Explanation of the worm count:

If the result is <50, it means that no eggs of a particular worm species were found. Fifty is the threshold value of the McMaster test as performed by the parasitological laboratory. Therefore, it is theoretically possible for a horse to have an EPG = 10 for bloodworms (10 eggs per gram of feces) and for the result to be <50. Very low numbers of eggs are not detected. Very low EPGs have no consequences for health, and there is no infection present. The EPG increases in increments of 50 in the McMaster fecal examination.

The following values ??can be displayed on the result: <50, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, etc. The advice to treat or not treat a horse depends on the result of the fecal examination (= the EPG), the age, and the circumstances of how the horse is kept. If an infection has occurred, you will always be asked to fill in a number of questions so that appropriate worm control advice can be given. Whether a horse has a light or heavy worm infestation is not only determined by the height of the EPG but also depends on the age and housing of the horse in question. As a kind of guideline, you can consider:

• Light infestation EPG <1300
• Moderate infestation EPG <2500
• Heavy infestation EPG >2500

Explanation of your result:

Congratulations, the fecal examination has been negative No treatment is needed

Every horse naturally carries worm eggs. So it is possible for a horse to have an EPG = 10 for bloodworms (EPG indicates 10 eggs per gram of feces) but for the result to be negative. The threshold value of a McMaster examination is EPG 50 or above. Very low numbers of eggs are not detected. Very low EPGs have no consequences for the health of your horse, and there is no infection present.

The fecal examination has been positive But the advice is no treatment.

It may be that, for example, <100 EPG is stated in your result but treatment is not advised. The advice to treat or not treat a horse depends on the result of the fecal examination (= the EPG), the age, and the circumstances of how the horse is kept. Every horse naturally carries worm eggs, but this does not necessarily mean that the horse needs treatment. This depends on the amount of worm eggs found in your horse's feces. We will provide you with appropriate advice based on the amount of eggs found.

The fecal examination has been positive Your horse needs treatment.

Whether a horse has a light or heavy worm infestation is not only determined by the height of the EPG but also depends on the age and housing of the horse in question. Therefore, you are asked to fill in an additional questionnaire via the link so that the parasitological laboratory can provide appropriate advice. The guideline for an infestation that you can follow is:

• Light infestation EPG <1300
• Moderate infestation EPG <2550
• Heavy infestation EPG >2500

We are regularly asked this question, and it causes a lot of unrest and sometimes even makes people decide to stop manure research. A manure test is not carried out to determine whether the horse has worms or not. After all, every horse has worms, even a horse that has just been dewormed. The available worm products only kill part of the worm population present in a horse. Most larvae easily survive a worm treatment.

Please realize that eggs are only secreted by adult worms. So if no eggs are found during the manure examination, but there are developing young larvae, it may be that, for example, two weeks later these larvae have become adults and then start laying eggs.

With roundworms we sometimes even see that on the day the manure sample is taken, an adult roundworm is found, while the manure examination shows that no (roundworms) are present. It may be coincidental that some adult male worms were present. Worms are just like other animals, male specimens cannot lay eggs.

After you have mailed the manure sample and it has been received at our laboratory, you will receive the results in your mailbox within 24 hours. If this is not the case, please contact us. It sometimes happens that the results end up in your spam or unwanted box.

We indeed get a lot of questions about horse hornets, especially with all the pictures you can see on the internet of larvae attached to the stomach wall. Horse hornet larvae, however, are not very pathogenic. Because contamination levels are low, few horses develop problems with hornet larvae. If a horse owner wants to treat against hornet larvae, for example because many yellow eggs were visible on the horse's coat, we advise to do this after the first serious night frost. Night frost kills the free-living hornet larvae flies and the risk of reinfection after treatment of the horse is absent.

We recommend that you always submit a manure survey in the autumn. A good picture is then obtained of the infection level on the meadows, and additional advice can be given to further prevent problems with bloodworms in the winter.

With the last manure sample we can complete the picture of how your horses deal with worms during a pasture season.

Infectious larvae can survive on pasture for up to 3 months, especially at lower temperatures. Moderate to severe frost kills the infective larvae. Research has shown that due to the mild winters, the meadows can remain contaminated until January. This means that horses do become infected in winter until late winter. A worm control program therefore also includes the winter months.

Animals in a clean stable or on a sand paddock without access to a pasture simply come into very little or no contact with infectious larvae. Development of larvae on grassland is necessary for the most important worm species

Indeed, it is always said that moxidectin is more effective against bloodworms. However, this is only for the larval stages of the bloodworms. Ivermectin has little effect against bloodworm larvae.

Larval stages only play a role in young horses that have walked on a heavily contaminated pasture in the previous late summer and autumn and where the ingested larvae hibernate in a kind of hibernation in the intestinal wall. Moxidectin is useful in these types of horses, because treatment (in November/December) will also kill these larvae and reduce the risk of what is commonly called 'bloodworm' infection.

Conclusion: ivermectin is preferred for treatment in the pasture season. We reserve moxidectin for the treatment of infected young horses in the winter. With ivermectin we can achieve the most important goal: preventing pastures from becoming heavily contaminated.

Horse hornet larvae cannot be detected with manure testing. The yellow eggs of the horse hornet are easy to recognize on a horse's coat. We mainly see this in summer and autumn. In late spring we can sometimes see the hornet larvae on the manure.

Pinworms are almost never visible in the manure. Pinworms lay their eggs around the horse's anus. Eggs usually do not end up in the manure. To avoid the spread of pinworms in a herd, we will recommend deworming in the event of a pinworm infection.

Tapeworm eggs are also rarely found. The value of a negative result is limited. If the manure test is negative, it is quite possible that tapeworms are still present. That is why the laboratory recommends having your horse tested twice a year with the EquiSal Tapeworm test.

We see more and more providers of half-day or 1-day courses to learn manure research yourself. This is incomprehensible given the complexity of the test, and the further interpretation of the result in relation to the way horses are kept. In short, if you take the health of your horse seriously, have the manure examined by professionals.

Worm check kits have an unlimited shelf life and therefore no expiration date is stated. So you can pre-order multiple worm check kits to get the maximum discount, and use the kits over a period of 1-2 years.

There are several situations in which a worm egg count provides essential information regarding the worm infestation of your horse. Some examples:

• Regular worm egg count. A worm egg count, which is carried out regularly throughout the year and/or just before you give a worm treatment, tells you how well your deworming program is working. Research in the Netherlands, but also in other European countries, shows that more than 50% of horses have a low worm egg count and therefore do not require treatment. Not only will you use fewer deworming treatments, the risk of the development of anti-worm products in your stable will also be greatly reduced.
• In each group of horses there are a limited number of animals that excrete large amounts of worm eggs, while the majority of animals excrete only few or no eggs. It appears that animals with high worm excretion (a high worm egg count) are a source of infection for other horses in the group. It is important that we know which horses these are and that only these animals are treated.
• A new horse can contribute to the contamination of the pasture. After all, the level of worm infection in the horse, but also how this horse deals with worm infection, are unknown. In many places, such as riding schools and breeding stations, horses are therefore dewormed before they are stabled. In practice, however, it appears that at least one in three horses still excretes worm eggs upon arrival. One of the causes may be that these worm eggs come from resistant worms. It is therefore wise to carry out a worm egg count on new horses. If you do not know the history of the animal or whether resistant worms may be present, we recommend a worm egg reduction test. Also ask the previous owner when and with what product the animal was dewormed.
• Young horses are most sensitive to worms. They have not built up the resistance (immunity) of adult horses. By deworming the animal only when it is really necessary (based on a worm egg count!) you keep the animal well protected, but you also give the animal the opportunity to build up immunity.

Even if the result is negative, your horse probably still has worms. However, the level of contamination is so low that no treatment is required at the time of manure testing.

In the case of bloodworms, there is also the possibility that the manure test is negative (there are no adult worms), but that bloodworm larvae are still found on the manure when treated with moxidectin. These are the juvenile stages, which do not lay eggs!

You can submit slurry samples, but you must mix the slurry yourself. To do this, take an equal amount of manure from each horse, put all the manure in a bucket and mix the manure from the different horses thoroughly. Take a small handful of this mixture and send it to the laboratory.

The laboratory is not in favor of slurry samples. It usually turns out that the manure test is positive in groups and that all horses are subsequently treated. This is just not the intention!

Suppose a group of 6 horses, 5 of which do not secrete eggs and 1 horse has an EPG of 1800!. With sufficiently mixed samples, the average will be EPG 300, and the advice will be that all horses in the group should be treated.

In individual samples, only horses with high egg excretion are treated. These come in a group of 7, often 1 or 2.

If it turns out that there is a worm infection, you can take the results to your vet to pick up the worm cure or we can order the worm cure for you.

Sand in the manure is also examined, but to get a good representation of the sand in the intestines it is important to test this for a few days in a row.

You can easily do this yourself. How? Go to our website: https://www.wormenco.nl/posts/2021/8/zandkliek-beter-voorkomen-dan-genezen