AUTUMN 2019 EQUUS 498 9
grandfather told me he was selling
Hard Twist to a man from Tucson,
Arizona. I remember we had to lead the
colt up the hill from the post because
the road was real muddy that winter.
I can’t remember the man’s name
who bought him, but I know he raced
him in Arizona and finally sold him to
Mr. Blackwell from Amarillo, Texas. He
became a world champion stallion.
Bronson Kirk Springstead, DVM
Jarales, New Mexico
Surveillance deworming
I enjoyed “Surveillance Deworming
Made Simple” (EQUUS 497). I’ve been
waiting for my trusted source of horse
health news to cover this important
topic. My veterinarian got me on board
in 2011. I bought my own (inexpensive)
microscope and McMaster slides, and
I make my own flotation solution. I
have owned the same four horses most
of these years, and I do find that one
horse is always the high shedder.
The winter of 2013 to 2014 was
particularly harsh for Alabama (I got
chilblains for the first time in my life)
and I did not have to deworm for an
entire year. Since then with normal
mild winters, fecal egg counts (FEC)
have been very high for all four horses
every spring and my veterinarian
recommends a fenbendazole power
dose. Then only the high shedder
needs deworming in summer.
Over the years I have seen some
strange things through my microscope,
and once I even saw a tapeworm
egg. While collecting manure once,
I found a bot fly larva (which I saved
in a baggie to ask my vet about!). I
do wonder about horse resistance.
My high shedder never has the FEC
reduction after a power dose that the
other horses have. This year she had
only a 60 percent reduction, while the
other three were at 90 percent.
Michelle McCord
Deatsville, Alabama“Curly” allergy therapy?
We read “Hypoallergenic Horses:
Fact or Myth?” (Medical Front,
EQUUS 497) about curly horse coats
with interest.
Having been breeders of curly
horses for 30 plus years, we have had
many experiences with individuals
who claim to be allergic to horses
but showed no symptoms when they
rubbed ours, even to the point of
exposing bare skin to the horse.
We would encourage any individual
with “horse allergies” to experience a
curly horse.
Tom and Brenda McNally
Minerva, New YorkWrite to Letters, EQUUS, P.O. Box 7510,
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