So you may be familiar with fecal worm egg counts. These determine the worm burden of a particular horse. This in turn tells us whether it is necessary to provide them with an anthelmintic treatment. I have recently been made aware of one such treatment that identifies if horses have a worm burden – specifically tapeworms. Interestingly, this is not carried out via a faecal test. Nor is a blood test used. The Equisal Tapeworm Test makes use of saliva to determine a worm burden and if any action is necessary.
Equisal
This is an interesting product that is no doubt beneficial to those concerned about their horse’s health. With this test, you can quickly determine the tapeworm burden of your horse. If it’s an issue, then you can promptly act on this by worming your horse with an anthelmintic that targets tapeworms. According to details on the Equisal website, it is important to:
Simply incorporate tapeworm testing every six months into your targeted worming programme.
Current EquiSal data shows that only 25% of horses have a tapeworm burden.
Like with many products, if you order in bulk you make a saving. For those who have large horse properties, the bulk investments would well be worth looking into.
The benefits of routine testing is that it may not be necessary to worm some horses. If the worming product is cheaper than the testing product, owners may debate it is easier to just worm horses. But a build up in resistance to some wormers by parasites indicates that it is better for horse owners to only worm horses that have a significant worm burden.
A product like Equisal for this reason can greatly benefit those who are managing horses. It is another example of a horse related product that will benefit many across the equine industry.
“To see the wind’s power, the rain’s cleansing and the sun’s radiant life, one need only to look at the horse.” – Author Unknown
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