As the leaves start to change and temperatures cool down, it’s easy to overlook one of the most crucial parts of seasonal care for your horses and dogs: fall deworming. While springtime tends to steal the spotlight for maintenance routines, fall is an equally important time to address the internal health of your animals. Parasites are crafty, and ensuring your horses and dogs are properly dewormed during this season can make all the difference in their health going into winter.

Why Fall Deworming Matters

During the warmer months, parasites such as bots, strongyles, and roundworms thrive, particularly in pastures where horses graze. In dogs, heartworms, hookworms, and tapeworms are common threats, with warm weather creating the perfect conditions for their life cycles to continue. By fall, the parasite load is often at its peak, making it the perfect time to interrupt this cycle and ensure your animals head into winter healthy and parasite-free.

Deworming in the fall also prepares animals for the challenges of colder weather. Their immune systems need to be in top shape, and carrying a heavy worm burden can weaken their defenses, leading to more serious health issues when food sources and nutrition may be lower, and energy needs are higher.

The Science Behind Timing Deworming

At Silver Lining Herbs, we believe in strategic deworming—focusing on the life cycle of parasites to minimize resistance and keep worm loads low. Fall deworming is especially important because it addresses the encysted larval stages of parasites like small strongyles in horses, which can survive through winter if left untreated. In dogs, intestinal worms can survive in soil and organic matter for months, posing a risk even during cooler seasons. By deworming in the fall, you’re not only treating active parasites but also preventing future outbreaks.

Horses: A Fall Focus on Bots and Encysted Strongyles

Horses are especially vulnerable to bots during the summer, and these larvae continue to grow inside the animal through the fall. Botfly eggs, which are laid on the horse’s skin during the summer, hatch into larvae and are ingested when the horse grooms itself. These larvae then embed in the horse’s stomach lining, remaining there through winter if not treated. By deworming in the fall, you eliminate these larvae before they cause digestive issues and weight loss during colder months.

Encysted small strongyles are another concern for horses. These larvae can burrow into the intestinal walls, remaining dormant through winter and causing issues when they emerge in the spring. Deworming in the fall helps target these parasites while they are vulnerable and prevents a massive outbreak in the spring.

Dogs: Preventing Heartworm and Other Parasites

While many people associate heartworm prevention with spring and summer, fall is just as critical. Heartworm larvae, spread by mosquitoes, mature and become more resilient as the seasons change. By deworming in the fall, you can stop these larvae before they develop into adult heartworms, which can cause severe respiratory and heart issues.

Other parasites, like tapeworms and hookworms, are also prevalent in the fall, particularly in dogs that spend time outdoors. These parasites can cause symptoms ranging from digestive upset to anemia and overall lethargy. Fall deworming provides a vital safeguard against these pests, ensuring your dog stays healthy through the colder months when their immune system may be more vulnerable.

The Holistic Approach: Supporting Your Animals Through Deworming

At Silver Lining Herbs, we understand that chemical dewormers are not the only answer. Our holistic approach focuses on supporting the body’s natural ability to manage parasites. For horses, our Parasite Blend offers herbal support to help maintain a healthy gut and digestive system while combating common parasites. In dogs, our Canine Parasite Blend offers similar benefits, promoting gut health while naturally aiding the body's response to parasite burdens.

These blends are designed to work in harmony with your animal’s body, minimizing harsh chemical impacts and supporting overall health.

Conclusion: A Vital Step for Winter Health

Fall deworming is about more than just getting rid of worms—it’s about setting your horses and dogs up for a healthy, strong winter. By interrupting the parasite life cycle, you give your animals the best chance to thrive as temperatures drop and resources become scarcer. With the right deworming strategy, paired with holistic herbal support from Silver Lining Herbs, you can keep your animals healthy from the inside out.