Environmental conditions during collection and storage of equine fecal samples impact the resulting fecal egg counts (FECs), report parasitologists from both Denmark and the United States.

"Due to the concern regarding anthelmintic resistance in horses, counting strongylid eggs in equine fecal samples pre- and post-deworming has become an important tool in screening for drug resistance and devising targeting worming strategies," said Martin K. Nielsen, DVM, from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

"Our results demonstrate that refrigeration is the best method for storage of fecal samples intended for egg count analysis, but accurate results can be derived from fecal samples collected from the ground within 12 hours of passage."

–Dr. Martin K

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.