Intelligent worming

[lyndsayberesford]

Does anyone use this company?

I have never done a worm count in my life, usually just follow the rest of the yard in what and when we worm, but after reading about all the nightmares of colic with Equest Pramox (which incidently i wormed my horses with last week) i have thought about joining the Intelligent Worming program

Not had any price indications yet either

 

[TangoCurly]

hello!

i've been using them for 18months with my youngster (as i got a free 6 month programme when she did the BEF Futurity) and a year with my older horses.

it is really good, a very professional service, and you know you aren't wasting money on wormers.

Costs wise it depends on how wormy your horse is to start with - you give them info on how you keep your horse (how many horses live with him, are the fields rotated, are they poo picked, etc, etc and what the horses worming history is) then they do a poo sample. They use this to develop a programme for the year. You pay about £30 for the initial assessment (poo sample and info gathering) then you pay them a sum to cover the necessary wormers and sampled for the next year.

In summary, it costs what you should be paying over a year for worming, and you know you are giving the correct ones at the correct time, plus about £30 for their knowledge.

For me, that is very good value, and much easier than trying to work it all out yourself with poo sampels then guessing which wormer to use, etc.

bye!

 

[lyndsayberesford]

thanks for that! think i might give them a try

 

[Spyda]

I used them for the past couple of years but have stopped this year after poor service last year. Worm counts were taking months to come through and the overall cost was just too expensive. And I WASNT having wormers sent through to me from them as I have my own supply. I expect it would be more expensive still if I couldn't shop around.

It's cheaper to do regular worm counts yourself and to worm accordingly (plus for tape worm, annually.) Saves A LOT OF MONEY. IW is a lot of extra expense IMO just to prompt your memory to worm count or worm. Save money - just program your mobile phone to remind you or mark it in large letters on your calendar!!!

 

[lyndsayberesford]

only problem being i have never done a worm count and wouldnt have the foggiest where to start (excuse me for being a noob)

 

[Olliecp77]

I used them for a few years then after several colics the vet hit the roof when I talked him through the program. I explained this to them and had no end of emails and horrible phone calls from them demanding that the vet was wrong. Yes I appreciate their research etc and agree not to over worm etc but when you have had to spend a few grand going to vet hospital with horse colicing due to a worm burden I didn't want to listen to their abuse nor give them my vets name as they demanded.
I still worm count but I find west gate labs brilliant and cheap. With intelligent worming my horses results always came back with a very low result = no worming needed (saving them money), this is not the case with west gate who funnily enough don't have to send me a wormer as part of the package!! West gate will advise you on what type of wormer to get. I recently purchased a wormer on line and was wondering why it hadn't turned up - turns out it was through Intellient worming and they wouldn't sell it to me unless I set up a program with them, this was not mentioned on the website and it took a few weeks to get a refund - very smarmy on the phone.

Your vet can also do worm counts.

 

[Spyda]

only problem being i have never done a worm count and wouldnt have the foggiest where to start (excuse me for being a noob)

Hey, nothing to stress about as it's really easy. You are provided with a little plastic pot and need to place a small amount of fresh dung into it. Only a small amount from a random pile your horse has done (make sure it IS your horse's pooh!) and you send it off and are sent the results back either by email, phone or letter. The results are easy to understand and you'll know whether or not to worm, or wait until after your next worm count result.
Here's some helpful info from a reliable postal worm-count company http://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/info-zone/index.html

 

[lyndsayberesford]

oooh they look and sound more reputable especially as the wormer to be used isnt included in the program

Have signed up for a free poo testing kit wth them now

 

[JC1]

I also switched to doing worm counts from Westgate. I stopped using intelligent worming as I had very poor service from them last year. It has worked out much cheaper with westgate. Also intelligent worming never sent out branded wormers they we all from companies that I had never heard of. I had 3 horses on their programme and it was really expensive.

 

[Miss L Toe]

only problem being i have never done a worm count and wouldnt have the foggiest where to start (excuse me for being a noob)

Ask Westgate labs to send out a worm and info kit, this month you are looking at mandatory tapeworm/encysted redworm /bot wormer, but there are only two mandatory wormings per annum, the others depend on the worm count, a tiny sample is sent off and the result returned by text next day or two.
Telephone advice for first time customers, but then you get sent out reminders and a new sample kit.
it is cheaper in the long run and you are not poisoning the horse when not needed.

 

[Spyda]

I also switched to doing worm counts from Westgate. I stopped using intelligent worming as I had very poor service from them last year. It has worked out much cheaper with westgate. Also intelligent worming never sent out branded wormers they we all from companies that I had never heard of. I had 3 horses on their programme and it was really expensive.

Ditto!

 

[canteron]

I am a Westgate client too. Have always given me good advice when I need it and don't treat you like a lemon if you ask numpty questions - they seem to be really into their subject!!

 

[ticketyboo]

Another great thread that has helped me - if I wasnt so poorly then I'd wish I had more time off work to spend on HH forum!!!

Have contacted Westgate also as got new boy recently and not sure if his worming was comprehensive or up to date but am an avid poo picker to keep field clean

 

[chrissie1]

I was sent a filly in Feb this year, she had been on IW at the stud she came from. She had returned a 1,200 epg count in October 2010, despite her and the rest of the stud being on IW, and the count I took from her upon arrival was still 600epg. This meant that she had been churning out eggs at quite a rate from before October 2010 until she left in Feb 2011. I gave her an Equest on arrival, as an aside wouldn't have done had I known the amount she was carrying, and each time we have tested her subsequently she has had <50 epg.

This would have cost her owner a lot of money and was totally ineffective.

 

[MollyMoomin]

Another thumbs up for Westgate from here too. Very speedy service (poo sent off at 8pm Monday night, results in my email inbox this morning ) and lovely people to deal with.

 

[ace87]

http://www.westgatelabs.co.uk/info-zone/index.html

Deffo use Westgate Labs. I buy their 4pack of worm count kits as it's slightly cheaper - sending one off tomorrow for my chap and results usually very quick and very straightforward. SO much cheaper than I.W and much more effective IMO. Long gone are the days of just chucking chemicals down our horses throats every 12 weeks without a thought as to whether they really need them!

 

[TangoCurly]

Have worm count services changed what they do recently? i used them for a 2 year period about 5 yrs ago and never was given advice as to waht i should do. within a couple of tests from Intelligent Worming they had worked out that ivermectin wormers don't work on tango and moxidectin isn't that effective either. under a well known worm count company I'd been religously worming with ivermectin, wtih no advice given as to how my egg counts were going up.

Personally i think the extra £30 a year is worth it as you get the adivce you need. also the commetn that 'they don't send you out wormers when you ned them as they cost money' is ridiculous, they cost the schedule for each horse individually, so if one horse needs more wormers you pay more!

Also, just because the products they use aren't branded, doesn't mean they don't work as well! Nurofen works just as well as Boots own ibuprofen after all, it is jsut the active ingredient you need for a drug, not the fancy label!

bye!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I looked into Intelligent worming a couple of years ago and thought it was a very expensive option when doing worm counts and worming accordingly is so much cheaper.
I use Westgate too, service is excellent, results are always fast and they are happy to give advice for free.
I'm still at a loss to understand why IW refuse to sell their wormers unless you sign up to and pay for the programme.

 

[M_G]

I too am a happy westgate customer

 

[MizzPurpleKitten]

Have to say I'm a very happy IW customer, I've just come to the end of my first year with them and have set up a new programme for the next year.

Last year my worming programme for my two boys cost me just under £150 for the year which I don't think is overly expensive considering I get advise when needed, I get a tailor made programme for each horse, I get worm counts (and wormers when needed) through my door with dates they're due and amounts to give (where wormers are concerned). I have had a couple of high readings (as expected due to a very wormy youngster breaking in to my paddock without my knowledge whilst my boys were in there!) and had wormers sent straight out to combat this.

Honestly I can't reccommend them highly enough

 

[ISHmad]

I too am a happy westgate customer

And me. They are so helpful and knowledgeable. They also have a good Facebook page which is worth following as well.

 

[pawnytail]

I too am a very happy westgate customer! With them you get everything included in the price including advice from knowledgable people and reminders when it is time to re test.

I found Intelligent worming to be very expensive and more of a sales company than a one genuinely interested in horses welfare.

 

[rachmacypixie111]

I am on a worming programm with my vets - it's only about £55 a year!
They send me sample pots, dates when they need them and if any of them need worming they send me the wormer in the post!

It's so easy!