Succeed Equine Fecal Blood Test Kit - 10 Tests

Ulcers are a serious clinical condition that can affect your horse's overall health and well-being. In fact, you're probably already aware of at least one or two horses in your barn that you think might have an ulcer.

If your horse is a picky eater or doesn't maintain weight, ulcers may be the underlying cause. Ulcers can affect your horse's attitude and behavior as well. If your horse is withdrawn in his stall, is "girthy," or rebels in training, these may be external signs of ulcers. Even the horse's performance ability can be affected. If a horse does not want to collect for trotting, cantering or more advanced movements, or is resistant to particular physical movements, we often accept these as limitations of the horse's natural ability or attitude. But consider that digestive health may be the true culprit.

Knowing if your horse is suffering is the first step
Recent research showed that 88% of performance horses have stomach ulcers, and 63% have ulcers in the colon. In all, 97% of the horses in the study had some type of ulcer.* With the incidence of ulcers in horses this high, there's a good chance that more of your horses are suffering from this condition than you even realize. Besides, even horses that appear healthy can be affected by digestive imbalance. And digestive imbalance in your horses can directly impact you every day.

Knowing if your horse is suffering from ulcers or other digestive tract conditions is the first step in managing its GI health. The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ will help your veterinarian in diagnosing any underlying conditions or other serious GI health conditions, including both gastric and colonic ulcers.

There are a number of possible causes for excessive occult blood in a horse’s manure. Knowing it’s there is the first step in identifying the right one.
Knowing whether the source of the occult blood is in the foregut or the hindgut can help your veterinarian make a more accurate diagnosis, more quickly. The SUCCEED FBT is the only reliable method for detecting occult fecal blood from anywhere along the GI tract, and distinguishing foregut from hindgut sources.

Works with other diagnostic methods
A positive test result with the SUCCEED FBT means an issue has been identified, either in the foregut, the hindgut or both. The specific condition that produced the occult blood in the manure may include gastric or colonic ulcers, heavy parasitism, or lesions caused by hard feed or other objects. Your veterinarian can use the results of the SUCCEED FBT in conjunction with other diagnostic methods to make a complete diagnosis.

The SUCCEED FBT may also be a valuable resource to aid in monitoring blood loss following colic surgery, or as part of a pre-purchase exam.

Unlike other diagnostic methods that require lab work, the SUCCEED FBT tells you what you need to know on the spot. And it's incredibly easy to use, right in the barn.
The SUCCEED FBT is a two-part rapid antibody test. Use the provided plastic container to collect a sample of manure (feces) from the subject horse, using the provided polyethylene glove. Fill the container with fecal matter to the Sample Fill Line. Add clean tap water up to the Water Fill Line. Shake thoroughly to ensure complete mixing, and apply a few drops of the resulting solution to each well on the test cassette using the provided sample pipette. Test results should appear in less than ten minutes.

Remember — the SUCCEED FBT is for veterinary use only, for use as a diagnostic aid. If you have any questions about the test, the results, or the appropriate course of action based on your particular results, always consult your veterinarian.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to wait to see a result with the FBT?
Once you apply the fecal solution to the test well on either part of the FBT test cassette (Test A or Test H), results should appear after five minutes. However, a control line may be evident in as little as two minutes. Do not read results after ten minutes.

Is there a time when I shouldn't use this test on my horse?
Any time that the horse may be likely to have blood introduced into the digestive tract, testing should be avoided. Blood in the horse's manure from any source, even an external one, will trigger a positive test result. Avoid testing the horse within 24 hours of racing (particularly bleeders), having its teeth floated or during ovulation. Avoid testing the horse if there are any bleeding sores or abrasions around the horse's mouth area that could allow blood to be swallowed by the horse.

Can I use the test on foals?
The test will detect trace amounts of equine blood. A foal's blood is no different from an adult horse's. Therefore, the test is reliable in testing foals.

My horse has diarrhea. Can I still use this test on that horse?
Yes. While collecting the fecal sample may be more of a challenge, the test will work with manure that is in any state or condition, even loose, watery or particularly dry.

Does a veterinarian have to administer the test?
The test is designed for use by anyone, and there are no regulatory issues requiring veterinarians to administer the test. However, the test is only available through veterinarians, so it is up to you and your vet to determine whom should actually administer it.

How often should I test my horse?
It is up to you and your veterinarian to determine how often you need to test your horses. You may want to test certain horses that you believe have digestive tract issues, or you may prefer to test all of them, to ensure the ones you think are healthy are not suffering from a GI tract condition. You may also elect to do follow-up tests following treatment of horses that test positive, to see if the treatment is effective. Discuss your options with your veterinarian.

Do I need to use filtered water to mix with the sample?
No, tap water is perfectly acceptable for mixing with the fecal sample. However, that water should be fresh - do not use water that has been sitting around and which may be exposed to potential contaminants.

How clean does the area where I administer the test need to be?
The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ was designed for use right in the barn. However, some effort should be made to clear an area of debris, or to work on a clean, flat table top. This will help prevent exposure to other horses' manure or other contaminants, and will simply make administering the test easier for you or your veterinarian.

Does the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ diagnose ulcers?
No. The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ is a diagnostic aid that detects fecal occult blood — trace amounts of blood in manure that may be invisible to the naked eye — as an indication of ulcers or other GI tract conditions. You and your veterinarian should combine the SUCCEED test kit results with other diagnostic methods to arrive at a complete diagnosis.

If my horse has a positive test result, does that mean it has an ulcer?
It means your horse has trace amounts of blood in its manure which may result from an ulcer in the digestive tract. It may also result from parasites. When parasites create a blood source in the digestive tract, they can often leave an open pit or lesion in the mucosal lining, which is a form of ulcer. A positive test can result from any bleeding lesion anywhere in the GI tract. Because horses, especially in performance, are prone to gastric and colonic ulcers, ulcers may be the most likely culprit of any positive test result. However, positive test results should be combined with other diagnostic methods by your veterinarian to develop a complete diagnosis.

What does it mean if a horse has a negative test A and positive test H?
Refer to the instructions to understand the meaning of a negative test A and positive test H result. A positive Test H (bleeding from any location in the GI tract) combined with a negative Test A (bleeding is NOT in the hindgut) means your horse has trace amounts of blood in its manure from a source cranial to the duodenal-jejunal junction, or the foregut (stomach, duodenum, esophagus, etc.). This may be a result of a bleeding gastric ulcer, for example.

What should I do if my horse has a negative test A and positive test H?
Refer to the instructions to understand the meaning of a negative test A and positive test H result. Then, speak with your veterinarian to determine the appropriate course of action. Your veterinarian may recommend additional diagnostics to ensure a complete diagnosis, before initiating a particular treatment.

What does it mean if my horse has both a positive test A and positive test H?
Refer to the instructions to understand the meaning of a positive test A and H. Because your horse has a positive Test A, which indicates albumin in the manure from a source caudal to the proximal small intestine (i.e., the hindgut), and a positive Test H, which indicates hemoglobin in the manure from a source anywhere along the GI tract, your horse likely has an issue in the hindgut, such as colonic ulcers. But your horse may also have a condition in the foregut. Discuss the results with your veterinarian. Your vet may want to also utilize gastric endoscopy to confirm if foregut bleeding is also occurring.

What should I do if my horse has both a positive test A and positive test B?
Refer to the instructions to understand the meaning of a positive test A and H. Then, speak with your veterinarian to determine the appropriate course of action. Your veterinarian may recommend additional diagnostics to ensure a complete diagnosis, before initiating a particular treatment.

What if the line on the test cassette is faint?
The SUCCEED test antibodies are highly sensitive, detecting minute amounts of blood in manure. Any complete line – faint or strong – still should be read as a positive result. Only a broken line, or the absence of any line, indicates a negative result.

What's the best treatment for a horse with a positive test result?
Discuss your treatment options with your veterinarian to determine the best approach for you and your horse.

Can protein from feed sources trigger a positive test result?
No. The blood protein components utilized as antigens in the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ are highly specific to equine blood.

My foal occasionally eats the mare's manure. Can I still test the foal?
Test the mare first. A positive FBT test result for the mare means trace amounts of blood have been detected in the mare's manure. If this occurs, avoid testing the foal. If the foal ingests the feces (sometimes referred to as corprophagy) of a mare with a positive FBT result, the foal would then also likely register a positive FBT test result that may or may not be a false positive.

What if my horse has an ulcer that isn't bleeding?
Generally speaking, you may detect a non-bleeding ulcer in the colon (resulting in a positive Test A result only), but are not likely to see a positive test result for a non-bleeding stomach ulcer with the SUCCEED FBT. Refer to the instructions for complete details.

In all cases, professionals should take care to use multiple diagnostic indicators, such as gastric endoscopy, CBCs and gross observation, in conjunction with the SUCCEED® FBT for a complete and accurate diagnosis. For practitioners experiencing a positive Test A without a positive Test H, one of the differential diagnoses should include a protein-losing enteropathy, especially in the presence of hypoproteinemia/hypoalbuminemia on a CBC/chem profile.

How accurate is the test in detecting GI tract conditions?
The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ is very accurate. In an August 2007 study of 86 horses, the FBT results were compared with visual observation of gastric and colonic tissue following necropsy. The positive predictive value of each strip was determined – Test A, detecting equine albumin as an indicator of colonic ulceration grade 1 or higher – was 95%, while Test H, detecting equine hemoglobin as an indicator of either gastric or colonic ulceration grade 2 or higher, was 96%.

How accurate is the test in detecting blood from ulcers vs. from other sources?
The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ is extremely sensitive to equine blood, detecting even microscopic amounts in a manure sample. Using Test A and H together can allow you to distinguish foregut from hindgut blood sources. However, the test cannot distinguish the source of the blood in any other way. Any source of equine blood at any location in the GI tract will trigger a positive test result. Your veterinarian should combine SUCCEED FBT results with other diagnostics for a complete diagnosis of your horse.

How do the FBT Test A and H detect blood from different GI tract locations?
The SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ includes proprietary SmartSignal™ Technology to detect trace amounts of blood, invisible to the human eye, in your horse's manure as a sign of GI tract conditions. This technology utilizes antibodies to unique components of equine blood proteins to create the results.

Test A utilizes antibodies to equine albumin, which is susceptible to breaking down in the face of digestive enzymes delivered by the common bile duct in the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine). A positive Test A indicating the presence of albumin in your horse’s manure suggests that bleeding is occurring in the hindgut, past where this enzymatic activity would have occurred (i.e., caudal to the common bile duct). The blood protein marker detected by Test H is equine hemoglobin, which is more resistant to these digestive enzymes, acids and bacteria throughout the GI tract. A positive Test H indicating the presence of hemoglobin in your horse’s manure could result from bleeding anywhere in the GI tract.

What is an antibody?
An animal’s immune system produces antibodies, specific blood cells, to fight foreign bodies that may enter the animal’s system. By design, each individual antibody relates to a specific foreign body, called the antigen — that particular foreign body that the particular antibody reacts to. In the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™, SmartSignal™ Technology utilizes specific antibodies to particular equine blood markers (which act as the antigens to those antibodies) to produce the test results.

What is a blood marker?
Protein components of blood that are utilized as antigens to provide a reaction on a test. In the SUCCEED FBT, the specific blood components utilized include albumin in test A, and hemoglobin in test H.

Is the SUCCEED test like the human fecal occult blood tests that were available a few years ago?
No. The human fecal occult blood tests (FOBT) use guaiac acid to detect occult blood in feces. Guaiac acid is not utilized in the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™. The SUCCEED FBT is an antibody test. In fact, the SUCCEED FBT was evaluated against guaiac acid and the SUCCEED test was found to be more sensitive and more specific.

What causes the red lines to appear on the test cassette?
At a microscopic level, specific antibodies are combined with a red dye microsphere and soaked into the SUCCEED Equine Fecal Blood Test™ substrate found inside the test cassette. When the antibodies react to the presence of the appropriate antigen (albumin in Test A and hemoglobin in Test H), they carry the red dye microspheres to the TST location on the substrate, appearing as a visible red line in the cassette window. For a complete view of the test mechanism, .

Why do we mix the fecal sample with water?
Water mixed with manure produces a slurry that provides an easier medium for utilizing the test. Particles of manure (and any occult blood that may be present) will be suspended in the resulting liquid slurry, making them more accessible for the antibodies on the substrate within the test cassette.