However, if they are present in larger numbers, they can severely affect the horses’ health and can result in poor body condition, colic, and general ill-health. When the worms are present in low numbers, worms cause minimal problems. These eggs produced by the adult worm will then be shed in the faeces to increase existing worm burdens on the pasture and to potentially infect new horses. How the horse gets infected by worms will differ from worm to worm depending on the lifecycle, but generally, eggs are ingested from infected pasture and then develop inside the intestinal tract (or, in some cases, the horses’ lungs) where they can cause disease. Worms naturally occur in horses and are present in most horses at varying levels of infestation. There is an increasing risk of resistance to anthelmintics (wormers), so we must use different strategies to protect our horses. This can ensure only those individual horses with a significant worm burden are treated using the appropriate wormers at the appropriate times. Problems with resistance can be overcome by monitoring faecal worm egg counts (FWEC) of all horses at regular intervals. Other ways to help with resistance are:.Can FWECs help in resistance to wormers?.What do the faecal worm egg count results mean?.

Will a faecal worm egg count identify all horse worms?.

What is a faecal worm egg count (FWEC)?.Roundworms (Ascarids – Parascaris equorum).

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