UK Worming Programme

I worm count and so long as they come back clear, as in less than 50epgm then I only worm for tapes and encysted with pramox spring and autumn. I will probably move over to saliva tests for tapes now it seems to be working and just worm for encysted. But I'm lucky in that mine is usually clear now. However after the livery yard from hell he has come back with a count of 250egm having tested clear before he went. Its not high enough for them to recommend I worm him but I am a bit twitchy about it! So I will test again then worm if its still 250epgm. But basically I worm count and only worm when totally necessary :)
 
The worming "programmes" as they used to be are now no longer advised by vets.

There are still a few companies that advocate it like Merck Sharp & Dohme but your vet will advise against.

Nowadays, you have to worm count and elisa test for tapeworm. The lab will then tell you which anthelmintic to use. We worm count the herd twice a year and do elisa tests once. Now though there is something called EQUISAL by Westgate Labs which is easier and just as accurate.

Other labs do worm counts as well as your vets so you should consult them. Many tack shops/equine or country stores and websites sell worm count kits. They are essential in preventing resistance to wormers.
 
I worm count four times a year , the vets do the counts and worm as they advise .
We do saliva tests for tape worms .
This means no horse has needed worming (except for tapeworms before the saliva test was available for years .
We worm horses when they arrive here and wec a little more regularly for the first year .
Every few years I worm once with something that treats encysted red worms it makes me feel safer but the longer we go on with zero counts or very very low counts the most confident I feel that our system is working .
The biggest part of my worming programme is skipping out of the tiny paddocks and long periods of rest for the fields which I don't harrow or poo pick .
I must have wasted thousands in the past worming horses that just did not need it .
 
Mine has been in a stable herd, same yard for eight years. I worm with Equest in January (to treat for encysted worms), then do a worm count each in April and August (4 months apart), and they usually come back "no eggs seen". I started with three counts/year (3 months apart), but since he's usually clear, I've spaced them further apart now. I don't see a point in testing late in the year since I'll be giving an Equest anyway.
Until last year, I treated with Equitape twice a year (spring/autumn, 6 months apart) as a precaution. Last year, I switched to using the EquiSal saliva test which was clear in the autumn, but moderate in spring (hence followed by an Equitape treatment). My vet is still not sold on the saliva test, he thinks the evidence is still a bit weak on it. I think I'll continue giving it a go, but if my horse keeps coming back with positive tests, I might go back to routinely treating him once a year for tapes (rather than have the still-high cost of the test plus the wormer cost).
 
I use westgate - WEC through the year (usually 3 times per year but that interval is slowly increasing) and worm according to results. Last few years this means worming once a year for tape and encysted red late Dec/early Jan

Am looking in to the saliva test for tape which you do six monthly they do but my equine vet practice last time I asked (after it was just released) I got a fairly non committal response about how reliable it was. I then decided not to adopt it early as cost wise it is cheaper to worm for tape although prefer not to upset gut flora if can with chemicals so I may change what I do with this in future once my vets are more convinced/happy with the saliva test. Really need to speak to them and ask before this winter to see what they suggest.
 
Jnhuk said:
I use westgate - WEC through the year (usually 3 times per year but that interval is slowly increasing) and worm according to results. Last few years this means worming once a year for tape and encysted red late Dec/early Jan

Am looking in to the saliva test for tape which you do six monthly they do but my equine vet practice last time I asked (after it was just released) I got a fairly non committal response about how reliable it was. I then decided not to adopt it early as cost wise it is cheaper to worm for tape although prefer not to upset gut flora if can with chemicals so I may change what I do with this in future once my vets are more convinced/happy with the saliva test. Really need to speak to them and ask before this winter to see what they suggest.
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As I understand it, the saliva tapeworm test is reliable, I think there were a few probs at first
 
Every horse here has shown zero for the last 15 years, so with a new horse we worm hard for the first 6 months, then test. I was still doing tape and encysted once a year, but now have tape tested also, and have not wormed for almost 2 years, with no plans to do so.

We do individual turnout, and poo pick twice a day, as well as keeping fields topped.
 
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