Worming - what do you do?

[maximum]

The new yard that Max is going to does not worm at all.

instead every 10 weeks every horses poop is sent off for worm count and only those who come back with count get wormed. The worer used will be on the advice of the vet.

I saw the last set of counts and 80% of the horses had 0 count.

the worm count costs £8.20 so cheaper than wormer and you dont fill your horse with un-necessary chemicals.

[dannyboy]

I think thats a great way to control it - as you say why worm with un-necessary chemicals if the horse don't need it!! Cheaper too!!

[haffyfan]

Thats what I do Maxie but I give mine (or try to..lol) herbal wormers every 2/3 months as well.

Easy verm are best and only ones Murph will eat but you can't get them for love nor money now...quick warning...there are some for sale on ebay at minute from a shop in I think Bingham Nottinghamshire...DO NOT buy them they are nearly four months out of date!!! Did get a refund but seller is VILE and had to be chased for it. And despite knowing they are out of date they are still on ebay a foirtnight later.
He will not go anywhere near his bucket if I use verm x so I actually gave him a chemical one at weekend just incase as he had been scratching his bum and will do another count in a couple of weeks.

BTW I was told by Westgate labs, who I have my counts with, that they will never ever give a zero count. less than 50 eggs per gram, no eggs seen is the best you can get.

[zara]

I would much prefer to do worm counts than give my horse unnecessary chemicals, wish my YO would consider it Zx

[maximum]

the yard uses Liphook so aybe they have different limits?

what do they advise if the count if less than 50?

[haffyfan]

No need to do anything....mine have always been this which suprised me with harry's history but he was throughly chemical wormed on arrival.

They say start to think about worming when it rises to around 200epg and will advise what sort of worms you are dealing with according to their lit.

[maximum]

good the more I think of it the more I wonder why i didnt do this before!

[brigadier]

Its deffo the way to go- there was an article in Horse and Hound about how we are creating super worms because of all the chemicals we use and that some worms are resistant to most wormers on the market. Im stuck with wormers at moment as my yard does not poo pick and the fields are just too big to do- but I showed he YO the article and I think she may let me get a worm count done but I fear because of the non poo picking it may show positive!

I saw a few herbal wormers being sold off for a quid each in my local shop but didnt buy any! duh!

[slinky]

Worm counts are definately the way forward, and for once the best option, seems to be the cheapest option.

[aimee]

I really want to start worm counting instead of pumping paste through them all. But its pointless just doing Fern while everyone else is just going to stick to the pastes. I'm gonna keep bugging them though.

[ceej]

worm counts dont show up all worms though - I dont think they show up things like encysted redworm (as they are in the walls of the stomach and dont get into the 'poop' chain, so have to be careful with this method. I am not sure they show up tapeworms either? The above two worms are the worst!

I persoanlly worm every 6-9 months, and always once a year for tapeworm and once for encysted worms. The reason for this is that I poo pick regularly and my horses dont really come into contact with many others (so I maybe wouldnt recommend this method for a big yard where there is lots of mixed grazing etc. I do it as little as often because of the situation my horses are in and because I dont agree with doing it too often - it upsets the natural balance of the stomach.
If I were you maxi, I woudl find out what worms a worm count doesnt show up and worm him for that say every 6-12 months to make sure he is covered...

[ceej]

found this


What does a worm count measure

All worm eggs seen in the sample will be reported. These are most usually strongyle eggs - both large and small redworm. We do not differentiate between the two at the egg stage (we would have to cultivate them to the larval stage) but as the treatment is the same we simply report them as strongyles, a standard practice.

We also see ascarids -roundworm, although these are much less common.

Tapeworm eggs frequently appear in samples and are reported, but this is not a definitive test for tapeworm. It is possible for a horse to be carrying tapeworm and yet no eggs appear in the sample because of the way these eggs are expelled in "packets" or segments. A segment must burst and release the eggs for them to be seen under the microscope. You may see segments of tapeworm in the droppings.

Sometimes worm larvae are seen and these are reported.

A faecal egg count will not indicate bots as the eggs are found sticking to the horses' legs.



it also said this


It is important to realise the uses and limitations of a worm count before taking the decision to reduce your worming programme.

An initial test will determine the level of adult, egg laying, parasites present at that time. It will not show immature or encysted worms so you should treat the result with caution. You will feel much more confident after a series of counts when a picture of your horses’ internal health begins to emerge.

Bear in mind the worming history and management of your horse. Are droppings cleared from the paddock? Is the horse kept in his own field with the same friends? Are all the horses wormed together? All these considerations must be taken into account to determine the level of threat from parasites.

If you then have consistently clear or low counts, you are probably in a good position to reduce your worming.

Please note that we will be happy to discuss your worming programme with you, but if you wish to follow a reduced schedule then you must take the decision to do so yourself. You may also want to have a chat with your vet.

All the wormer manufacturers can provide you with a standard worming programme, based on their own products, if this is what you need.

If you have decided to worm only as the count indicates, then normal practice is to worm when the count begins to rise towards 200 e.p.g.. This system can work very well.

If you find you have wormed very little during a year, then you may wish to include one worming for encysted worms in late autumn, as a safeguard.

Don’t forget about tapeworm! You will need to worm for tapeworm, preferably late in the year, unless a blood test, taken by your vet, shows that there are none present.

N.B. We can never report a zero count. The method, used by all labs, is statistical and we can only say with certainty that there are <50 e.p.g. (less than fifty eggs per gram). So <50 is as low as it goes!


ahh I now found this

NB: the worm count cannot test for larval parasites in the walls of the intestines. It is therefore important to dose all horses for this problem. A faecal egg count will also not detect levels of tapeworm present in a horse. The only method of assessing tapeworm infection is to use a blood test as created by Dr Chris Proudman at Liverpool.

i think the encysted redworms are the ones in the walls of the intestines.


so all in all maybe I would do as i said above - use a wormer maybe twice a year - oone that deals with encysted and one that deals with tapeworm - this will be much less harsh than using a broad spectrum wormer all year round ;D

[gingernut]

I worm count A and P, as P is a bit sensitive, but always worm for redworms regardless as they really do come damage and also for tapeworm.

[scattymare]

We worm about 3 times a year with different wormers each time. There is only the two together an we poo pick regularly. They have just had 2 doses (with interval, not together!) of invermectin as they were sharing with a donkey for a while so wanted to make sure any chance of lungworm was ridden of.

[florence]

My horse has been wormed regularly on a programme since I've had him but I have wondered if if this is affecting immune systems or the balance of bacteria in the gut. Also your vet bills seem to be far more reasonable than here. I had a worm count done a few weeks ago and it was over £16.

[maximum]

florence - it is Liphook that the yard uses but maybe due to numbers it is cheaper?

ceej- they are dosed for tapeworm twice a year but will look into it more when I move and can have a chat with the vet who has initiated this but he is one of scotlands best vets so am pretty confident they are doing right thing. I am probably not giving all the information!

[haffyfan]

Florence I use these...cheaper than yours and my vets. You can get individual kits too
www.westgatelabs.co.uk/4count.htm

[florence]

Maximum - yes, it could have been because of numbers. I only had mine done plus one other and we were charged separately.

haffyfan - thanks for the link. I've put it on my favorites and will send it to my YO when she returns from her holiday. I don't think she sill stop the worming programme, but I may well just do it for my horse only as there's no time limit for the pack to be used.

[finefilly]

ive started to use worm counts. i have persuaded the other girl in our field to do it too so all the horses in our field have it done. my vet said it is better to do worm count instead of pumping chemicals into them all the time as they get resistant to them. but worm for tapeworm and redworm. i use westgate labs, as i wasnt aware of any other company that do it. i got a pack of 4 which was a little bit cheaper.

[marybee]

hiya - this sounds like a great method - my mare is in a field with a yearling and a wee pony, and even tho its very restricted and just the three of them so poo picking would be effortless, she is in foal - would it be safe to base her worming on worm counts right now?

x

[haffyfan]

I would think so......try contacting westgate labs about it/see their site. They are very helpful and unbiased as they do not work with any worming companies bar the herbal wormer verm x.

The counts just highlight what (if any) worming action you need to take so basically you only need t worm if the count level is above a certain level and they will advise then as to what to do. It dosen't show up everything but as others have said just do a yearly routine dose for tapeworms etc alongside your reduced program

[popsicle]

Think i might try the worm count way. Currently we worm them every 3 months with Equest and Equest pramox alternately and although they don't seem to have any ill effects, i would prefer not to keep pumping them full of chemicals.