Since 1999 our award winning lab has been offering an easy to use worm egg count and testing service to help you keep your horses and other animals healthy.
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Friendly vet approved advice. Subscriptions, season packs, commercial services for yards of 10+. 'More than just a worm count' not only the original postal worm count service direct to owners, yards, merchants, vets and charities, but also experienced, qualified advice to help you find the very best worming programme for your horses, using fewer wormers. Friendly SQP's (Suitably Qualified Persons) are here to help and all advice comes free as part of the service. For updates on poultry and other grazing animals such as chickens, ducks, sheep, cattle and goats please follow our sister page https://www.facebook.com/westgatelabs.smallholders
28/01/2026
๐กTop Tip! We have 6 days for a viable faecal worm egg count result. Providing the date the sample was taken helps us determine whether any are too old to test and prioritise older samples. Itโs reeeaally handy when you fill this out! ๐
26/01/2026
โ๏ธ๐ If you use moxidectin (found in Equest and Equest Pramox) for encysted redworm, it will also treat any bot larvae present.
Bots hatch from tiny eggs laid on the coat in summer and autumn, then migrate to the stomach where they attach and overwinter.
๐ Bot larvae are tricky to detect as thereโs no way to test for them, but some owners do spot them in droppings after treatment. Look out for small pink, armadillo shaped larvae that may appear after worming.
More info ๐ bit.ly/BotsInHorses
23/01/2026
What learning that youโve passed your Farm Animal SQP looks like! ๐ฉทCongratulations Isla and Nathan! All our tests for equines and grazing animals are backed up with advice and support from our qualified expert AMTRA SQPs (certified to prescribe and advise on worming). You get more than just a worm egg count from Westgate Labs!
23/01/2026
๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐! If you'd like to know more about two of the most important and potentially dangerous parasites affecting horses, then this expert-led deep dive into small and large redworm, their life cycles, diagnostic challenges, and the practical steps owners can take to stay ahead, is well worth a watch!
20/01/2026
โ๏ธ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ? Under dosing matters. Giving too little wormer exposes parasites to levels that do not kill them, increasing the risk of resistance.
๐ช Check your horseโs weight before giving a treatment. If you're using a weight tape, add around 10 percent to allow for inaccuracy. All licensed wormers in the UK have very safe tolerance levels and it is better to slightly over estimate than under dose when it comes to effectiveness. Donโt forget to make sure your horse also takes in the full dose!
๐ง Want to check your wormer has actually worked? ๐ bit.ly/ReductionTests
โ๏ธ Need expert winter parasite advice? ๐ bit.ly/WinterParasiteControl
16/01/2026
๐ด๐ฌ ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ? We're here to help and the first step is understanding your horseโs parasite risk profile. This shows whether they're low, medium or high risk for disease caused by worm burdens, helping you make informed decisions for every horse, in every season.
โ Assess your horseโs parasite risk and follow our Winter Protocol Flow Chart to choose the most appropriate approach ๐ bit.ly/WinterWorming
โ Watch our webinar on redworms and learn why reaching for a wormer โjust in caseโ is not the best solution ๐ https://fb.watch/EFVGHNR6TX
โ If you're still unsure, get in touch for our free, expert, award winning advice.
14/01/2026
Small and large redworms remain two of the most important and potentially dangerous parasites affecting horses. But how can owners recognise the risks, understand the differences, and use the right tests at the right time?
Following the success of our autumn webinar, join us for All Redworms Large and Small, a free, expert-led deep dive into these parasites, their life cycles, diagnostic challenges, and the practical steps owners can take to stay ahead.
Presented by:
โข Professor Jacqui Matthews (Austin Davis Biologics), RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Parasitology and inventor of the small redworm blood test
โข Claire Shand (Director & SQP, Westgate Labs), the first UK lab to offer large redworm culturing to horse owners
Together we're exploring:
โข How the small redworm blood test works and when to use it
โข How it fits alongside worm egg counts to give a fuller risk picture
โข The resurgence of large redworm and how culturing supports detection
โข How resistance is influencing treatment decisions
โข Real data, audience polls and your questions
14/01/2026
๐ Donโt miss out on FREE postage and a lucky dip gift!
๐ฆ Early Bird offer ends midnight today, 14th January 2026! Get the offer code and shop test kits here ๐ bit.ly/EarlyBird-Offer-2026
13/01/2026
Still time to sign up as 'going' for tomorrow's Live on Facebook webinar so you get a reminder when we go live! Join us along with EquiSal Tapeworm on Wednesday 14th at 7pm ๐ bit.ly/All-Redworm-Webinar-Info
12/01/2026
๐ฆLast chance to shop our Early Bird Offer!
๐ Get your horse's worm control sorted with FREE postage and a lucky dip gift!
๐ Donโt miss out - ends midnight 14th January 2026! Get the offer code and shop test kits here ๐ bit.ly/EarlyBird-Offer-2026
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Westgate Labs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Our mission is to improve the health and worm control of horses in the UK. Since 1999 our purpose built lab has been operating on the family farm in Northumberland to help vets and horse owners identify parasite burdens in their animals and target treatment appropriately.
But every year horses still die from parasite infections and thousands more are left with long term damage. Meanwhile resistance is the massive black cloud that not enough people are taking seriously. So this is what gets us out of bed every morning! Using fewer wormers slows the development of drug resistance as well as being better for the animals and the environment.
We offer an easy to use professional service and all tests include veterinary approved followup advice from our friendly team of experts. Our aim is to provide the best customer experience possible to help you navigate this sometimes complex aspect of your horseโs wellbeing.
Services include; worm egg counts for redworm and roundworm, the EquiSal saliva test for tapeworm plus pinworm, lungworm and liver fluke tests. We also offer faecal sand testing for horses to help guard against the risks of sand colic. This test measures sediment levels in the dung and gives a quantitative measure of the level found to help identify threat and assess treatment efficacy.
Easy to use collection kits, post-paid return, same day testing and results, mean it couldnโt be simpler to run a targeted worming programme for your horse. Test kits can be bought individually or as season packs so you have all you need for a year of testing. Discounts for multiple horses, commercial rates for yards of 10 or more. Alternatively choose our new All Seasons subscription service to really put the peace of mind into your horseโs parasite control.
Get started today to get the front foot with parasite control and help beat drug resistance! Our