negative worm count

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mtj

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my guys are strategically wormed 4 times a year.

had a worm count done yesterday and the result is zero.

i'm wondering, do i need to continue with routine worming, or should i just be aiming at specifics such as tape worm and doing regular worm counts?
 
If your horses are kept with the same horses all year round with no changes then I see nothing stopping you from having worm counts during the year along with the recommended dose for tapeworm twice a year (followed by a worm count)

If however horses are coming and going, pasture is regulary changed, you go to shows etc then I'd be more carelful.

keep a weight record of your horse, watch your horses horses condition and well being. If in any doubt talk to your vet on the phone.
 
I would now go onto 4 x yearly faecal egg counts plus once a year have a blood test for tapes. If there is no need to worm for tapes then I certainly wouldnt be doing that either.

I have used worm counts and poo picking for many many years and this is by far the best method I have found of keeping any horse parasite free (well as free as they can be) including competition horses who have gone out and about and hunt horses.

Worm with chemicals only when you actually need to and this should apply to tapes as well.

The only one I WOULD do routinely is encysted redworms.
 
You can't actually get a 'zero' worm count, the best is <50epg
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oh

probably muddled this . got a call from the vets who told me that both my horses had a negative worm count.

i asked what that meant, and was told that nothing found.

thank you for everyones advice. I'm going to have a chat with my vets to devise a worm management scheme specific to my horses, rather than standard worming.

i've got no problems giving horses medication, but it seems daft too give them stuff they don't need.
 
I have used WC for several years now and mine are always clear or very low. I now do a worm count in early April, then again in mid September and depending on the September count, I either use a tape wormer in October or a combo one. I then worm end of December with equest for encysted worms.

I find that two worm counts and two wormers a year, one for tape and one for encysted worms, in my case works well, but mine are in their own paddock, I clear the field 5 days a week in summer and weekly in winter so they are kept in good conditions to prevent worm burdens.
 
My yard has used worm counts for 2 years now and wormed for tapeworm and bots and encysted red worm once a year but have now got a problem with pinworm. Wonder if anyone else has had this happen.
 
I have been worm counting for 8 years now, worming for tape, bots, encysted. Haven't come across a problem with pinworms personally.
 
Interesting that you mention pinworms. They seem to have been a real problem this year and I've had lots of conversations about them with worried owners.

They can still be a problem for those on a full worming programme as they re-infect so easily.

People often panic about them (they look like white beansprouts if you haven't seen them) but they are more of an irritation than anything else and of course look gross.
 
[ QUOTE ]
You can't actually get a 'zero' worm count, the best is <50epg
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[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure? I use worm counts and lady rings me up before sending the paper result and she has often said they have found zero or in one instance - one egg. But as you rightly point out, the paper result only just shows under 50.

And to OP, I don't user a wormer either when the results are zero.
 
The egg count result is based on a measured sample of poo with a measured amount of liquid. This is spun in a centrifuge and then floated out on a salt solution over two slides so you then average the two slides. No eggs seen gives a result of <50 eggs per gram (not nil as only a sample was tested from the full amount).
One egg seen = 50 epg (as you multiply by 100 and divide by two to get the correct result based on the sample size.)
Two eggs seen = 100 epg and so on.
Statistically it is incorrect to report 0 or 'one egg seen' so check that the method has been correctly followed.
 
I recently had my 2 horses egg counted. One came back zero and the other 100epg. Intelligent worming rang me up about the one that had the 100epg count and were very condemnatory. I told them she had since been wormed and they said my worming programme obviously wasn't working for me to have had any kind of positive result back - wtf, it was the end of the quarterly period! I wasn't impressed at being sent to the headmistresses study
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especially as I had wormed her immediately and 100epg is still in the low bracket!

I have wormed the other horse that came back at zero to get the 12 weeks protection, since obviously any result other than zero is unacceptable in certain quarters.

Sometimes think egg counting is more trouble than it's worth.
 
With respect to brightmounts message, there are theories now that suggest that having no worms at all is not the most beneficial state for horses health, in much the same way as children who grow up in a very clean environment tend to get more allergies. It's possible that horses that are kept totally worm-free may be more prone to auto-immune problems such as RAO. I'd say 100 epg is perfectly acceptable and that Intelligent worming perhaps aren't as intelligent as their title suggests.
 
if your horses came back with a negative count personally i would not worm now until autum then use a combi wormer to make sure you kill any tape worms due to this does not show on a worm count keep poo picking and taking counts every 12 weeks if they come back clear i would just worm twice a year spring and autum!
 
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