CVS recommends that owners have a FEC performed on their horses before they begin a structured de worming program. It is important to structure your de-worming program around your horse’s FEC results. These test results provide us with information such as the type and amount of parasites the horse is infested with. Once this is determined, Dr. Winter or his staff will recommend which class of de-wormer to use.

Approximately 10 to 14 days after de-worming your horse, a second FEC should be performed to evaluate the efficacy of the de-wormer. The egg count should decrease by 90 to 100 percent. If this does not occur, the situation may need to be reassessed and a different class of de wormer may be required.

This test is useful for:

	Routine monitoring of parasite status
	Identification of infected horses for targeted treatment
	Investigation of weight loss
	Investigation of colic
	Investigation of the parasite status of a new horse

Benefits:

	By identifying horses shedding large numbers of worm eggs, treatment can be targeted at these animals.
	Horses with heavy parasite burdens can be treated before they suffer from a parasite associated disease.
	Efficacy of worm control programs can be monitored.

Limitations:

	The test does not detect immature or encysted stages of strongyle parasites.
	It does not discriminate between large and small strongyles.
	Test results are not well correlated with total parasite burden.

Click here to print/view the Paste De-wormer Chart.