Health & Nutrition > Manure Matters
Manure Matters
June 2006
Most of you have probably already dewormed your horse for the first time this spring.
Some of you may already be on your second or third deworming. However, there’s
something else you can do to really help protect your horse from parasites, and
that’s have a fecal egg count performed.
A fecal egg count measures the number of strongyle eggs your horse is passing in
each gram of his manure. When you send a sample to your veterinarian or independent
laboratory, you get back a number like 50 EPG (eggs per gram) or 500 EPG. This is
called a quantitative test. When you take a sample of your dog’s stool to your
veterinarian, the clinic runs a qualitative test. A technician performs a fecal
flotation to look for the presence of roundworms, hookworms and other parasites.
You get back an answer like “yes, your dog has roundworms” or “no, your dog does
not have hookworms.”
Why the difference? It’s partly because some of the parasites that dogs (and cats)
get can also be picked up by people, so we want our smaller companion animals that
live with us to be completely parasite-free. But it’s mostly because horses, being
grazers, will never be completely free of parasites. We just want to know if they
have a high load of parasites and need dewormed to:
- protect themselves from problems like colic, weight loss and diarrhea
and
- protect the pasture from lots of eggs being passed onto it.
If you can only afford one fecal egg count per year, run it right before deworming
your horse for the first time in the spring. If the number is low (less than 200
– 250 EPG), that particular horse has good natural immunity to strongyles and may
not need dewormed as frequently. However, if the number is more than 200 –250 EPG,
that horse may be a “chronic shedder.”This is a horse who may not show signs of
parasitism, but is carrying lots of adult worms that are laying lots of eggs, spreading
them all over your pasture to the other horses. Chronic shedders may need dewormed
more often than other horses.
If you can afford two fecal egg counts per year, have the second one performed 10
to 14 days after this first deworming. This is called a fecal egg count reduction
test and tells you if your dewormer worked. Scientists are discovering more and
more resistance to commonly used dewormers so it’s important to make sure there
are actually LESS eggs in your horse’s manure AFTER the deworming. You don’t get
any points for going through the motions!
Manure Matters
By: Lydia F. Gray, DVM, MA
SmartPak Staff Veterinarian and Medical Director
June 2006