This is a great time for the start of your summer worming plan with the grazing season fast approaching and so, this Easter, we are on an egg hunt looking for worm eggs and offering a special discount to all our clients!
Now it may not be as ‘eggs-citing’ as the chocolate kind, but it is very important. Equine worms are more active in summer as they reproduce faster in warmer weather. So, more regular Faecal worm egg counts are recommended in spring and summer as worm populations get bigger at this time of year. There are several species of equine intestinal worms, and they can cause many health issues including: colic, colitis and weight loss. Therefore, keeping the number of these worms low in our horses’ fields and bodies is very important.
So why not just regularly worm your horse? The simple reason that we do not recommend treating every horse repeatedly with wormer is that this increases resistance! This means that our wormers will stop working entirely and horse health will suffer. Doing worm egg counts allows us to treat the horses that actually need it, and as approximately 80% of the worms are in 20% of the horses in most grazing groups, then targeted treatment can be very effective! Repeat worm egg counts 2 weeks after worming called a reduction test can tell us if the wormer has been effective and if resistance is present.
Our worm egg counts include:
Microscopic examination of faeces with results as number of worm eggs per gram of faeces
Personalised advice regarding worming treatment
Management advice about timing of future worm egg counts and what wormer to use and when.
This Easter we are offering a special price of £10 for each worm egg count (saving of £3) between 25th March and 25th of April. In addition, we are also offering a 10% discount on any wormers bought from us following a worm egg count.
Please download our form here (scroll down to Labels and Forms - Cotts FEC form) and drop off a sample to our clinic or hospital, or for a free postage kit contact us on 01834 860871 or email lab@cottsequine.co.uk
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions. Happy Egg hunting!