Hi, After a lot of research, I have adopted the suggested approach to Deworming with fecal exams, and limited deworming with pastes based on need, in my 16 year old gelding. I recently bought a fecal exam on your web site, which came back in a timely manor, and was “negative” for any parasites or eggs.  (I want to also incorporate the Bug Check and Herbal Paste you offer on the site, one at a time in the near future, to further increase my horse’s resistance to over infestation.)

My question is: Is the test you offer a Fecal Egg Count Test?  And does it identify the different species of worm eggs that are present?  My results said the test was “negative” for worms.  I think that’s great, but in the future, I want to know, if there are eggs, what the count per gram is, and what species was found present.  It is very hard to find a lab as a non-veterinarian, and I am so happy to have this option to send my horses sample to be tested myself.  I just need to know it is a proper test with reliable, detailed results.

Thanks for all you are doing for our horses and us, as owners.
Kim N.

Good Morning Kim -

The test I do is a simple flotation test.  While it is actually considered a qualitative (+/-) test, not a quantitative  test (actual counts), I do actually count and report the number and species of eggs that I find from the processing of 1 gram of fecal material. This will give you a good idea if you have near to 100 eggs/gram or very few, and allow you to decide whether or not to deworm at the time. It is considered a proper test.  If I find no eggs it simply means that I didn’t find eggs – not necessarily that the horse is totally free of parasites. We encourage frequent testing (every 3-4  months), in order to “stay on top of” the horse’s parasite status.  If I report no eggs seen, and your horse appears “wormy”, we would still encourage you to deworm.

Have a good day and thank you  -