Concern about cases of pinworm (Oxyuris equi) has been on the increase over the last few years. We think more targeted worming practices and a preference for ivermectin/moxidectin wormers which are less effective against this parasite have combined to cause this. While not a direct threat to horse health and unlikely to cause serious illness, pinworm can cause significant irritation for some horses, a literal pain in the bum! It's a pesky little parasite that can be tricky to get rid of.
The life cycle of the pinworm is different to the majority of other worms found in the horse’s gastrointestinal system in a number of ways:
- Pinworm eggs are ingested by the horse, usually from contaminated surfaces where an infected horse has rubbed in discomfort and deposited eggs. These hatch within the horse to live in the intestine. There is no intermediate host and no migration through any other organ in the body and the worms themselves are relatively harmless in the horse.
- The female pinworms go on a suicide mission to lay their eggs, venturing out of the rectum deposit them on the skin surrounding the anus area. The eggs are contained in a sticky, yellowish residue which can sometimes be seen under the tail of infected horses. It's thought to be this residue that contributes to the itching of infected horses.
- The life cycle of the pinworm is relatively long; worms can take up to five months to mature. Immature stages of the worm are less sensitive to wormers so may survive post treatment.
Sellotape impression test kit (with pre-paid voucher) used to determine the presence of pinworm eggs (Oxyuris equi). Suitable for use with all equines including horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.
Kit Price Includes:
- a clear sticky back test strip to take the sample for each equine
- an information leaflet
- a voucher for the laboratory examination of the test strip(s)
- a single pre-paid envelope to send the sample(s) to the lab in one go.
