Using worm counts.

[Gill]

Hello, I wonder if you have been reading the excellent articles on worming in Horse and Hound over the last two weeks? Here is the alternative to stuffing strong chemicals into our animals willy nilly, without first checking to see if they are needed. When else would we treat a disease without first making a diagnosis? Nowadays it should be possible to treat each animal as an individual according to their level of infection.
It is easy to get a count done by post from Westgate Labs Tel:01670 791 994 (www.westgatelabs.8m.com)
Or if you are in the states look up the website for the Horsemans Lab.
The principle is that you only worm when the count begins to rise towards 200 eggs per gram, in most circumstances, a system which I have used with my own horses for several years now. I think it is the way forward in worming. Any views folks?

[Gill]

Thirteen views and no messages so far for this thread.....don't you have any opinions on this important topic?

[intouch]

Yes I agree - I've always thought that the hype about worming every 6 weeks was a worming manufacturer's ploy to keep us all impoverished! Cost effective to use worm counts rather than indiscriminate worming - though I don't envy them their job!

[Allie]

I am not absolutely positive, but I am pretty sure that in my area, it is cheaper to worm every 2-3 months than it is to have a worm count done. It is not a hassle to do, and we buy wormer from mail order in bulk quantities, so for me it is not all that expensive. The amount of chemicals that are in an over-the-counter wormer are not enough that you could harm your horse. You would have to give them multiple tubes at once before you would even begin to do any damage. I would rather keep mine on a tight worming schedule because I know there are some people at my barn who do not worm their horses regularly, if at all.

Allie

[K]

Out of interest, how much does a worm count cost??

[Gill]

It costs £7.00 for one horse, with discounts for more. Regular customers pay £6.00 only. A reduction test (a second test after giving a wormer, to make sure it has cleared the problem) costs £5. What price peace of mind!

[Rebecca]

Would this still work for a large yard with horses coming and going a lot? I ask purely from curiosity, as I have no horse of my own, and therefore know nothing at all about worming. It sounds like a good system to me

Rebecca

[Missy Mops]

My local vet does free worm counts if you buy your wormers off them. Although they are a bit more expensive it is worth it.
Our yard also poo picks this is another great way to keeps worms at bay because you are removing them so, therefore your horse doesn't get them back in their system through eating the grass. Good idea? tell me!!

Leona
- x -

[smokiejo]

Hi
This is a really old fashioned method to check whether your horse/pony needs worming! I feel a bit embarrased writing this but it seems to work, instead of giving your horse a wormer every six weeks (without knowing if he really needs one) try this method, make two pieces of toast so its really dark, and then smother it with a thick layer of treacle, add a few strands of your horses tail (making that they are quite long in length), and feed to your horse.
Check the horses droppings for the next 48 hours and if the horse has worms that will bring them out, the treacle acts as an attraction to the worms; and the hair then wraps around the worms and your horse then deposits it all for you to check!! If there are no worms then it's pretty safe to say your horse is clean, If there are, well then you use the wormer.
I know this sounds bizzare and i was pretty sceptical when one of the men at my farm told me (He had horses for years and they all lived into their 30's, so it obviously doesn't hurt to try)
Anyway I use this system and the people i've (blushingly) told this to (after some really strange looks) they also use it now and it seems to work well.
If anyone tries this let me know what you think!!

[Allie]

how on Earth do you get your horse to eat a Toast sandwich?

Allie

[Gill]

Well Smokiejo, what a bizzare idea! Why not send for a worm count kit to check out your idea the scientific way?????
Cheers, Gill

[smokiejo]

Hi
Well I did say it was a strange idea!!
My ponies seem to eat anything (one has been known to scoff a pork pie!!) (somebodys lunch!) and although i haven't had a worm count done (which is a pretty good way of making sure it works! (-: ) I have run it past my vet, and he reckons that although it's a pretty unorthadox method, He agrees that it seems to be working well for us as all my ponies are well and healthy and most of the other horses on our farm are now wormed this way and there don't seem to be any problems with any of them!
The man that shared this with us has now sadly died, but hes left us with all kinds of "the old ways", some we laugh at, and some we use!! He also "cured" a horse with navicular, This is also really strange (!) and I really didn't believe it until the vet confirmed it,
The man had bought a horse saved it from slaughter, when he was a 2year old, when the horse was 4 he was diagnosed with navicular (three opinions-the man was stubborn) and everyone agreed that the best and kindest option was to have the horse put down!
Instead he "rested" the horse until the next winter, and then sent him up to the welsh mountains and turned him out, with a local farmer agreeing to give him a small feed every day and to just keep an eye on him, Other than that the horse had to fend for himself, The reasoning being that the horse would have to paw the snow to get to any grass that was around!!
4 months later the horse came back (looking a bit thin) but all signs of navicular had gone!!
The horse was then reschooled, and now 21 years later, He's happily retired and living healthly.
I didn't actually see this (i was only 6 at the time, and not yet stricken with horse fever) But it was a "little legend" when i got to the farm, Our vet was totally bemused by this man, but like he says it all seems to work for him and the horse had 21 years more of life and whos he to argue?
I just thought i'd share this with you all. (I promise to keep quiet about these "stories" now, cos i'm begining to blush again.)

[lamprellsarah]

strange idea sounds good if you can gat the horse to eat it mine won't eat anything like that hes really picky he will only eat grass, hay his mix,carrots and apples anything esle, then he will throw it back at you.

[LindaAd]

Please don't stop telling the "stories", smokiejo - I enjoy them and I'm sure lots of people do. I think there's often a lot of truth in these old stories .Like the one I read ages ago about how a good way to catch a difficult horse is to pretend you've lost something in the field and walk in circles looking for it. The horse will wonder what you're looking for and start to follow you ... Isn't that just what Monty Roberts and people say about approaching a horse non-aggressively?

Sorry, I've diverted the thread a bit from worms. But I'll try the toast trick and see if it works.

[smokiejo]

Hi Linda
Well, glad you enjoyed the tales!!
Just wanted to say if you try the toast bit let me know what you think!! Hope it works well for you!!
Cheers!

[Sharon H]

I thought that having a worm count done was a good idea untill someone told me that the count isn't for all types of worms and you could be lulled into a false sense of security by being told the horse was clear, when it might have a worm burden of a different type. I don't know enough about the subject to comment does anyone else know the answer to this?

[Jay Kay]

I don't know for sure the answer to the above question, I always presumed the count was for all types of worms, but I am sure Gill will let us know.
I have my horses tested once a year and any new additions to the yard are tested before I tackle them with wormers and before they are turned out with anything else, although we do have cattle graze our fields periodically, you never know whats lurking.
I think that £7 is very reasonable and worm counts should be regarded in the same way as vaccinations, a necessary part of horse care.

Jay Kay

Getting off the subject a little, any more stories Smokiejo? I loved the last ones,.

[Gill]

Thank you Jay Kay, so right!
Sharon, a worm count will tell you the level of infection for Strongyles (large and small) and Ascarids (roundworm). It may show tapeworm but is not a definitive test for tapeworm, so many people include a tapeworm dose in their prog. regardless of the count result.
The most commonly seen eggs are strongyles, it is comparatively rare to see roundworm eggs. Many of the horses we test are clear (count reported <50 eggs per gram)but some have horrendous counts sometimes when their owners thought they were well wormed.
As with any kind of information a worm count result must be used with intelligence. For instance if you have had the horse for at least a couple of years and know its worming history, or have had a series of clear worm counts done then you can worm according to the result, knowing that your horse will not be carrying a large burden of encysted worms. I hope this answers your questions! I had better stop or I'll be writing you an essay! Gill

[Sharon H]

Thanks for the info, I'd be interested in giving it a try, but the lady with whom I keep my horses insists on worming them all at the same time, perhaps I'll show her this thread and see if she'll take it on board.