I will agree that most rotation programs are really ridiculous, because Ivermectin gets the same worms other dewormers get, PLUS bots, and all you need is Ivermectin Gold once or twice a year to get those tapes.
But why use Pyrantel pamoate for tapes, when you can use one of the Ivermectins on the market which also has the pyrantel or praziquantel in it to kill tapes? Then you are still killing all the other parasites that you would NOT kill by using pyrantel alone.
And to suggest that Fenbendazole (Safeguard) can be used as a substitute for Quest isn't true, as Safeguard does not kill nearly the same broad spectrum of parasites as Quest does. The encysted small cyathasatomes, or the small strongyles, WILL NOT show up on a fecal egg count until they emerge from the intestinal wall, and they don't all emerge at the same time, so you can never be sure how heavy the load is that you horse is carrying. Quest will kill them in a single dose, and Fenbendazole will kill them in a double dose, used five days in a row. However, parasites HAVE demonstrated a resistance build-up to Fenbendazole, but in years of research they have NOT shown any resistance to Ivermectin OR Quest.
The thing I *will* say in favor of Fenbendazole over Quest is that if a horse DOES have a heavy small strongyle infestation, it is safer to kill them off slowly, over a five day period, than killing them off all at once, as Quest would, as the sudden *bloom* could cause colic.
I don't use Quest simply because I have foals and young horses I need to deworm, and all horses should have the same dewormer at the same time, so therefore I use Safeguard. But I will only use it once per year, as I'm afraid of resistance buildup.
I also believe that minatures should NOT be dewormed unless there has been a fecal egg count done on a few of them first. Of course it depends completely upon the conditions in which your horses are raised. If they are on a huge pasture, infestation might be less.
If you are experiencing a really hot, dry summer, those conditions favor the killing off of a LOT of parasites which are passed through the manure. In fact, it's actually MORE important to keep up with deworming in the winter than it is in the summer, as the parasites can withstand incredibly low temperatures, but hot sun will dry them out and kill them.