Dung samples for worm counts. Anyone doing it? Can report back?

kirstyl

kirstyl

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As above.

I have recently moved to a very small yard with only 5 horses. Rather than blanket worm them all, we would like to go down the dung sampling route and worm as necessary. So - has anyone else gone down this route and if so, who do you use, and how much does it cost? Many thanks in advance x
 
hi, we use abbey diagnostics (its about £6 per sample and you can build up loyalty points towards getting one free).

There are 7 horses on our yard and it works really well. My youngster had an inital high count when she came to me and by worming as required and using these, she now has a low worm burden as do the rest.

You can request x amount of samples and once they are sent to you, you take one tub, put the provided glove on, get a fresh sample, put it in the pot (this has a label on for your surname and ponies name). The you put it in plastic bag (also provided) in case of any mishaps in post and then await your results. You can request results via email or by post.
 
I use Westgate Labs, started last year, costs about £11 per sample incl P&P I think (every 12 weeks) and been very pleased with their service and advice/information provided. Worm counts just check for strongyles and some other worms but can't show tapeworm or encysted redworms so you still need to worm for these at appropriate times of year - tapeworm in spring and autumn and for the encysted redworms it's winter, Dec/Jan time.

http://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/
 
Thanks for your help! Interested to know why worm counts can't show tapeworm or redworm? Having moved from a yard which overwormed but didn't poo pick at all, I am keen to just administer what my horse needs. Big differences in price - £6 to £11. Lots of food for thought!
 
I've used Westgate as well for years, they are brilliant, but read their website to understand the limitations of worm counts and why you still need to work for tapeworm.
 
We worm count all the horses at our yard & normally all are alright, if any show worms they invariably will be new liveries. Each autumn we worm for tape because, as someone has mentioned, worm counts don't pick that up & we'd need blood samples. We use either Abbey Diagnostics or Westgate Lab, we check which is the cheapest for the number of horses we have & go with them.

Blanket worming puts chemicals into the horses bodies that for most of the time aren't needed.
 
I have mine worm counted two or three times a year. all come back clear so far. apart from worming for tapeworm i havent used any other wormer for a year and a half. We get ours done through our vet.
 
I do a worm count every 3 months/12 weeks.

There's an interesting thread in Veterinary section on here at the moment about worming so do have a read of that too. It's quite technical but interesting nonetheless!
 
I have been using a 3 year Minimalist worming programme for 6 years now , which is devised for my horse etc, it incorporates 3 worm counts per year ... as to this date ALL worm counts have came back Below 50 EPG (eggs per gram) which means no worm eggs have been found in the sample.

fantastic :D

I use westgate labs for the worm counts
 
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