[Parasitological prevalence of cart-horses in Curitiba, Paraná]

The carthorses are used as an alternative for people of low income for collecting recyclable material. However, these horses are managed without proper assistance, suffering several problems, among them the parasites. In this study we used 41 animals, their body condition score and other parameters were analyzed and parasite egg count was performed from fecal samples. It was determined the absence of eggs on 12% and parasite infection in 88%. Strongylids were found in all contaminated animals, often associated with oocysts or Parascaris equorum. This condition may be due to poor nutritional management and unreasonable work load that these animals are submitted. There is an urgent need for improvements in the management of health and parasites control programs to these animals.