Equine Worming

When did you last do a Worm Egg Count?

For many horse owners the answer is …. never! However resistance to horse worming treatments is increasing all the time. We recommend regular (minimum twice a year) Worm Egg Counts and blood tests for tapeworm. This is now the accepted standard for looking after your horse.

Worm Egg Counts are an extremely affordable way to see if your horse or pony has worms and what type(s). Based on the results of the tests and the time of year, we can then advise if your horse or pony needs worming and if so which product would be appropriate.

Good pasture management and Worm Egg Counts are vital to ensure the continued good health of your horse or pony as a heavy worm burden. or emerging red worms, can be a cause of colic or in extreme cases, death.

Please contact us to arrange regular worm egg counts and complete our worming questionnaire to help us provide a tailored plan for your horse.

Tapeworm Saliva Tests

Saliva tests which complements the worm egg counts provide a complete worming assessment for your horse.

Traditional worm counts do not detect tapeworm infestation and to date we have relied upon a blood test to detect the presence of tapeworms. The advantage of the saliva test is that is performed on a swab of saliva taken from the horse’s mouth which is much quicker and less invasive than a blood test. The test has been shown to have very similar effectiveness as the blood test in detecting the presence of tapeworms.

The procedure is simple and full instructions are provided in the kit which is available. A swab is inserted into the mouth where the bit normally goes, then placed into a collection tube which is then posted to the laboratory for analysis. The result is returned to us and your vet will contact you with the result and advice for treatment if required.

The test is best carried out a minimum of four months after the last saliva test or tapeworm treatment and so we would recommend testing twice yearly in March & September. We recommend testing rather than blanket treatment for tapeworms to reduce the development of resistance to the medicines used to treat them. Please contact the practice if you would like to purchase a kit.