A Convenient Fecal Testing Option for Horse Owners

With intestinal parasite resistance in horses on the rise, equine fecal testing is becoming more important than ever. It is the only way to test for parasite resistance and provides valuable information necessary for establishing responsible deworming programs.

“Advocates for fecal testing include veterinarians, horse-care professionals and even deworming drug manufacturers,” says Jim Staruk, President of New England Horse Labs, Inc., a Worcester based, USDA-APHIS certified lab providing horse specialty testing services for over 30 years.

“Without fecal testing, horse owners can’t know what specific parasites exist on their farm, which horses are in need of treatment and whether or not parasite resistance is present. Even if horse owners are using daily dewormers or rotational deworming, without fecal testing, they could be treating unnecessarily or worse, using chemicals that are ineffective on horses with parasite resistance,” explains Jim.

ParaScreen-e™ is a fecal collection and mail-in testing kit that provides a very convenient way for horse owners to obtain fecal testing. New England Horse Labs is committed to making fecal testing available to all horse owners by offering ParaScreen-e™, a fecal testing option never before available to the individual horse owner. “We want to encourage fecal testing and help horse owners step away from out-dated deworming practices that encourage the overuse of deworming medications and indiscriminately administering them to horses,” says Jim.

Jim notes that if fecal testing is not easy for horse owners to get or too difficult to coordinate with their veterinarians, who are not always located close by, these owners are less likely to get their horses tested. ParaScreen-e™ eliminates those obstacles and is an easy option for horse owners wanting fecal testing done by a qualified lab.

New England Horse Labs does the testing, detects the existence of common intestinal parasites and provides a fecal egg count (FEC). These findings are reported directly to the horse owner. This information can then be shared with a veterinarian or used by hands-on horse owners to devise the most effective treatment options and only if treatment is deemed necessary.

“On farms where common intestinal parasites easily spread, properly managing the situation will save time and money for horse owners in the long run,” Jim suggests. “A simple fecal test may reveal that no treatment is necessary, eliminating the need for buying unnecessary dewormers or treating horses that are not in need of deworming.”

ParaScreen-e™ is the first in a line fecal testing options that Staruk hopes to develop for other animals such as goats, cows, llamas and sheep.

ParaScreen-e™ is available for online ordering at www.parascreen.com and costs $19.95 plus S&H.

New England Horse Labs will be making ParaScreen-e™ available to retailers selling horse supplies and is currently providing a time saving, easy-to-use, private labeled fecal testing program for busy equine veterinarians.

 

 

Contacts:

Ladybugz Agency, Lysa Miller lysa@ladybugz.com  ParaScreen, Sheila Yarborough Sheila.yarborough@parascreen.com