Students find sweeter way to treat equine parasites

A project looking at how to reduce parasites in horses has won a Teagasc award at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) 2023.

Transition year students Aine Shortall and Kate Whyte from Moate Community School, Co Westmeath, are the winners of the Teagasc award. Their project looked at creating a solution to anthelmintic resistance in horses.

They trialled a number of different herbs to reduce populations of parasites such as lungworm, redworm and liver fluke in horses.
They created a nutritious horse treat containing common herbs to act as a natural equine worm treatment. The herbs they used were Slippery Elm, Fennel, Thyme and Mint.

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The students fed the horses a treat each day for five days and measured the faecal egg count over a two-week period. They found that that the combined treat, including all four herbs but with a greater quantity of mint, was the most effective treatment, with a decrease of 92% in the faecal egg count.

The students said that as horse owners they were motivated to find a chemical-free alternative for treating equine parasites.
They were advised by their teachers Irene O’Sullivan and Mairead Cusack. Orla Keane, a Research Officer at Teagasc Grange, advised the students on the methodology.

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The winners of the 59th BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) were announcedat the RDS on Friday last. The Teagasc special award winners also placed second in the Intermediate Group in the Biological and Ecological Sciences category.
The Teagasc special award at BTYSTE, is awarded to the project that best demonstrates a thorough understanding of the science of agricultural or food production, or the use of science to improve technologies available to agricultural or food production.