BEVA primary care clinical guidelines: Equine parasite control.
Authors: Rendle David, Hughes Kristopher, Bowen Mark, Bull Katie, Cameron Ian, Furtado Tamzin, Peachey Laura, Sharpe Laura, Hodgkinson Jane
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary: BEVA Primary Care Clinical Guidelines for Equine Parasite Control The British Equine Veterinary Association convened a multidisciplinary panel of veterinary scientists to address a critical gap in equine medicine: how to protect individual horses from parasitic disease whilst simultaneously preserving anthelmintic efficacy across populations by slowing resistance development. Using a modified GRADE framework, the expert group systematically searched veterinary literature and developed evidence-based recommendations or practical guidance for 37 clinically relevant questions concerning anthelmintic use in horses. A sobering finding emerged from this rigorous process—the evidence base underpinning current equine parasite control practices proved surprisingly weak, necessitating that recommendations for many scenarios rely on expert consensus and extrapolated data rather than robust clinical trials. The resulting guidelines identify specific shifts in diagnostic and treatment protocols that practitioners should consider adopting to mitigate parasitic disease risk and delay the emergence of further anthelmintic resistance. For farriers, veterinarians, physiotherapists, and other equine professionals involved in horse management, these guidelines represent the current gold standard for parasite control decisions, whilst simultaneously signalling where future research must focus to strengthen the evidence base upon which equine health protocols depend.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Current parasite control recommendations lack strong evidence—work with your veterinarian to tailor protocols to individual horse risk rather than following routine blanket strategies
- •Anthelmintic resistance is a real threat; judicious use and selective treatment based on fecal egg count testing help preserve drug efficacy for when you truly need them
- •These new BEVA guidelines provide a framework for evidence-based decisions on parasite control, replacing outdated consensus where research is lacking
Key Findings
- •37 clinically relevant questions addressing anthelmintic use in horses were systematically evaluated using modified GRADE framework
- •Insufficient evidence exists to answer many equine parasite control questions with certainty, requiring reliance on expert opinion and extrapolation
- •Current equine parasite control practices have a weak evidence base, necessitating guideline updates to reduce disease risk and delay anthelmintic resistance development
- •Consensus recommendations developed for balancing individual horse parasite disease prevention against population-level anthelmintic stewardship