Over Dose with Dewormer !! Oops.

[WLS]

Well it finally happened. That plastic notch slipped and my 36 inch gelding ( 4 years old), got three quarters of the Panomec (Ivermectin) tube.

I knew this would happen one day. I feel so bad. Needless to say, will be watching him very closely over the next couple of days.

Has anyone had a horse colic from over dosing? My horses get regular deworming, but never this much. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[MiLo Minis]

You don't have a great deal to worry about Wendy. Ivermectin is a fairly safe wormer and, although it isn't a good idea to constantly overdose a horse, you can overdose them with Ivermectin by a substantial amount and not have any reaction.

 

[StellaLenoir]

this just happened to me!! I was worming everyone with Ivermectin gold, and started with my baby (1year) he is such a good boy and stood so well while I wormed. Same thing, the stupid ring did not hold to the dose mark and he got about 3/4 of the tube.

I called my vet just in case he was out, so I called another vet who freaked out!!!! She said I had to get a quart of oil in him ASAP

She went on and on about brain damage and such. SO of course now I am somewhat freaking out.

Everything I have read, says there is such a high rate of saftey in case of over dose. On the web site and on the tube of wormer it states 'foals given 10x correct dose had no problems.'

But after a vet tells you your sweet horse could be brain damaged, you kind of do what they say. So out the vet came. Oiled my little man and gave him activated charcoal. Said everything would be stained black from his oily charcoal poo.

Mean while Chocolate Thunder

(victim of overdose) is fine! Not even a loose stool! No black poo on him at all. And he has a white rear end so I would have seen something. There was not one sign of anything out of the ordanary in the yard at all. Nothing!!!!

Except a cash poor mama.

 

[Lena1]

OH NO!

WLS you need to get a vet out ASAP.

I did exactly what you have just done (I too was using Ivermectin) to our 4 month old filly (Lilly). I called the vet straight away not really thinking it was such a huge deal but thought it best to check with him anyway.

He told me on the phone that she probably will not survive but he would come right away and do everything he could for her.

He worked for 3 1/2 hours tubing her, we could actually see blobs of the paste coming out the tube. After looking at what we were able to extract from her belly my vet said because he got to her so fast she may survive but may sustain brain damage. We had to administer injections twice a day for a week to help counteract swelling on the brain.

She did pull through, but for 3 days she couldnt get up. Poor little thing was like an empty shell, non responsive to us ect...

then amazingly on the 3rd morning it was like someone flicked a light switch on & she was back to normal. To this day we are sure she escaped any neurolgical damage.

Some here on the forum may remember this drama I had with Lilly as I asked everyone pray for our little girl.

Sending positive thoughts and prayers your way. Please keep us updated.

Karen

 

[Mona]

Wendy, I feel the Ivermectin is VERY safe! I once accidentally gave a 35" mare an entire tube...same thing happened, the ring slipped. I called the vet right away and he said keep an eye on her, but really, not to worry as there is such a large safetly margin. Sure enough, all was OK! I did it again one time after that to a yearling foal! The wwhole tube again! Some of the other types of wormers can be fatal at much smaller overdoses, but the ivermectin is safe! You can reat easy!

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I've used Ivermectin on my horses for many years. I have never seen (nor heard of any one else with) the problem your vets are describing. I wonder if it has anything to do with the additions. What exactly is in the Gold? I use a liquid Ivermectin which means I draw up only as much as I choose to administer rather than trying to stop part way thro a tube. There is no paste carrier for the drug so it is easier to get the entire dose into the horse. Plus I always found the paste allowed them to spit out some of the dose while the liquid is gone to quickly for that. I'd be interested in knowing why these vets felt the overdoses were an emergency. I like others have always understood that Ivermectin had a wide margin for error.

 

[Mike Creel]

I did the same thing to a 3 year old 30" mare. She got nearly the whole tube of Ivermectin. She never had any problems and she was in foal and had a healthy colt about 4 months later.

--Mike

 

[Charlotte]

I have done that also, but my vet just told me to watch for any neurological symptoms for a couple of days but felt the filly should be fine (yearling 27" filly). This was straight ivermectin with nothing else added. And the whole tube! The filly is fine. Went on to earn some World Top Tens that show season and has given us 2 beautiful babies since then.

I really prefer the liqud dewormers though for this very reason. Unlikely to overdose unless you forget which horse you've just dosed....like us old folks are inclined to do!

Charlotte

 

[HGFarm]

Ivermectin Gold has stuff in it for tapeworms, so is not just ivermectin. You might want to check with a vet on that one... and the reactions from that. I hear it is more dangerous that just ivermectin.

I have also accidentally od'ed a couple of horses with an entire tube of ivermectin, and they were just fine- vet said don't worry.

Quest is not recommended for Minis at is is very sensitive to the dose amount from what I understand and to OD on that one could result in possible problems....

 

[shorthorsemom]

My Ivermectin Gold has a locking ring. You dial to the weight, pivot the ring to the right so the arrows line up and it locks pretty tight. Not sure if all tubes have this feature. Recently I started tying a string on the notch just past the ring as an extra measure. I tie it tight and the string prevents you from pushing past it. I did this with my syringe banamine because I was afraid of dosing too much and the ring on that one doesn't lock.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

For what this is worth: Years ago back in the 80's I bought a (FULL size mare) 1000lbs from a riding stable that never wormed, EVER! I moved her and had a Vet come out and he wormed her with 10, yes 10 FULL tubes of ivermectin! He told me he had done this with pregant mares before. I thought I was going to die as he was shoving all this down her throat! He was totally at ease with this and yes, she lived. I've never done this, nor would I ever, but I sure woudn't be in a major panic If I overdosed by accident.

Let us know how you made out.

Joyce

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Holy crap... that's scary! Ivermectin is a very strong wormer... NEVER, EVER give it to horses suspected of having worm overload! That's a great way to KILL the horse... not from the wormer, but from the endotoxins released by the dead worms. Ivermectin kills TOO fast, that's the problem. Instead use a mild wormer and deworm every week for a month or two, working up to Ivermectin in the end.

 

[WLS]

Thanks to everyone who replied and shared their advice. This is what I LOVE about this Forum, you can get advice almost immediately as posted.

Update on the Gelding. Happy to report, 24 hours after the OD, he is just fine. Never showed any signs of discomfort (or worms passed). However, I may not have not been so lucky if he had been a younger smaller horse.

As many of you mentioned, Ivermectin is indeed a very strong wormer, but I like to use a good strong product (against those evil bots) especially this time of year to make sure all horses are healthy before winter sets in. Thanks again. You guys are a great bunch.

 

[ClickMini]

Here is a tip I have heard that I am now using to prevent this sort of thing. Minis have such a low volume dose, just squeeze it out onto your finger, open their mouth with your other hand, then wipe your finger with the dewormer onto their tongue. Works really well and is easy. I have read TOO MANY reports of the ring failing!!!!

 

[~Palomino~]

happened to me too, she was fine! Scared the crap out of me!

 

[Candice]

I overdosed my little 31" mare this past New Years Eve with Equimax. She reared up on me and I accidently knocked the ring and she got an 850lb dose. My vet wasn't immediately available so I called the company that makes the wormer and talked with their vet. The wormers are so safe now a days that I had nothing to worry about. The Vet there was good enough to call back and check on her two days later as well. I was advised to watch her and she had no adverse affects. Very scary though. She was 5 mos pregnant. She delivered a healthy filly in May.

If in doubt check with your Vet or call the Manufacturer and talk with their Vet.

 

[Katiean]

I did that once. I was on the phone to a vet quicker than it took to give the over dose. She kind of laughed and said it would not hurt her. I dosed a 32" mare with the dose of a 1200 ponnd horse.

She is fine and wormless.

 

[HGFarm]

Hey, that is a GREAT idea to tie the string there! I know one of the brands, the ring has to be screwed or unscrewed up or down to set the measurement, but not many have that and SO many of these are made so cheaply (in China? LOL) that they just dont work well.

Think I will adopt the string method myself!

 

[Alex]

Yep, dont stress over it. Ivermectin is one of the safest dewormers out there, I think. You'd have to drown the horse in it to kill it.

I gave my then 31 inch geldin a whole 1200 or so pound dose of Ivermectin. Didnt colic or anything and was fine.

 

[shorthorsemom]

The string method works for me, helpful since my two boys are different weights. Pick a string that will dig into the notches on the barrel so it won't slip either, I dig the first round into the notch and then tie it again around the barrel of the syringe to add bulk. I use textured string like you tie a box for shipping, it ties nicely and doesn't slip, but unties in a second too..