Owners urged to safeguard physical and mental health as wet winter takes its toll.
Horse owners shouldn’t beat themselves up if they can’t poo-pick waterlogged ground.
“When the ground is saturated and a wheelbarrow will not move, regular poo-picking can become impossible. And with that often comes guilt,” explains Claire Shand at parasite control specialist Westgate Labs.
While good pasture hygiene matters, there are times when the weather wins, she says.
“When the ground is saturated and you physically cannot get across it with a barrow, there’s nothing to do but accept the situation.
“Beating yourself up achieves nothing. The key is to focus on what you can control and have a sensible plan for when conditions improve.”
Real-world experience
Westgate Labs supplies faecal worm egg count kits and offers testing and worming advice to horse owners and yard managers in real-world situations.
As a depressingly wet winter lingers on, Claire says owners shouldn’t put their health at risk trying to achieve perfection.
“Give yourself permission,” she says. “Trying to drag barrows through deep mud risks injury to you, damage to what little of the sward is left and unnecessary stress.
“Welfare includes yours as well as your horse’s. Parasite control is important, but so is avoiding burnout.”
When it dries out, act strategically
As ground conditions improve, start by removing accumulated droppings as thoroughly as possible, Claire suggests. Even a few focused sessions can significantly reduce contamination before larvae migrate further onto grazing areas.
If you are considering harrowing to break up droppings, timing is critical.
Harrowing spreads larvae across the pasture, so it should only be done during dry, warm conditions when fields can then be rested. Ideally, rest harrowed pasture for at least six months before grazing again. Without that rest period, harrowing can increase, not reduce, infection risk.
Where space allows, rotate grazing to give heavily contaminated areas a break. Even partial rotation, for example fencing off the worst gateway zones, can help. If you have access to sheep or cattle grazing, mixed species grazing can dilute equine specific parasites.
For many small set-ups, resting land for long periods is not realistic. In those cases, the focus shifts to monitoring.
Keep testing, keep assessing
After a winter when pasture hygiene has been compromised, regular worm egg counts become even more important. Testing at appropriate intervals every 8-12 weeks allows you to see whether egg shedding is rising.
Use a structured risk assessment approach to review stocking density, age groups and recent history. If conditions have increased exposure, testing will highlight this before clinical signs appear. Evidence-based decisions are especially valuable when management options are limited.
Moving forward, not backwards
A wet winter does not undo years of responsible parasite control. What matters is how we respond. Remove what you can when you can. Rest and rotate where practical. Test regularly. Treat only when evidence supports it.
Most importantly, look after your horse and yourself, Claire advises owners. Sustainable parasite control is about balance, not perfection.
