A Faecal Worm Egg Count measures the number of eggs per gram of faeces (epg). This can be useful in gaining an idea of the roundworm burden your horse may have.

However, FWEC only gives an indication of the burden of adult parasites in your horse. They do not detect larval stages, including encysted small redworm – the most common state in which small redworm exist in your horse. In addition the FWEC can only detect the presence of small redworms, large redworms and large roundworms, as the eggs of other species are too small.

With Strategic Worming, horses have a regular FWEC conducted and only those horses whose results are above an agreed ‘cut-off’, e.g. 200epg are treated. However, remember that the results will not give a true picture of the horse’s actual worm burden, and this strategy will not necessarily be a cheaper alternative, as positive results will need to be followed by an equine anthelmintic treatment.