Deworming Woes..

I feel really dumb asking this, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it.
Is there a reason that I can't just give my horse paste dewormer mixed in with his grain?

I'm normally crazy about going deep into detail about my situation, but there's not really any point now, I just have a horse that absolutely hates to be dewormed.
I can use molasses or applesause if I need to, but since this is obviously easier to do (and he'll eat anything if it's in his grain) and costs no money, I'll do it if it's okay to do, but if it's not I will go to other methods, simple as that. No need to lecture me or anything like that, a yes or no with simple explanation is just fine here.

No.
Can't say you why, just everybody told me, that's its better to give it pure!(effectiveness)

You really shouldn't give a paste dewormer in your horses feed due to the risk that he will not get a full dose---it gets on the sides of the feeder, he won't eat all of the feed with the dewormer on it, etc. Improper dosing of dewormers is a HUGE risk factor in the development of parasites that are resistant to the drugs that we have to use to deworm our horses. Resistance issues are already a big problem with 2 of the 4 drugs in use having moderate to very high incidence of strongyles being resistant to them and with strongyles in some areas starting to show resistance to ivermectin. We simply don't need to take the risk of under-dosing the products we have because resistance will develop more quickly and there are no new deworming drugs set to hit the market--what we have is what we've got.

Rather, you need to focus on training your horse to accept deworming as you would train him to accept leading, saddling and riding. Horses don't just automatically stand to be dewormed, but even the most fearful or bull-headed can learn to. You start by getting them comfortable with the deworming syringe--bring one out regularly and rub it all over your horse so that it's no longer a new and "scary" object. Then start sliding your finger into the corner of his mouth and follow it with they syringe. If he stands calmly, remove it and pet him. If he fights, lunge him quickly and do several direction changes to get him focused on listening to you. Then try to insert the syringe into his mouth again. Anytime he stands, let him stand calmly and pet him but if he fights make him move out and listen to you. And this is not about wearing your horse out, but rather getting him to pay attention to what you want. You can lunge him 1-2 circles, then ask him to change directions 2-3 times after he's gone about 1/2 a circle. It's not about getting him tired, but getting him to pay attention to you and what you want. I have used this method successfully on a very bossy mare who didn't think she should have to pay attention to what people wanted as well as a gelding who is afraid of his own shadow.

The other thing you can do is get away from the old "just deworm every 6-8 weeks" deworming program because it's not a good one. Many horses don't need deworming more than twice a year and 4 times a year would be the maximum necessary. During the time of year when you have the most moderate weather, run a fecal egg count on your horse at least 3 months after using ivermectin or 4 months after using moxidectin and just see what kind of parasite load he normally carries. Each horse develops some level of resistance to parasites and once you determine if yours needs minimal or more deworming you can set up an appropriate deworming program that does the job with the least amount of deworming.

Hmmm. Im pretty sure they have pelleted and liquid dewormers you give with feed. Not sure why that would be a problem. Just make sure the horse eats it all. Some horses are outright dangerous to deworm. We had a pony at our farm, a mini, who couldnt be held down with 4 people and a horses dose of ace, to get a wormer in him. I told her to try the kind you put in feed. Daily pellets are fed thru so I don't know why it would be such a problem.

People always mix dewormer into their feed for hard-to-deworm horses. A lot of horses are suspicious of it,but if your horse will eat it - go for it. If you wet the pellets then mix in the paste there is less of a chance of him not getting all of the paste.

My horse gets daily strongid and he gets the paste in the spring and fall. If he's that bad, maybe try daily wormer pellets in his feed?

You can get pelleted dewormer that is NOT daily dewormer...i forget what its called tho sry !

What I do if they are bad about it is just stand with the tube touching the side of their mouth & once they relax you can put it in. It works well for every hard to deworm horse I've tried it with =]

Have you tried taking an empty paste tube and fill it with applesauce/molasses/honey whatever he like, and give it to him for a couple of days before the real wormer.

I have done this for a couple of basically wild, un-touched mares I'd gotten before I could get ahold of them. They came loaded with worms (FOUR kinds) I gave all three of them Safegurad (A Double dose) in there feed for three days just as I'd give it by mouth (Only they'd never been haltered or handled so we couldn't catch them let alone de-worm them by hand) Then 10 days later Zimectrin Gold in there feed again. They didn't love it, but they ate it and YES it did remove worms. I cannot say that it works as well as de-worming the *right* way however it did remove any worms I could see.

A month later when I was able to handle them they did get the same treatment direct in mouth before heading to my grazing pastures....

Just a bit of advice, hand twitching his nose and de-worming super quick without him seeing the tube is great. Not much you can do when your owner has a handful of your nose twisted, makes de-worming seem not worth the argument ;)
Or maybe try a daily pelted de-wormer?

I have used the empty paste tube filled with applesauce , my mustang was a booger to deworm ...to the point that my BO wouldnt do it, I tried it and it worked wonders. He takes the paste worner wonderfully now, he will even take paste bute now if needed without much fuss.
I have also used the pelleted dewormer top dressing on his feed , he eats it right up.

For the answer to the OP , I also was told putting the paste in their feed wasnt a wise choice due to not getting the full dose , and the horses mouth should be free of feed or grass when giving paste.