eggs passed in the feces when grazing, so eliminating fecal-oral transmission is the most effective way to prevent the spread of equine strongyles. Strongyle transmission is almost entirely limited to pastureraised horses, and limiting time in pastures or in close proximity to other horses can alleviate some of the risk. It is generally not cost-effective to eliminate pasture-grazing entirely, so careful observation of your horses for signs of illness or their feces for eggs can indicate when horses need to be separated. Attempts to completely eradicate strongyles from a specific pasture are difficult if not impossible, as the larvae can survive perilous conditions including long periods of cold and drought. Pasture management is far less practical than management at the individual equine level; the simplest method is to watch for signs and keep a close eye on all of your horses. Infections that are caught quickly can be more easily treated and prevented from spreading when the strongyles have had less time to reproduce. Diligence and knowing the parasite they are fighting are all any horse owner needs to keep their animals safe.