Spot the Eggs!
The redworm eggs are in the pink circle and the tapeworm eggs are in the blue circle.
We rarely see tapeworm eggs in a worm egg count but because these are laid in packets in the poo rather than being evenly distributed like redworm and ascarids, it isn’t a reliable test for this sort of worm. Instead, to accurately test for tapeworm, some of the horse’s spit is collected using a specially designed swab for an EquiSal test.
Pinworm can also be seen under the microscope and look like thousands of little rugby ball shaped eggs ready to be rubbed onto surfaces and infect the next unsuspecting horse! You may see a horse scratching it's tail or the actual beansprout type worms and an infection of pinworm can be a literal pain in the bum to treat. Not a true intestinal horse worm, pinworm isn't a dangerous threat to horse health, but an infection can be still be irritating and hard to get rid of.
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