Sarah's Worm Egg Counts

As it's been winter I've been focusing on my day job and studying so I forgot to mention I was awarded Equine SQP student of the year in January ☺️

SQPs recognised at AMTRA Awards at the AHDA 2024 Conference | OvertheCounter AMTRA recognised the latest generation of talent in the sector at its annual awards ceremony which was held during this week’s AHDA conference in Birmingham. The winner of the top all species SQP category and winner of the AHDA Cup was Melanie Griffin from Warwickshire, who is a product manager at...

It's a great time of year to do worm counts and check if you need to adjust your worming schedule if it comes back a high egg per gram result like this sample 🪱

Low count for this sample over the weekend so no need to worm 😊

𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 #𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 🐎

AMTRA is proud to support the initiative, which was launched at The National Equine Show last Friday.

The initiative’s sole intention is combatting wormer resistance in equines, specifically myth busting and supporting horse owners with making the right decisions.

Controlling ANTiparasitic Resistance in Equines Responsibly (CANTER) aims to identify knowledge gaps and opportunities, and address these with the best available evidence-based guidance and information.

We are excited to be representing the group, and we look forward to sharing more with you soon.

Discover more about CANTER below.
https://canterforhorses.org.uk/about/

I'll be starting doing worm egg counts again from mid March, get in touch if you are interested ☺️ Now a fully qualified SQP - E and student veterinary nurse 🔬🪱💩

Very low count for a sample this morning, so no need to worm 😊 Perfect time of year to do a tapeworm saliva test though http://equisal.co.uk 🪱

I charge just £4 for a faecal egg count for your horse, with each sample being checked at least twice to get a more accurate count. Can collect in the local area (Chessington, Claygate etc). Very small start-up which is more like a hobby, I have a real interest in parasite levels and helping to prevent wormer resistance. Happy to answer any questions, message me or email [email protected]

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗽 - 𝟲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀

🔵 Mares and geldings usually defaecate around 6-8 times a day, whereas stallions and foals may produce double that

🔵 The droppings of an adult horse should be in well-formed balls and of uniform colour and consistency

🔵 There should be no obvious pieces of food in the droppings. This may indicate a digestion problem (abnormality) or problem chewing

🔵 If your horse produces mucus covered droppings, this could be due to lack of water, exercise or colic

🔵 A normal adult horse’s faeces are brown/dark green or bright green if they have eaten rich grass. Very dark/black faeces could indicate a gut problem or bleeding from higher up the intestinal tract – contact your vet if you see this

🔵 ‘Gritty’ droppings can be due to ingestion of sand which can potentially cause diarrhoea and colic. Speak to your vet for more information.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀?

It is hard to tell from just looking at your horse whether they have a significant worm burden.

We now know over worming horses is causing serious resistance problems and many horses are wormed completely unnecessarily.

To see whether your horse has significant worm burden that needs treating, regular worm egg counts and blood tests are recommended.

Not all wormers are equally effective so if your horse does need worming your vet will be able to advise on the most effective treatment.

Possible algae

– In the last 12 months, AMTRA enrolled 968 new students!!!

If you would like to become an AMTRA a full list of Assessment Dates can be found on our website.

https://www.amtra.org.uk/ExamGrp/Exams

‘What will you do when the wormers stop working?’ – change is needed NOW to save horses’ lives - Horse & Hound THE “writing is on the wall” for more equine disease and death if the industry does not take urgent, cohesive action against wormer resistance. This was the view of experts at the 30th National Equine Forum on 3 March, who discussed the “collective responsibility” to tackle the issue. There ...

Spyrogyra (algae) - horse

Sarah's Worm Egg Counts updated their address.

New album 🧐😂

Pollen grain - horse

Strongyle (horse)

Pollen grain - rabbit

A great simple comparison from https://www.damoryvets.co.uk/Parasite_control.html of a targeted worming schedule using worm counts and the more traditional blanket method 😊

An interesting article detailing the importance of faecal egg counts in helping to combat growing resistance to current wormers. http://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/large-animal/173-equine-faecal-egg-counts-their-role-in-reducing-anthelmintic-resistance

Equine faecal egg counts _ their role in reducing anthelmintic resistance The official site of the Veterinary Ireland Journal

I'm hoping to find some lovely volunteers who will let perform worm egg counts on their horses' poo! I'm looking to train as a Registered Animal Medicines Advisor and become a Suitably Qualified Person to recommend wormers for horses based on my egg counts. Until I qualify I am not able to recommend any course of action based on the results but I can give you an egg per gram result for your horse (I can also try and send you pictures if you are interested!) and you can then discuss this with your vet or another SQP. There would be no charge for these worm counts. Please comment or get in touch if you are willing to help. Thank you!

Sarah's Worm Egg Counts updated their business hours.