Do's and Dont's of worming miniatures?

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tracerace

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I noticed those horrible bott eggs on the mini's yesterday. I'd like to know the do's and dont's of worming these miniature yearlings. I've had no problems yet, but want to know for sure from you experts ;) what is the best rotation and product. Iremember the vet saying NOt to use one of those really potent products...something-r-other Gold was it? I haven't bought anything with "Gold" in it so I know I haven't used it.

Thanks,

Tracy
 
The for sure "don't" is don't use Quest.

What I do, which may or may not be the perfect answer for others, is I de-worm every 2 months with ivermectin. In the spring and in the fall, instead of "regular" ivermectin, I use the gold version.

I always aim to give them at least 100# more than I actually think they weigh.
 
I second the "no Quest" for Miniatures rule.

I'm also an Ivermectin user.

We had a vet here a couple weeks ago--not our regular vet, but still a good vet--and he said ivermectin does not get round worms from foals. He said we must use Strongid-P on our foals, twice, and then after that the Ivermectin is good for them.

Well, we've always used Eqvalan for our foals, and we've always gotten round worms out of them, but hey, we're willing to change our ways if we're wrong. Most of the foals had been dewormed just 3 weeks earlier, with Eqvalan, but on his advice we dosed them all with Strongid-P. Didn't find one single roundworm afterward...the youngest colt hadn't been dewormed prior to that, and even he did not pass one single worm that I could find. I find it hard to believe that he didn't have at least a couple ascarids....so when I go out later I'm now going to give him a dose of Eqvalan, and I'll betcha tomorrow he'll pass a couple ascarids.
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If I'm right, we won't be buying Strongid-P again.

So, everyone has their own ideas about deworming. For us, the ivermectin works well, and we'll continue to use it.
 
Have not heard anything negative about Ivermectin Gold. It's supposed to be good for tapeworms.

The one wormer I will NEVER use is Quest. Never Ever.

MA
 
Miniv said:
Have not heard anything negative about Ivermectin Gold.  It's supposed to be good for tapeworms.
The one wormer I will NEVER use is Quest.  Never Ever.

MA

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Forgive my ignorance, and I have heard this about Quest before, but WHY should one not use it on the little horses?

SuziB
 
The main reason it is very potent and does not have the safety factor that Ivermectin is..Almost 10 times the safety...I was told right at the beginning when that first came out NOT to use it AT All....
 
Exactly. The Quest brand wormer does not have any "fudge factor". You need to know EXACTLY the weight of the animal or you risk seizures, coma, and even death.

There are too many cases of all of the above to risk it when there are so many other wormers available without the risk.

Just my 2 cents....

MA
 
And as far as those bott eggs go, my vet said not to try to pick them off or scrape them off, just wet them down and they'll hatch out. I have to assume this is true, not sure, never watched them!
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Oh!....and for bots, one of the best wormers is supposed to be Strongid, I think. Check the label.

MA
 
Okay - I need to clarify, it was QUEST that my vet said not to use (so sorry for the "Gold" confusion! I don't normally buy name brand wormers so the trade names are not common to me). I too use Ivermectrin, but every 12 weeks. Spring and fall though I do a panacur powerpac, and or a Strongid-p. That's what I do for the big horses and I've done it with the mini's too. Should I bump it to 8 weeks? The mini's aren't any more prone than the big horses are they? My vet always says "worm every 8-12 weeks".

I never knew about NOT scraping the bots eggs off. Interesting. The other night I scraped them off then sat there looking at the comb...what do I do with these disgusting little things? Well, now I know!

Thanks for your replies everyone!
 
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Bot eggs can be removed from the horse by using a warm wet(damp) rough cloth. The eggs are fooled into hatching onto the cloth instead of in the horses mouth. Just rub the cloth over the eggs and .....
 
Thanks for the tips about removing bot eggs. I hardly ever see them on my ponies but noticed some today. I think I'll try the wet cloth trick!
 
A botacide is what you want to give to against bots - Ivermectin has a botacide in it, and is one of the most effective. One way to remove bots is to use sand paper (old ones that are a but old from use on hooves).

Here is a good article about de-worming, rotation, etc. - Horse Deworming Article

If you don't want to rotate, Ivermectin is the best to use as it is the most effective against the broadest spectrum of worms. I personal won't use it on foals until they are 4-6 months old. We use Pyrantel Pamoate or Fenbendazole on foals starting at 1 month.

These are you main types of de-wormers available (there are others!) including useing diatamacious (sp) earth - food grade.

De-WORMERS

PYRANTEL PAMOATE good against lg strongyles & roundworms, tapes at double does, not against bots!

-Rotectin 2

- Strongid

BENZIMIDAZOLES

Fenbendazole - good against eye worms (double dose for 5 days) and many types of worms, but not bots. Very safe for foals too.

-Panacur

-Safe Guard

Oxibendanzole

-Anthelcide EQ

Oxifendazole

-Benzelmin

IVERMECTIN

-Rotectin 1

-Zimectrin

MOXIDECTIN

-Quest, Quest Plus (moxidectin and praziquantel) and Combocare (moxidectin and praziquantel).

Praziquatel (available for dogs and cats for years as Droncitwith) is sold with ivermectin as Equimax or as Zimecterin Gold - good for tapeworms once year.
 
Michelle, thank you for that very informative information! I printed some things out for my file ;)

Tracy
 
You can also take a thinning blade and get the eggs off. Be careful! My sister also uses her hoof knife to trim them off. I am glad to know about the wet cloth. I don't have botts here any more, but if I see any I will try that method. If you get the eggs off, your horses most likely won't get botts. I take a fecal sample to my vet and check for parasite infestation twice a year. If they don't have worms, I don't worm them. He explained to me how a wormer works: it is a neurological agent and affects the nervous system of the worm, which causes it to release and be purged. The idea is that the agent is strong enough to affect the worm but not too strong for the animal. Usually worms are most active in spring, called a spring rise. Maybe you could consider checking for worms before automatically giving your horse a toxin. My vet charges $6 for the test. Maybe not economical for farms with many horses, but worth considering if you just have a few.

Marsha
 
Ivermectin should be used at eight week periods, not twelve. Ivermectin gets all but encysted small redworms, which Quest claims to get, but ,in fact, only gets 80% of them. So.... Ivermectin every eight weeks through Summer and Winter. Spring and Autumn Fenbendazole double dose five day course, then Ivermectin ten days later- that will get rid of everything except Tapeworms. You can have an experience tester test dung for Tapes, or you can have a blood test done, or you can just worm with Praziquantel, eight weeks after the last dose of Ivermectin.
 
Ivermectin is so safe they are using it on humans in the 3rd world countries. That should tell a person something about how safe a dewormer it is.
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