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Progressive Equine is now offering an “Early Detection Wellness Package” for horses! The package includes a Complete Blood Count (CBC), Serum Chemistry, Fibrinogen, Fecal Egg Count and Equine Infectious Anemia test (Coggins).

Take an active role in your horse’s health and be pro-active. With early detection we can catch health issues in the early stages.

CBC, Serum Chemistry, Fibrinogen

These are simple blood tests that will help detect infection, electrolyte imbalance, anemia, dehydration, organ dysfunction and chronic disease.

Fecal Egg Count

The Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) is the only method, currently, for detecting resistance in parasites of horses. Resistance is the ability of worms in a population to survive treatments that are generally effective against the same species and stage of infection.
Anthelmintic (dewormer) resistance is an inherited trait. Once resistance is present, the population of resistant parasites does not appear to revert to susceptibility so the aim is to prevent the development of resistance.
Anthelmintics select for parasites in the population that have mutations that confer drug resistance to that drug. Repeated deworming allows resistant parasites to preferentially survive.
Reasons to perform Fecal Egg Counts:

• To evaluate the anthelmintic efficacy
• To evaluate and monitor the egg reappearance period (ERP) of the most recently administered dewormer
• To determine the shedding status of the horse at the time of sampling
• To determine whether parasite burdens in foals and weanlings are primarily P. equorum or strongyle

Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA, commonly known as Coggins Test)

EIA is a potentially fatal blood borne infectious viral disease that produces a persistent infection among equids nearly worldwide. The most common vectors are biting flies, particularly horse flies. They carry the virus-bearing blood on their mouth parts from an infected horse to others.
Testing allows us to identify and remove positive reactors from herds and effectively block the spread of EIA among tested populations.
Categories of horses that require testing include:
• Equids entered into exhibitions or competitive events
• Equids moved interstate
• Equids changing ownership
• Equids entering horse auctions or sales
The Coggins test is valid for 12 months in California and most other states.

Should I do an Early Detection Wellness Package?

As we are heading into 2016 it is time to be pro-active with your horse’s health. With this extremely cost effective package you will have a baseline of your horses bloodwork, a Coggins test valid for 1 year and know whether you are deworming your horse too much or not enough. Be prepared for the New Year and the new show season with a healthy horse! If you are interested in the Early Detection Wellness Package, including the Fecal Egg Count, call our office and Chris will be happy to set up an appointment for you and your horse.

Information courtesy of the AAEP Parasite Control Guidelines and AAEP Horse Health