Effective use of faecal worm egg counts, where a sample of dung is tested, will allow you to monitor your horse’s worm burden. This test detects the presence of adult stages of roundworms. Tests are mainly performed through spring and summer and possibly early autumn.
The contents of a feacal worm egg count kit include:
Horses must not have been wormed 14 days prior to testing
It is important to worm only when necessary, as using less drugs will slow down the inevitable resistance that develops from overuse of the worming products.
The worm egg count test done on your horses dung sample will measure the number of worm eggs in the sample. This then gives us a good indication of how many active egg laying adult worms are in your horse’s gut.
A count above 200 epg (eggs per gram of faeces) is as an indication that worming your horse should be considered.
An egg count below 200 epg is considered sufficiently low not to warrant worming on this particular occasion. This however must be viewed in the context of the horse’s environment, what other horses live and graze on the same fields and what their egg counts are. If the egg count is below 200 epg and depending on the risks they are exposed to we recommend retesting in 4-6 weeks.
Please remember to manage horses as a herd - You may get an egg count that is closer to 1000 epg or up to 3000 epg, these particular results suggest immediate treatment.
IF YOUR HORSE LOOKS UNWELL AND IS IN POOR CONDITION AND YOU ARE CONCERNED IT IS ALWAYS ADVISABLE TO CONSULT YOUR VET.