Armed with the new microscope, New Forest Equine Vets (NFEV) has started offering a mobile equine veterinary service, including expert worming advice.
The microscope captures images with a resolution of 1 micron, with a live magnification of x200 and x400 or more, which means that the practice can carry out an accurate egg count in the yard, rather than sending faecal samples off to the lab.
This, they say, allows for a more a more accurate result, because posting faeces can lead to the sample desiccating and the eggs hatching, leading to false negative results. It also allows the veterinary surgeon to give immediate advice and treatment.
Dr. Beth Robinson BVSc Cert AVP(EP) MRCVS, co-owner of NFEV, says "One of the main aims of performing worm egg counts is to identify horses shedding low numbers of eggs so that we can maintain a low number of parasites on the pasture that have not been exposed to wormers and therefore have not been placed under selection pressure for resistance. In horses shedding high numbers of eggs, worm egg count reduction tests are a useful way of assessing whether treatment has been effective."
Andrew Monk, co-founder of ioLight, said: "The product is incredibly simple to use. By using a tablet both the owner and vet can view the image and discuss treatment. We hope that more horse owners in the New Forest will use the services from NFEV to protect their animals, and that it will encourage other equine practices to purchase a microscope so they can also offer a similar high quality service. We have made a video with NFEV to demonstrate their service and encourage other equine vets to use the ioLight microscope in their own mobile clinics."
Beth added: "We are delighted to be working with ioLight and horse owners to keep their animals healthy and improve equine welfare."