Worms in Horses:At StockWatch we love our horses too. Whether you ride for pleasure, perform Dressage, Show Jump, enjoy Pony Club or want your next prospect to win the Picnic Races or a Cox Plate, a StockWatch Worm Egg Count will ensure you and your horses are on top of their game. What is a Faecal Egg Count: One of the most useful tools in any parasite control program is the faecal egg count – a microscopic examination of fresh manure for parasite eggs. A faecal egg count involves collecting a small amount of manure from the horse or horses you wish to test and sending it to a laboratory to be tested. The test determines which parasites are present and whether the infection is light, moderate or heavy. Results are expressed as eggs per gram (epg) of manure. A faecal egg count of fewer than 200 epg is considered low. A count of between 200 and 500 is considered in the moderate range and anything above 500 is considered high. Results are forwarded within 24 hours of arrival at the lab. By conducting faecal egg counts and follow up tests, you can build a picture of each horse’s susceptibility to parasites and gauge the effectiveness of your worming program, allowing you to draw an accurate picture of the parasite management issues on your property or the property on which your horses graze. It is a well know fact that some horses harbour high parasite numbers whilst others have a more natural resistance and consistently maintain a low burden. Incorporating faecal egg counts into your management program will help you identify the horses most susceptible to parasites, and allow you to treat each horse as required. Follow up tests will show whether the drench you are using is effective and will help you fully evaluate your overall drenching program. There is no doubt that a well structured drenching program is a must. This does not mean simply pasting every six weeks or so, it means knowing what your horse is dealing with and working with him to deal with parasite pressures. A faecal egg count will provide you with the much needed information on the effectiveness of your program and will suggest important changes that might make it more effective – perhaps even using less drenches at the same time. It is possible for worms to become resistant to a particular drench family or active ingredient. In that case the particular drench you’re delivering may be largely ineffective. Some of your horses may be more naturally resistant to worms and simply don’t require treatment as often as others. The ultimate aim for any horse owner should be to use as little drench as possible to obtain the maximum effective control. Over drenching can cause serious drench resistance problems making it harder to control worms, and therefore affecting future performance and health. Under drenching can be placing your horses under great pressure from worms that are robbing the nutrients they require. Worms in livestock are the invisible thieves. It is easy to be totally unaware your horse is suffering from a high worm burden. Better to check before your horse shows the clinical signs, by that stage damage has been done. Worm eggs can only be seen through a microscope. A simple StockWatch test will give you an immediate answer on whether you need to drench or not or if the drench you just used has been effective. We know...some horses can be difficult to paste! Send us a sample to test ...you might avoid the struggle if they have a low worm burden. Sample Collection: We do not require large amounts of sample. A sample about the size of a tennis ball is ideal. Any more than this will only be discarded and add to the postage expenses. Please seal all bags well and tape boxes closed. Try to minimise the risk of smelly packages! Whilst it won’t offend or bother us, the good staff at Australia Post may be more sensitive! Many Thanks. Individual Animal: Use a zip lock type bag, a sandwich bag is ideal. Collect fresh manure from the paddock or stable. Ensure it came from the horse you wish to test! Using a gloved hand, take a three finger pinch from different locations in the manure. If the manure is very soft a plastic spoon will be useful. If you don’t have access to gloves a plastic bag inverted over your hand can be just as easy for keeping your hands clean. If you are testing a few horses at a time gather the samples and clearly label the bags with the horse’s names and post them together. You can use a padded bag or post box. If possible download a Test Request Form, available on our website, fill in and post with the samples. We have test kits available although this is not essential. They contain some zip lock bags and gloves and a spoon along with some paper work that can be accessed using the link on this page. If you are able to collect and send your samples in your own packaging you will help save the extra postage expenses and assist us in keeping our testing costs down for everyone. Horse Worm Test : For a Mob average or individual animals offering simple sample collection, quickly answering if drenching is required or your recent drench has performed. This testing method we uses all the sample for testing. Important as eggs can be unevenly distributed in Horse dung. This test is refered to as a Standard test on our Request form. Liver Fluke Testing: A StockWatch Liver Fluke Test is reported as either Positive or Negative. A positive result indicates the presence of adult liver fluke. If positive, management actions are most likely required. Basic Drench Resistance Testing - it doesn't get simpler. Collect and send us sample 10 to 14 days after you have drenched to see if the drench you are using is effective or if it's time to rotate your drench.
Demo Report (PDF) Guide to Results (PDF) Drench Resistance Testing: Couldn't be simpler - Send us a sample 10 to 14 days after drenching. If the sample still contains worm eggs then the drench you are using hasn't worked. For the best results send a sample prior to drenching so you know the starting point. For example your first test may show 1160 eggs per gram (a high count). Then after drenching the results from the second test (sampled 10 to 14 days later) will hopefully be 0 or very close to. If not it is time to look at the drenching program. For the fastest results simply download a request form, fill in the details and send with your sample/s to StockWatch Reply Paid 423 Temora NSW 2666. Still unsure - We are always available to discuss results or answer queries. Contact us The majority of our work comes from repeat clients and through word of mouth from our happy customers. Feel free to forward our link to a friend Link. |
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