We know if you have lots of horses that testing and worming the horse herd can get expensive. And it’s super easy to just think I’ll buy a wormer and treat the whole herd.
But if you have ever tested the whole herd, you will probably spot some of the horses have a high burden and some a low!
And you wonder how can that be? Because they are all in the same place!
80% of the equine population won’t have a high burden!
But 20% do!
Meaning, that 80% of horses and ponies in the herd DO NOT need routine worming.
Now while it may have been easier to buy them all a wormer, actually chances are it may not save you money and certainly wont save the equine species from the effects of worms, because it will contribute to the increase in worms resistant the drugs!
What is the best thing for worms in a horse herd?
One horse in a herd will have a particular worm burden, the others probably won’t!
So therefore the best thing to do is test the whole herd. And Treat them individually
If we base a whole herd’s treatment on one horse’s burden, some are likely to not receive drugs when they need them, and then of course some will be give drugs when they didn’t need them!
Which, of course, could result in them suffering serious health problems.
It could also mean the worms passing to others in the herd because some horses haven’t been treated when they needed to be.
So what do we need to do?
Individual, targeted worm testing is much better than treating a herd or a yard full of horses as one and the same.
It provides us with much more precise worm control.
So we need ALL our horses, including companion ponies, to be on their own worm testing programmes!
Here at EFECS every horse has an individual profile so even in the herd we see them horse by horse.
And yes we are sorry we know waiting for every horse in the herd to poo is painstaking! We are thinking of you! remember you are doing the right thing!
How can EFECS help?
We record the results of all tests on our database (and will notify you when your horse’s next test is due).
This enables us to build an ongoing picture of your horse’s worm burden.
We can then give you the best advice based on their individual history and worm counts.
Shop now for Equine Faecal Egg Count Tests / Worm Test Kits
We also offer an Annual Subscription Plan which helps you spread the cost
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