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Worm counts (Equine)​

<50 EPG: No eggs seen in sample
Good news- no eggs seen. The < means less than, which is the sensitivity level of the test. If this is your result it means we didnt find anything on the slides.

 Keep doing what you're doing and be sure to re test in 8 weeks to keep monitoring the parasite burden-a lot can change in 2 months!

 

LOW ( under 200 EPG) 
Your worming measures are working, and you may wish to delay worming the horse and retest in 8 weeks. 

 

MEDIUM (200-1100 EPG) 
Horse requires worming at this time

 

HIGH (1150+ EPG) 
The horse requires worming with a suitable product and your worm prevention strategy needs reviewing. 

Horse should be retested 2+ weeks after worming if the result is high to ensure it worked correctly and cleared all worms.

By reviewing your worm prevention strategy we mean checking that you are performing regular tests (8-12 weeks), using the most suitable wormers each time needed and good pasture management- poo picking a minimum of 3 times a week with full muck removal , avoiding harrowing and muck spreading as these make it worse, and site the muckheap where ever possible away from the fields.

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Does your horses result indicate they require worming? Contact us for advice on which wormer to use. Our friendly RAMA (Registered Animal Medicine Adviser- formerly SQPS) can help with your yearly worm control programme, use of chemical wormers, resistance issues and modern worm control strategies. Use the contact us page to email or message us on facebook for advice tailored to your horses needs.

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Pinworm test results​

Pinworm results are presented as positive for pinworm or no pinworm detected. This means either pinworm eggs were found in the sample or else none were detected on the sticky strip. If pinworm eggs were detected your results will contain advice of which wormer to use and how to help prevent reinfection. If none were detected and you still suspect pinworm infection it might be a good idea to check you used the sticky tape correctly: before 9am and earlier is better, applied to the hairless anus area then folded sticky side inwards. Female pinworms wriggle out of the anus to lay eggs overnight, if you were late taking the sample or didnt get the right area this can give a false negative. It also relies on the presence of adult female pinworms. If you find a pinworm in your horses poo (beansprout shape), send us a picture to confirm and treat your horse with a suitable product.

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Lungworm test results​

Lungworm results are presented as positive for lungworm or no lungworm detected. This means either lungworm larvae were found in the sample or else none were detected. If lungworm were detected your results will contain advice of which wormer to use and how to proceed. Due to the difficulty isolating lungworm in horse samples (it rarely reaches maturity in horses) its often best to test donkeys if they live together and then treat the herd accordingly. Having said that we have had good success isolating lungworm larvae from horses using the baermann technique. This technique takes longer which is why the results can take a while, but produces better results for lungworm.

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Equisal tapeworm test results​

 Equisal tapeworm tests are sent directly to Austin Davis for testing. The results come back as low, borderline or moderate/high

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Treatment is recommended by Austin Davis Biologics as  follows:

  EquiSal Tapeworm Saliva Score

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< -0.09 LOW (No treatment required)

-0.09 to 0.6 BORDERLINE (treatment recommended)

> 0.6 MODERATE/HIGH (Treatment recommended)

  

If one or more horses requires worming treatment for tapeworm, you must ensure the wormer used is suitable for treating tapeworm and that the correct dose is used for the horse’s weight.

Following worming treatment for tapeworm, we recommend that horses identified as having a borderline or moderate/high result are retested after 2-3 months to determine whether further worming is required.

We recommend that horses are tested routinely every 6 months for tapeworm.