High worm count in 1 pony

[Sparkeyboy]

Just wondered if anyone else had experienced the same and whether it's usual or not...

Previously, I've always wormed horses according to seasons. For the first time, I've used one of the worm count companies and ordered some pots. Sent samples off and had the response today and was surprised to see that 3 out of the 5 had little to no eggs detected. However, my old boy had a 'medium' count and the youngster also had a 'medium' count. All of them share the same routine and are managed the same. Youngster is fairly new to me so i'm not that surprised as I can't comment on how she's previously been managed, but I am surprised at the older pony.

I will follow the guidance and get them both wormed, but just wondered if there's a reason 3 of them had hardly anything, whereas the other 2 came back with significant findings?

FYI - this was testing for roundworms and redworms.

 

[EventingMum]

Some horses are just more predisposed to carrying a work burden than others.

 

[Peglo]

Just been to a talk about worms. Old and young horses are more likely to have a higher count. Old horses because their immunity isn’t as good as it used to be and young because they haven’t yet built up immunity. So that actually makes a lot of sense.

 

[MissTyc]

Yes, and it's exactly why worm counts are an important part of worming programmes, to reduce the use of wormers where they are not required as their efficacy is going down down dowwwwwn.

TL;DR I run a herd of up to 30 horses, and I know which ones carry the burden and which ones don't. We've contributed over 10 years to research into worming practices, so have also been part of the development of saliva tests (and more recently, part of the research into a future saliva test for encysted redworm). This means our horses have had poo samples, saliva samples and blood samples taken over the years, detailed records of wormers used, monthly tests, resistance tests, etc etc etc etc ...

My own observations from the side is that the FEC are "quite accurate" as long as samples are correctly collected. Young and ill usually have higher worm burden, but the young ones should resolve as they mature. Older horses seem to swing either way - some of my "cleanest" have been those in their late 20s/30s - they probably have good immunity and are solid little beasts. Illness and pain correlate with worm burdens (in my non-scientific anecdotal observations!). If a horse has an unexpected worm burden, 9 times out of 10, we can find something "wrong" with the horse. Can be minor - mare in a stressy season, gelding who likes to mount mares and sniff poo piles, etc! Or more major, liver disease in the case of a 12 yo who went from being a normal carrier to suddenly returning counts in the thousands with a ridiculously rapid reinfection rate. There were no other symptoms at that point.

Aaaaaaanyway -- your experience is normal for a group where worm counting hasn't been part of the routine, but you'd expect your older horse to respond well to a more targeted worming approach and your younger horse to hopefully build up his immunity. Make sure you're using the right wormers for the time of year and for known resistance in your area! (e.g., fenbenzadole on the south downs chalklands is so weak that we only use it as part of very specific longer-term treatment plans)

 

[Borderreiver]

Yes, and it's exactly why worm counts are an important part of worming programmes, to reduce the use of wormers where they are not required as their efficacy is going down down dowwwwwn.

TL;DR I run a herd of up to 30 horses, and I know which ones carry the burden and which ones don't. We've contributed over 10 years to research into worming practices, so have also been part of the development of saliva tests (and more recently, part of the research into a future saliva test for encysted redworm). This means our horses have had poo samples, saliva samples and blood samples taken over the years, detailed records of wormers used, monthly tests, resistance tests, etc etc etc etc ...

My own observations from the side is that the FEC are "quite accurate" as long as samples are correctly collected. Young and ill usually have higher worm burden, but the young ones should resolve as they mature. Older horses seem to swing either way - some of my "cleanest" have been those in their late 20s/30s - they probably have good immunity and are solid little beasts. Illness and pain correlate with worm burdens (in my non-scientific anecdotal observations!). If a horse has an unexpected worm burden, 9 times out of 10, we can find something "wrong" with the horse. Can be minor - mare in a stressy season, gelding who likes to mount mares and sniff poo piles, etc! Or more major, liver disease in the case of a 12 yo who went from being a normal carrier to suddenly returning counts in the thousands with a ridiculously rapid reinfection rate. There were no other symptoms at that point.

Aaaaaaanyway -- your experience is normal for a group where worm counting hasn't been part of the routine, but you'd expect your older horse to respond well to a more targeted worming approach and your younger horse to hopefully build up his immunity. Make sure you're using the right wormers for the time of year and for known resistance in your area! (e.g., fenbenzadole on the south downs chalklands is so weak that we only use it as part of very specific longer-term treatment plans)

Very well explained.

 

[Sparkeyboy]

Yes, and it's exactly why worm counts are an important part of worming programmes, to reduce the use of wormers where they are not required as their efficacy is going down down dowwwwwn.

TL;DR I run a herd of up to 30 horses, and I know which ones carry the burden and which ones don't. We've contributed over 10 years to research into worming practices, so have also been part of the development of saliva tests (and more recently, part of the research into a future saliva test for encysted redworm). This means our horses have had poo samples, saliva samples and blood samples taken over the years, detailed records of wormers used, monthly tests, resistance tests, etc etc etc etc ...

My own observations from the side is that the FEC are "quite accurate" as long as samples are correctly collected. Young and ill usually have higher worm burden, but the young ones should resolve as they mature. Older horses seem to swing either way - some of my "cleanest" have been those in their late 20s/30s - they probably have good immunity and are solid little beasts. Illness and pain correlate with worm burdens (in my non-scientific anecdotal observations!). If a horse has an unexpected worm burden, 9 times out of 10, we can find something "wrong" with the horse. Can be minor - mare in a stressy season, gelding who likes to mount mares and sniff poo piles, etc! Or more major, liver disease in the case of a 12 yo who went from being a normal carrier to suddenly returning counts in the thousands with a ridiculously rapid reinfection rate. There were no other symptoms at that point.

Aaaaaaanyway -- your experience is normal for a group where worm counting hasn't been part of the routine, but you'd expect your older horse to respond well to a more targeted worming approach and your younger horse to hopefully build up his immunity. Make sure you're using the right wormers for the time of year and for known resistance in your area! (e.g., fenbenzadole on the south downs chalklands is so weak that we only use it as part of very specific longer-term treatment plans)

That's really interesting, thank you for taking the time to respond Will certainly be using the worm counts going forward for them all as apposed to relying on a seasonal guess. I hadn't thought about regional affects either!

 

[claracanter]

Yes, I’ve had similar in the last week.I have 4 horses. They had a recent FEC and 3 came back and 1 was over a thousand. He is 17 as is one of the ones with zero, so it’s not an age thing. I spoke to my vet about it and she couldn’t explain it and said worm him and do FEC again a few weeks later. Now MissTyc’s post has got me thinking something else maybe going on.

 

[Sparkeyboy]

Yes, I’ve had similar in the last week.I have 4 horses. They had a recent FEC and 3 came back and 1 was over a thousand. He is 17 as is one of the ones with zero, so it’s not an age thing. I spoke to my vet about it and she couldn’t explain it and said worm him and do FEC again a few weeks later. Now MissTyc’s post has got me thinking something else maybe going on.

I'll try to remember to post my results once they've been re-tested. I've wormed as advised - would be interested to hear how you get on as well