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ABOUT H-LAB
This
section of the newsletter will have introductions to the people at H-Lab, explanations of
what we do behind the scenes, and highlights about actual customers and their worm
control strategies.
This Month:
Fecal Collection Kits On Demand
Do you ever buy equipment and then can't find it when you
need it? It's a common challenge in today's hectic world. That's why we
developed our 'collection kits on demand' program for fecal egg count testing.
It's a system we've found best supports our customers in having clean, reliable
collection kits when they need them, without wasting their hard-earned cash.
Here's how it works....
Customers pre-pay for collection kits; we keep them in
our office under sanitary conditions until they're needed, so they're not
'misplaced' in your tack trunk or the back of your truck's cab, and we can
quickly send you new kits as you need them. Using this system also helps us
keep our fees and overall expenses lower for our customers, because we're not sending out
replacements for lost kits (have you seen the price of postage lately?!).
For new customers: Tell us how many you need in the first
batch; typically we send enough for the quantity of horses you own, but
sometimes customers are helping a friend by ordering kits for everyone's
horses. It can get confusing, but the bottom line is just let us know
how many kits you need, what horses they're for, and who owns which horses;
that'll help us get it all sorted in our computer system.
For established customers:After your intial order, we
enroll you in our 'Reminder' program, which works on a 'Goldilocks and the
Three Bears' type of approach to deworming:
* If a sample is 'too high' or positive (e.g., more than
200 eggs per gram), we recommend you deworm right away and then submit another
sample within 3 weeks to re-check the numbers.
* If a sample is 'too low' or negative (e.g., fewer than
25 eggs per gram), we recommend you don't deworm, and re-test your horse in 3
months.
* If a sample is 'just right' (e.g., about 25 EPG but
fewer than 200), we recommend not deworming at that time, and submitting
another sample in 2 to 3 months.
In all of these cases, if you have any collection kits
'on account' we'll automatically send you one when it's time for another sample
from your horse; if your account is down to 'zero,' we'll send you an email
reminder.
A few of the program's other, nitty-gritty details:
* Customers buy fecal sample collection kits either by
calling us and ordering them by phone, or ordering online via our secure Web
ordering link. We accept MasterCard and VISA by phone, or PayPal and a variety
of credit cards online.
* Turnaround time from kit ordering to sample processing
can be a week to ten days, depending on postal transit and how quickly you
collect and return the manure sample; 98% of samples are processed in our lab the same day
we receive them.
* Prices are all-inclusive: The kit, USPS postage both
ways, and processing the fecal sample, plus all the emails and supporting
documentation, are built-in to the pricing.
* You can mail up to five samples in the small return
envelope; if you have more than five, we'll send you a larger return envelope.
We can also make special arrangements for larger farms or stables. Just
let us know what your circumstances are and we'll be happy to set up something
that works for you.
* We send you a confirmation email receipt
right away; you can save them to a 'Receipts' file in your email account, that
way you'll have them in one place for tax return time.
Return to the March issue of Worm Control News
Visit the Horsemen's Laboratory Web site
Worm Control News is written and produced by KempEquine.com
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