Anyone do their own FEC?

Miniature Horse Talk Forums

Help Support Miniature Horse Talk Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

whitney

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
2,312
Reaction score
12
Location
Michigan
If so where did you get your equipment and instruction?

My local vet doesn't do them so he would have to send them to MSU. The last blood test he sent out cost me 150.00. They recommend FEC be done twice a year and with 5 horses that could get WAY expensive.

This is the only place I can find http://www.farmsteadhealth.com/microscope.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Kinda yucky

FEC= Fecal Egg Count

everyone is now saying instead of just worming you should do this test first.
 
Well your feed rep should be able to do this for you if you take a sample into your feed store. Just give them a call. Otherwise your vet should be able to send it in too.

I have never done one as I dont' have a microscope.
 
KINDA yucky ??
default_new_shocked.gif


I ainta countin' no freakin eggs
default_no.gif


I'll just "assume" they have 'em, and then "assume" that the medicine given will kill what's there
default_yes.gif


LOL
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Gotcha. My vets do it for $12.00 per horse per "load". That doesn't matter if it is a camel or horse or pony or mini or donkey. I've had it done for horses that I rescued or the worming was unkown and if it may be playing a part as a possible problem to signs the horse was exhibiting.

I had to pull samples from the 2 camels I trained due to very loose stools. We found out they had Coccidosis ( or however that is spelled). It is a really useful tool but I never considered doing it myself. There has to be some work in knowing the different stages and varieties of worms and what they look like. I'd rather pay someone to do it if need be.

Of course it is kind of funny to non animal people when you have a couple of baggies of poo in the front seat of your car.....

Amber in MO
 
Amber does your vet actually take a count or just identify if and what kind of worms and or eggs are present? This is the only test my local vet does.

If the egg counts are low they are now saying you shouldn't worm. Lessens the chance of your horse building up an immunity to the wormers.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Not sure you could do your own. The vet puts the feces in a solution, I believe the eggs float and he counts them under a microscope. The amount of eggs in the sample determine whether the host has a heavy load or a light load. I watched last time he did mine. It took less than 10 minutes and he did it at the sink.

My vet charges $8 and I do my horses twice a year--spring and fall. If the parasites are dormant, sometimes the egg count may not reflect the load. And some vets say if the parasite is dormant the wormer won't kill it.

Now that's a question I will ask next time--if he can tell what kind of parasite egg it is. I just rely on him to tell me whether I need to worm or not.

A blood test is 'way more complicated than a fecal test. I can't believe a vet wouldn't do a fecal.
 
My PERSONAL opinion is that we *may* be 'overdoing the deworming in SOME circumstances, and that perhaps it may not be necessary to deworm every 6-8 weeks, as is the common recommendation. Now, I am talking about otherwise apparently healthy adult equines. I am a STRONG believer that good husbandry plays a BIG part in keeping the exposure to reinfestation down, and I work VERY hard at that, cleaning up twice daily EVERY day.

I know it may be much harder for those who pasture their horses; I almost never do, as I live in drought-stricken central NM, and although I have 10 acres, about 8 of which 'can be' available to graze when Mother Nature has cooperated by sending rain for the native grasses. Where there is plenty of rain, and grass nearly or always grows, sometime lushly, there is a MUCH higher exposure to worm eggs-I understand that! But, I also know that there is LOTS of advice 'out there' about managing pasture to minimize exposure to worm eggs--such as proper rotation, and dragging of the pastures to break up manure--and believe that doing ALL of those things can be one of the biggest aids in keeping worm numbers lower in your horses.

All of my horses are in dry lot-and I do mean DRY! I clean up before the manure gets 'broken up' and reduced to 'powder', which can later be ingested as they 'piece around' on the dirt. I ALWAYS feed in feeders, and most places, have also put down mats where they eat(which I sweep daily, also--don't need colics from 'sand'/dirt accumulation--I do use psyllium monthly for a week, even so--some horses are notorious for 'vaccumning' the ground!).Though I have in past used a manure speader and spread the manure both in my arena, and on my 'other' 5 acres(which I seldom graze; see above!), now that I only have minis, I am able to have all of the manure hauled off by my trash service every week(costs extra, but still, worth it!)--so no more manure is 'accumulating' here. Other benefits include a VERY low fly population, in spite of the fact that my neighbor piles his manure in a bin for a year or more at a time, which the breeding flies just LOVE...(GRRRR!)

Honestly, I am just as glad I live in a summer/hot, winter/COLD, and dry, climate, for it is more difficult for parasites of many types to 'prosper' and reproduce in such a climate!

I deworm only about three/four times yearly, depending on how much moisture and/or heat we've had. I have been told more than once by various vets that fecal egg counts may not be of all that much help. The intensive husbandry just takes MY time and effort, which I have and am willing to utilize; I do NOT have much money, especially as everything is skyrocketing in cost, including vet charges---so it is really my only choice to utilize that time and effort of my own.

Just my opinion and experience....I should add that I'd urge EVERYONE with horses to consider their OWN 'unique' situation---heat/cold, humidity, annual moisture received from all sources, how you 'keep' your horses, and all the many possible variables, and set up an overall 'horse husbandry' program based on that!

Margo
 

Latest posts

Back
Top