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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Worms in horse poop

16 years ago

Hi All,

So, I'm bartering time cleaning stalls for riding lessons now. The Farm has just found that two of its horses have worms, even though they've been fed the de-worm medicine.

Is it all right to use horse-wormy-manure in my compost bin? Can anything be transmitted to humans? I'd probably have something already if that were the case, having stood *in* the manure while cleaning stalls...

I'm not worried about the de-worming medicine harming earthworms in my compost bin, just worried that humans (or my pets) might catch horse-worms from having the stuff on my property.

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Comments (4)

Belgianpup
16 years ago
Most parasites are host-specific. I worked for a vet for 12 years and never heard of one that humans could get, or any kind that could be passed to dogs or cats. But you could call your vet and make sure, esp if you have other kinds of grass-eaters (goats, llamas, alpacas, etc).

Piling up the manure and composting it should kill off most parasites. It gets hottest in the center, so after a few days or a week (or so), scrape off the outside of the pile and make another pile right beside the first one, sort of turning the whole pile inside-out. Do this several times and it should kill most pathogens and parasites.

Sue
Kimmsr
16 years ago
There are a number of intestinal worms that can be passed from animals to humans, most often that would be dogs and cats. Probably those intestinal worms in the horses would not be passed between the equines and humans but the major reason to eliminate them is that they will cause the horses health to decline. But intestinal worms can be passed from pets to people, and has been done, and is still being done, mostly because of poor hygiene.
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bob64
16 years ago
Don't know what the specific dangers to you are, you should probably talk with the veterinarian that treats the horses. The horses might be getting re-infected directly or indirectly from the presence of the manure piles. Some parasites go in an endless cycle in and out of their hosts. In one place in Africa I remember reading that human infection from a nasty worm was drastically reduced by straining the lake drinking water that was infected with worms that managed to get back into the water after they left their human hosts in what had previously been an endless cycle. Don't be paranoid but be aware that one can get ill or transfer illness from animals. For instance, pregnant women are better advised to not handle cats.
Belgianpup
16 years ago
..."pregnant women are better advised to not handle cats."

Pregnant women are advised not to handle LITTER BOXES AND CONTENTS! Few cats actually are carrying toxoplasmosis (the feared culprit). But it's a good excuse to get other members of the household to do something for a change.

Sue

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