Worm count

[figgy]

Hi all,
I'm so confused about this worm count...I got a new horse just over a week ago.
I sent a wormcount off last Tue to see what we got, she passed a roundworm on Friday but I also got results from wormcount saying no eggs seen.
I wormed her last night and omg this morning I have most worms and lots of redworms .
I just don't understand how the count can come back saying no eggs .
Can anyone help me understand this ?
Thank you x

 

[milliepops]

how did you take your sample? to get a good picture of what's going on you need to take small pinches from different places, I try to get little pinches from different spots in a couple of fresh poos. Quite often people seem to just take one lump and stick it in the pot but that can give you a false result.

 

[figgy]

how did you take your sample? to get a good picture of what's going on you need to take small pinches from different places, I try to get little pinches from different spots in a couple of fresh poos. Quite often people seem to just take one lump and stick it in the pot but that can give you a false result.

I take it from a few and yes also take small pinches from different places .

 

[milliepops]

i think I'd be contacting whoever did your FEC in that case to see what they suggested.

 

[SEL]

Not all horses shed eggs and even those that do don't necessarily shed them every single time they take a poo.

Which is why - IMHO - every horse should get a chemical wormer at least once a year

But I would also do exactly what MP says and check with your lab just in case they made an error.

 

[ester]

False negatives are fairly easy to get, eggs aggregate in faeces so unless you are mixing up 24 h worth of poo you can miss them.
(which is why I wouldn't not use a wormer on the basis of one <50epg count for a new horse, but I would on multiples taken over a season)

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

The vet can do tests for worms that are more accurate than worm counts,the vet did them on my horse when he got colic to rule out worms might be worth finding out about it.

 

[sharni]

thats the trouble with worm counts the horse can be quite wormy but if those worms arnt passing eggs at the time of the count they wont show up because they arnt there. i've had this happen with youngstock of mine. read a paper once where studies had been done in Belgium i think it was, samples were taken daily for a week. came back less than 50 for 6 days on the last day the count was 1750. , i worm twice a year nowadays regardless and count after worming to see if the wormer has been effective. ETA if your horse os passing worms then it sounds to me like a high worm burden i'd give the panancur 5 day treatment but i'd also speak to my vet first and check the best course of action.