Deworming agents are, by definition, poisonous and poisons are, by definition, not something I feel completely comfortable feeding to Tonka and Raven. Most dewormers are neurotoxins that paralyze and/or kill their intended targets so that they can be absorbed by the body or shed out in the waste products. Worming is widely accepted to be safe and beneficial, but part of me feels that it shouldn't be necessary for healthy horses in a closed herd. The other part of me has heard too many Worms Gone Wrong horror stories to abandon the practice all together, so I use the following regular-but-minimal rotation:
- February 15th - Single dose of Safe-Guard (fenbendazole) effective against redworms, pinworms, roundworms, stomach hair worms, large mouth stomach worms
- April 15th - Single dose of Quest Plus Gel (moxidectin & praziquantel) effective against roundworms, tapeworms, small strongyle larvae, bot fly larvae
- June 15th - Single dose of Exodus (pyrantel pamoate) effective against redworms, pinworms, roundworms, threadworms, tapeworms
- August 15th - Single dose of Bimectin (ivermectin) effective against redworms, pinworms, roundworms, lungworms, stomach hair worms, large mouth stomach worms, neck and intestinal threadworms, bots
- October 15th - Single dose of Quest Plus Gel
- December 15th - Single dose of Exodus
There is a lot of overlap between the products, but it's best to rotate active ingredients to minimize the chance of developing resistant strains. A couple of weeks ago one year's worth of wormer (about $230) for both horses arrived from Greenhawk, but I didn't want to steal Daun's thunder by posting about it right away. Too much talk of worming might excite y'all right off the intertubes.
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2 comments:
Ya know...when I got my mare from my sister, 4 yrs in November, she also sent me a natural worming agent that I did the first 10 days of every month. I'd get the mare's fecal matter tested every so often and it was always good. It became so difficult to get the owners of various stables(as I have moved around) to comply that..I have now gone to the normal wormers we all hate to use, but do.
Shoot...just got so organized..took the stuff from my front room to the barn(imagine that)I will look it up and come back to report.
AHS
I remember my horse used to be miserable every time he was wormed. I think you do it in a gentler way than was done at the stable where I kept him. You must appreciate the "off" months, though.
Important question: How are you?
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