Videos

Whole Horse Health Includes Parasite Control

Do you think about every element of your horse’s care, including parasite control? From nutrition and fitness to hoof care, dentistry and grazing management, we put a lot of thought into keeping our horses healthy. Parasite control deserves the same considered approach.

Gone are the days when blanket worming is the default. Modern parasite control is about understanding your horse’s individual risk, testing regularly with worm egg counts and only treating when needed. When you test with Westgate, you get trusted testing, backed by our award-winning expertise and support to help you understand your results and decide what comes next.

Whole horse care means thinking about parasite control too.

What does 5 star parasite control look like?

Why choose Westgate Labs for your horse’s parasite control?

For more than 27 years, Westgate Labs has been helping horse owners make informed, evidence-based decisions about parasite control. From our specialist laboratory in rural Northumberland, we process more than 140,000 samples each year, combining accurate diagnostics with practical, expert advice to help owners test rather than guess and treat only when necessary.

In this video, meet some of the people behind Westgate Labs and discover how we’re continuing to innovate in parasite diagnostics, while working to reduce unnecessary wormer use and protect these vital medicines for the future. You’ll also hear from five-star event rider Sarah Bullimore and horse trainer Miri Hackett, who explain why they trust Westgate Labs with the parasite control of the horses in their care.

From worm egg counts and specialist parasite testing to friendly advice when you need it, we’re here to help you build a parasite control programme that works for your horses.

3 Steps to Effective Parasite Control for Horses

In this webinar we join Katy from the Equestrian Entrepeneurs Network to break down parasite control into three easy steps for horse owners. We learn:

• How to assess your horse’s parasite risk
• Which tests to use, when to use them, and how they guide treatment decisions
• Simple management changes that can reduce parasite risk

Wormer resistance is one of the biggest threats facing the health of our horses. By implementing these practical steps, horse owners can reduce the likelihood of parasite infection and disease in their horses, slow down the development of resistance and reduce the impact of ecotoxic chemicals in our environment.

The resources mentioned in the webinar to assess parasite risk for your horses are: https://canterforhorses.org.uk/ https://www.whatsyourwormrisk.com/

📅 First screened on Tuesday 8th September 2026

Rogue Redworm; the large strongyle comeback we could all be missing

Could your horse be infected with large redworm? What would the signs and symptoms be? How could we test to prevent disease? Large redworms are one of the most dangerous parasites that can infect our horses. Once believed to be almost eradicated in the UK, vets and parasitologists are now warning of a potential comeback. In this video we examine what that looks like, why worm egg counts alone are not enough to protect our horses from this rising threat and what we can do to stay ahead!

Given wide ranging concern over a re-emergence of large redworm in the UK, we've developed a series of resources to help prescribers and horse owners to understand the risks. As well as this video we've got a web page available on our website here:

MORE ABOUT LARGE REDWORM

In February 2026 we presented a scientific poster at Horses Inside Out conference, on a risk-based framework for integrating large strongyle larval culturing into targeted based parasite control programmes for horses. Our poster, entitled ‘Large Redworm, the comeback we could all be missing’ presents a literature review we have undertaken and our findings on this subject.  

SCIENTIFIC POSTER

Westgate Labs is the first lab to offer testing for large redworm to UK horses, using a larval culture test. Our research recommends all horses would benefit from an annual test. Order your kit today.

SHOP LARGE REDWORM TEST

All Redworms, Large & Small Webinar

Join Westgate Labs and Austin Davis Biologics, for a deeper dive into small and large redworms, which remain two of the most important and potentially dangerous parasites affecting horses.

• Professor Jacqui Matthews (Austin Davis Biologics), RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Parasitology and inventor of the small redworm blood test
• Claire Shand (Director & SQP, Westgate Labs), the first UK lab to offer large redworm culturing to horse owners

📅 First screened on Wednesday 14th January 2026

We cover • Why a risk-based approach matters should be used in every season for every horse • How seasons and management affect parasite burdens • How the small redworm blood test works and when to use it • How it fits alongside worm egg counts to give a fuller risk picture • Evidence for large redworm making a comeback • How resistance is influencing treatment decisions • Practical testing and treatment strategies • Q&A with our experts

Horse First Autumn Worm Control Webinar

Join Westgate Labs and Austin Davis Biologics (creators of the EquiSal tapeworm test and the small redworm blood test) for a free, interactive webinar hosted by horse trainer and content creator Miri Hackett. Discover how to take control of parasite management on your yard with expert insights and practical tips.

📅 First screened on Thursday 16th October

We cover • Why a risk-based approach matters for every horse • How seasons and management affect parasite burdens • Practical testing and treatment strategies • Real examples from Miri’s own yard • Q&A with our experts

An introduction to test based Parasite Control for horses with @Anna.R.Dressage and Roo

Meet Anna and her horse Roo! Together they compete with British Dressage at Elementary level. Anna is passionate about a holistic approach to Roo's health care to help them perform at their best. In this video Anna talks to Kristy Hodgson from Westgate Labs about parasite control and why it's such an important aspect to consider to help them reach their dressage goals. They discuss why a regular schedule of worm egg counts and tapeworm tests is important, what resistance is and why we need to minimise the chemicals to keep wormers effective for as long as possible. Find out how easy test based parasite control is to implement with the help and support of your friendly experts at Westgate Labs.

Assessing a horse's Parasite Risk Profile with @Anna.R.Dressage and Roo

In our second video with Anna and Roo, Anna talks to Kristy Hodgson from Westgate Labs about the different factors that influence Roo's Parasite Infection Risk and whether he is low, medium or high on the CANTER Risk Profiling tool. Not all horses carry the same parasite risk, with age, grazing conditions, and management practices all influencing whether a horse falls into a low, medium, or high-risk category for parasite risk. 

Feeding for Natural Immune Resilience

We have an extremely interesting chat with Independent Equine Nutritionist Clare MacLeod MSc RNutr with some great questions, delving in to her extensive knowledge on the subject of feeding horses for natural immune resilience and to help them achieve optimum health. Nutrition plays an important role in supporting our horse’s own ability to resist infection and disease – be that from parasites, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens. A healthy natural immunity reduces the need for intervention with wormers and other chemicals. This in turn has many benefits to your horse, the environment, and your pocket!