It is important to choose the proper FDA-approved medications for the intended use and time treatments to control egg shedding in the environment.

Overuse of deworming medications in recent decades has led to drug resistance in many species.

Fecal flotation and fecal egg count (McMasters) testing are used to identify the type and quantity of parasite(s) present.

Diagnosis of intestinal parasites in horses is based on finding eggs in the manure.

Some horses do not show any signs of infection.

Signs of infection vary based on the type of parasite.Horses usually become infected with intestinal parasites when they eat grass or hay contaminated with manure containing parasite eggs or larvae.Horsehair worms may be found inside homes in toilets causing people to be concerned that it is a human parasite.They are especially noticeable after a rainfall.Horsehair worms are often seen in puddles and other pools of fresh water, swimming pools, water tanks and on plants.When the horsehair worm is mature and near water or damp soil, it emerges from its host.When they infect their host, horsehair worms store up fats and food reserves.It is not clear how immature horsehair worms infect hosts.

They can attack a wide variety of insects and related animals: grasshoppers, crickets, cockroaches, beetles, and katydids, as well as dragonflies, caddisflies, millipedes, centipedes, spiders, crustaceans, leeches, snails, slugs and other invertebrates.Once they hatch, immature horsehair worms try to infect a host.Eggs are laid in a long, gelatinous string in fresh water.It is common to see a number of worms to be intertwined, forming a loose ball during mating.Males coil around females in pools of fresh water or damp soil.Horsehair worms mate during spring, early summer or fall.

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