Question about pelleted wormers

[Danielleee]

My mare is EXTREMELY difficult to worm. I have wormed her ONCE with no problem and that had to have been a fluke of some sort.

I figured she would get better as the time went on. But she hasn't and its so frustrating. We have 16 horses all together. Minis and big horses and while some of the others have their moods when I worm them none have been as bad as my mare. My horses are at my grandmothers and shes very....set in her ways. Before I even bring up pelleted wormer to her I want to know what other people's experience with it is (if its good then I have some leverage in case she wants to argue with me about it)

SO for the questions have you or do you use pelleted wormer, what brand, does it work well, etc. ? Thanks in advance!

 

[Danielleee]

Didn't mean to double post!

 

[disneyhorse]

Wormer is pretty cheap, I'd just mix the paste into some yummy grain and see if she eats it.

 

[Carolyn R]

I believe someone on the forum said putting the paste wormer in a slice of fresh bread does wonders, they gobble it down.

 

[chandab]

I believe someone on the forum said putting the paste wormer in a slice of fresh bread does wonders, they gobble it down.

I know it works for some, but not mine, they're on to that ploy.

[i actually only have one that is super difficult to worm, and that's my husband's 16H saddle gelding. And, he doesn't go for the dewormer sandwich. Wish they still made the ivermectin crumbles, or at least that they were available in the states; he'd eat those just fine in a little grain.]

 

[MyMiniGal]

Rhondaalaska, is the one that recommends the bread trick. Which the next time, I worm, I am going to try that.

 

[Danielleee]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm gonna try the bread out next time. I've tried putting some on a horse cookie which are her favorite but she wasn't having that lol but they're small

 

[paintponylvr]

As to the pelleted wormers, I've never been able to get mine to eat meds in their feed. They dump the buckets or tubs, slam them around to till the feed is on the ground and they can get around the meds. If they can't get around the meds, they refuse to eat. I've had ponies and horses alike that will go w/o feed for over a week - even fed by hand if they smell meds in it.

Never had such finicky horses before - but then we never fed meds to our horses when I was growing up. That was the time that a vet tubed them thru the stomach 2x year...

Keep some of your empty paste wormer containers or get one from someone who has one. Find something your horse likes - applesauce, applesauce w/ honey, applesauce w/ some peanut butter, or just watered down honey might work. What ever you find your horse likes, you will need to water it down a bit to draw it into the tube AND be able to push it back out again easily... Draw it into the paste wormer and give your horse some - literally just a taste. It usually works pretty good where you can get them to like it and want it. Do several times through out a day, then several times during the week. When he's hunting for it when you come out, give the paste wormer and then follow w/ the applesauce (or whatever).

 

[AnnaC]

I have found that it is ofen those that have been wormed in the past before I got them and had the wormer tube roughly foced into their mouth, thus jabbing them quite severely, that naturally object to the tube rather than the taste of the paste.

We have used apple sauce in the past to mix with wormers/meds but put it in a bowl rather than back in the wormer tube. Have also ground up several polos for the polo addicts and mixed this with wormer/meds, again fed via a bowl. I think it is Equimax that has apple flavoured wormer if this helps?

In the past we used to be able to get a pelleted product here in the UK, called Multi-wormer, but I dont think they make it any more - shame coz all my horses lapped it up!

 

[MountainWoman]

I use pelleted daily wormer on my horses. They have never had a problem eating it mixed into their grain. It doesn't have an odor like some supplements and down it goes when they eat their grain. I get it from SmartPak and it's in a dosage size for my minis. Just wanted to add that I did try putting paste wormer into grain once and that sure didn't work. They wouldn't even go near their grain.

 

[Danielleee]

This is why I love this forum. A wide variety of ideas to try. Thank you all!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

The trick with the sandwich is to give the horse a couple of slices without wormer first- especially if it has a smear of honey on, then pass the wormer sandwich over, also with honey as part of the feeding! Worked for my naughty yearlings who decided not to be caught that day- they came for the bread quick enough and gobbled it all down and I did not have to mess around.

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

When dealing with worms we should understand only 5% of worms on a farm are in the horses, 95% are on the ground. We deworm horses in an attempt to decrease the population on the ground.

Unless this individual had a particular worm problem, skipping 1/16 of the herd would probably still produce overall worm control.

Dr. Taylor

 

[Carolyn R]

When dealing with worms we should understand only 5% of worms on a farm are in the horses, 95% are on the ground. We deworm horses in an attempt to decrease the population on the ground.

Unless this individual had a particular worm problem, skipping 1/16 of the herd would probably still produce overall worm control.

Dr. Taylor

Great info, but Without her vet being directly hands on in the matter and having concrete evidence of this particular horse's parasite counts, is it worth it to "not worm the horse"?

 

[drmatthewtaylor]

I absolutely agree, fecal egg counts are a far better way of making de-worming decisions. The difficult part many people have with using FEC's is making the decision to NOT de-worm. Most horse owners see de-worming as the safer way to go. I just wanted to plant a seed of thought, maybe de-worming is not only safer for people having to administer the medication, it might also be better for horses.

Dr. Taylor