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worming

3K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  zephyr911 
#1 ·
I need some advice on worming. My vet suggested (wrongly) last fall that we did not need to worm our horses as often as we were. We had wormed them rotational with different wormers every three months and never had any problems. But she said to not worm them and to just do a fecal test in the spring. However I noticed my gelding has lost weight over the last couple of months (he is an easy keeper) and the BO said yesterday he has been rubbing his butt against the stall door lately. I wormed him yesterday with Ivermectin gold and plan on giving him another dose thursday. I also wormed our other horse. Is there any thing else I can do? should I have a fecal test done or should I give him a different wormer? any advice would be appreciated. thanks!
 
#8 ·
The vet is going to do a fecal this week. But I was wanting to know what else I can do before she comes thurs. I can tell he looks a little droopy. He is eating and drinking, pooping and peeing fine. But his gut looks sucked in. and he is ribby. I noticed it gradually over the last month but he was blanketed in January so I didnt notice it as much with his winter coat.
 
#4 ·
Fecal counts do not pick up encysted small strongyles (cyathostomes). They can stay encysted for over 2 years, all the time causing damage to the 'walls' of the digestive system, damage that results in ulceration, anemia, weight loss, diarrhea, colic etc. They can emerge in spring in large numbers and a horse that might have had a 0 fecal egg count on previous tests suddenly has a sky high one
At present Moxidectin is the recommended de-wormer for all stages of small strongyles. Quest has moxidectin as its active ingredient
 
#5 ·
Your vet's advice was not wrong. Blanket deworming every 6-8 weeks as many people promote does more harm than good on top of wasting huge amounts of money. A vet that isn't driven by the pharmaceutical companies and has an eye out for my pocketbook gets an A with me.
My deworming protocol has been to go after the encysted stronglyes plus a broad spectrum dewormer after the first hard freeze than do nothing until the grass comes back in. Has served me well.
 
#6 ·
Ive had quite a time trying to wade through all the different worming protocol advice Ive been given! Im a vet tech and have most of my experience with dogs and cats. Ive recently gotten back into horses and am trying to learn all I can. Of the 4 people I have talked to about their horse worming recommendations, I have gotten 3 different answers. My boss, the veterinarian, says twice yearly with quest+ or Zimecterin; spring and fall. Same answer from one of the gals that owns 20+ horses and has 50 years experience. Another gal says use the same dewormer, twice yearly for 2 years, then change to another for 2 years, etc. The guy that bought my other horse says deworm every 3 months, changing the drug every time. He says I will overdose my horse if I use the same one all the time. I told my boss about that and his eyes got real wide and he walked away.
The lady I bought Scout from says she only deworms with diatomatious earth. I did a fecal and saw quite a few strongyles. I dewormed with Quest plus and will probably stick with that. I will do another fecal in the fall before I dose him.
 
#9 ·
If a horse has gastric ulcers they can draw up at the flank and/or have what I call a hard line along the mid-to-rear of their barrel.

As far as my protocol: One horse is in 20 acres, the IR horse on 4-1/2 acres. I de-worm them Spring and late Fall.

Sometimes I de-worm the healthier horse mid-late summer if he starts rubbing his butt. I keep him clean and check for ticks twice a day. If I worm him for pinworms, he stops itching. So that is three times yearly on one horse, sometimes.

I just had fecals done on both of them and they were negative. Fecals don't show tapes or bots so I will still do my Spring de-worming in April.

Overuse of de-wormers is an issue, due to worms becoming resistant. Less worm medicine is more, if you can get away with it:)
 
#10 ·
yes, there is risk factor, which includes both age and management
Ascarids are a major problem in horses one and under, and Ivermectin, according to my vet, is not that effective against them, unless used double dose
Fecals are recommended, due to increasing parasite resistence, so that far as I know, only Quest has yet to show parasite resistence to it, and with no new de wormers on the horizon, the possibility of parasites becoming resistent to all classes of de -wormer is a distinct possiblity
I admit to not having fecals done, but do use Quest plus on all horses over one year of age, once a year and Ivermectin. Younger horses get de -wormed more often, as do horses living in more confined areas, like a dry lot
Encysted strongles, as Jaydee mentioned, are becoming a major threat. Tape worms, cause a specific colic, due to their location
Older horses develop some parasite resistance, esp to ascarids
No one program fits all, as climate , pasture management,age,all come into play We have real winter, a time no parasite is going to survive outside, even if they could find a blade of dead grass to cling to!
If you board, where hroses come and go, and where there is no de worming protecol, also affects your de worming program
I kinda like to de worm my horses, versus worming them, as they can get enough worms on their own. Sorry, just a bit of humor, I could not resist!
 
#11 ·
As a vet tech, you can likely get access to the AAEP conference proceeedings where strategic deworming was discussed in detail. Otherwise, you can access good deworming advice (or other health related advice) through TheHorse: Your Guide to Equine Health Care | TheHorse.com.
Deworming Part 6: Creating a Strategic Deworming Plan | Video | TheHorse.com

The core of any adult horse's deworming program should be treatment spring and fall with an avermectin and at least one of those should also include praziquantel. Then the rest of your program will depend on management procedures where your horse is kept and your horse's own immunity.
 
#12 ·
Why so quick so say your vet is wrong?

Aside from covering things that don't show on fecals which one typically worms once or twice a year for it's best to do fecals and worm based on the results. Other information is outdated.

How often you will need to worm depends on your horses needs and the area. It sounds like your vet had good advice.

He might have worms now, he also might have a million other things.

Worming blindly is not going to help and only hurts. If the vet is coming out to check him and do a fecal then why did you worm? See what the vet says.

I'd be surprised if he had a negative fecal then has enough worms to run him down so quickly (it happens though). It's natural for a horse to have some worms.
 
#13 ·
Why so quick so say your vet is wrong?

He might have worms now, he also might have a million other things.

Worming blindly is not going to help and only hurts. If the vet is coming out to check him and do a fecal then why did you worm? Swhat the vet says.

.
I say she was wrong b/c she told us NOT to worm at all, to just do a spring fecal. That was in September. She should have at least told us to give something in the Fall? I wish I had just stuck with the program we had our horses on and not done this. I feel in his case she was wrong. I wormed him be now because she texted me and told me to give him Ivermectin gold. Then she will be out this week to do a fecal.
 
#14 ·
I am big on the fecal testing and de-worming twice a year/as needed schedule. My horse is a high shedder so he is usually de-wormed 4 times a year. We test in summer and winter, if they are over 200 they will be de-wormed with ivermectin. In spring and fall we all de-worm with an ivermectin/praziquantel (equimax or zimermectin gold). Occasionally if the results are really high or varying in parasites we have been told for that horse to use a different de-wormer or double dose it but again it really depends on the individual horse.

We have about 30 horses on this protocol. When we receive the fecal results- only about 5 of them ever have to be de-wormed each time in testing months. 5 out of 30! The test is only $14 - so totally worth it in my opinion. I think the most horses ever needing de-wormed was 8 and that was a summer after an extremely mild winter.

Rotational de-worming is contributing to the parasite resistance so that is what your vet is trying to advise you against. I think each horse requires their own individual de-worming program based on age and pasture/herd management as well. Some do great with daily de-wormers too although I do not know the research on resistance for those.
 
#17 ·
Thank you all for your advice. Just an update, initial fecal showed positive for worms, gave him Ivermectin gold and finally fecal is negative, He was still girthy and tender and irritable and was eventually diagnosed with gastritis/ulcers. Started him on Omperazole paste and after about 4 days, tenderness was completely gone and mood improved, and after 7 days, he isn't sucked up in his flanks anymore and looks happy and relaxed. Vet said ulcer/gastritis mostly caused from worms. Brilliant, so saving my self $50 on worming medicine has cost me about $500 in additional vet bills and additional suffering for my horse. I thank god he is recovering. I will never again change what works!
 
#18 ·
If you know that your horses have worms, I recommend the following procedure, works great.

worm once every 4 weeks, three times to kill every stage. Use different wormers every time. my recommendation would be Oxibendazol, then Equimax, then Anthelcide EQ. after you have completed that follow up every 2 mo. with different wormers.
Never had a tail rub or signs of worms.
 
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