Zimectrin Gold

[StacyRz]

Hey all!

I was wondering if this dewormer is safe for pregnant mares? It's praziquantel and ivermectin. I don't know for certain if my mare is in foal or not, I'm leaning toward she is not, but just in case, I don't want to dose her with it if it's not safe.

Thanks in Advance!

 

[Jill]

Per my own vet when I asked, yes... but that's not a substitute for getting your own vet's opinion. It's been a long time since I asked ours.

 

[AnnaC]

Some while ago there was some 'worries' about Z. Gold if I remember correctly. I personally would not use it when there are so many other possibilities on offer (Never use Quest/Equest either) This time of year you need to make sure your wormer covers bots so a straight ivermectin will be fine. Tapeworms should be covered by worming in September (although I think you can do 'tapes' in March if you wish).

 

[mydaddysjag]

I cant tell you the safety about it in pregnant mares, but personally, I wont use Zimectrin Gold, I use Equimax. It the past, many people have had issues with zimectrin gold causing swelling of the mouth and tongue, along with other side effects. So far Equimax hasn't had those complaints.

 

[StacyRz]

I appreciate all of the advice. I will go with the Equimax

 

[MindyLee]

So speeking of Quest!

Almost everyone will say that it is unsafe for minis and could kill them, correct?

I took a equine class for work about wormers this fall and learned that...

FALSE! Quest is not unsafe for minis and wont kill them if used correctly. Most folks over dose their horses big or small when worming them which most times is fine. It dose not hurt them to do so, BUT with Quest, you MUST give them the correct amount because it is such a strong wormer that if too much will only then it could potentialy be harmful if not deadly to your mini or even a big horse. Most times folks dont read the directions and just give a 1/2 of tube to their minis making a tube to do 2 at a time if not 3. Well with the Quest, most time horse owners do the same thing and later realize their horse becomes sick or even dies, all because they did'nt read the directions and thought wormer is wormer no matter what. And i would guess that if ya asked one of those horse owners if the read the directions 1st, they would lie and say yes. And with sickness/deaths caused by Quest and the rumors flying about it, most mini horse owners will not use it because of that and share what they heard to the next mini horse owner.

My point taken, I am a mini horse owner and even tho I had learn these facts, I still wont use Quest just because I heard this rumor and dont want to take any chances. And I know A LOT of mini horse customers who come in the store and buy this product with no issues.

Just something I learned and wanted to share.

 

[Carolyn R]

So speeking of Quest!

Almost everyone will say that it is unsafe for minis and could kill them, correct?

I took a equine class for work about wormers this fall and learned that...

FALSE! Quest is not unsafe for minis and wont kill them if used correctly. Most folks over dose their horses big or small when worming them which most times is fine. It dose not hurt them to do so, BUT with Quest, you MUST give them the correct amount because it is such a strong wormer that if too much will only then it could potentialy be harmful if not deadly to your mini or even a big horse. Most times folks dont read the directions and just give a 1/2 of tube to their minis making a tube to do 2 at a time if not 3. Well with the Quest, most time horse owners do the same thing and later realize their horse becomes sick or even dies, all because they did'nt read the directions and thought wormer is wormer no matter what. And i would guess that if ya asked one of those horse owners if the read the directions 1st, they would lie and say yes. And with sickness/deaths caused by Quest and the rumors flying about it, most mini horse owners will not use it because of that and share what they heard to the next mini horse owner.

My point taken, I am a mini horse owner and even tho I had learn these facts, I still wont use Quest just because I heard this rumor and dont want to take any chances. And I know A LOT of mini horse customers who come in the store and buy this product with no issues.

Just something I learned and wanted to share.

I think that this has always been the general thought. The margin of error is very small compared to other wormers, it is just easier to steer clear of it altogether, especially when it is difficult to get an accurate weight using the convenience of a weight tape.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Mindylee, not to contradict you, but when I contacted Pfizer directly, I was told that they do NOT recommend the use of quest or quest plus in miniature horses, and there is actually small print on the box that extreme caution should be used if you decide to use it on miniatures.

 

[Jill]

I think that this has always been the general thought. The margin of error is very small compared to other wormers, it is just easier to steer clear of it altogether, especially when it is difficult to get an accurate weight using the convenience of a weight tape.

Exactly. With so many good products on the market, I will never use Quest on my horses (not even my big one) and I hope others will not use it on their small equines, either. We have had some tragedies reported here over the years.

 

[Matt73]

I don't use Zimectrin Gold/Eqvalan Gold on my pregnant mare(s). If it says "not tested on pregnant mares" etc. then I don't use it. The only thing I use on pregnant mares is fenbendazole or ivermectin.

"ZIMECTERIN® GOLD Paste has not been tested in foals younger than two months of age, mares at or near the time of breeding, pregnant or lactating mares"

 

[MindyLee]

Mindylee, not to contradict you, but when I contacted Pfizer directly, I was told that they do NOT recommend the use of quest or quest plus in miniature horses, and there is actually small print on the box that extreme caution should be used if you decide to use it on miniatures.

Oh I dont doubt it LOL.

I just was told this at a class that was given by a person from the company who makes and sells this product. I even questioned it with her and she insisted that it is very safe if used correctly. I told her I still would'nt use it personally because of the rumors and wont recomend it altho she says its safe. She just kinda gave up on trying to convince me that I should give it a try because its a good product, which Im sure it is, but after spending thousands upon thousands of $$$ on my horses, I dont feel confertable giving it to them just to kill them to prove her wrong. I love my horses and play it safe with a safer wormer.

I by no means am telling anyone here to use it, just figured I would share what I was told in a equine class that was provided by work. But yes, I agree! if I wont use it, I wont talk other horse owners into using it, big or small.

When I go to work today, Im going to read the box just for the fun of it since I never had.

GOOD TOPIC! And helpful to who is not aware of wormers!

I personally use...

Safe Choice

Zimectrin Gold

EquiMax

Panacure

Horse Health

 

[Reble]

When I go to work today, Im going to read the box just for the fun of it since I never had.

GOOD TOPIC! And helpful to who is not aware of wormers!

Yes the quest sold in U.S. has written on insert, but here in Canada many years ago did not, but they where to change that here.

I believe it does state something like not recommended to use under certain age and miniatures horses.

Did have a vet give Quest many years ago, when I first got into them, used it on my bigger horses without any problems but lost a beautiful 2 year old mini.

Quest did pay for the autopsy and my vet bill.

They where to change and make sure the insert was put on our Canadian Quest product.

So that is all I can say.. I learned the hard way.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Moxidectin 101:

Moxidectin works by being absorbed through the fat in the horses body.

Even if you give the exact right amount for the weight of the horse, if the body fat is not correct too much chemical can be released into the digestive system causing trouble and, in at least one proven case, death.

There is no noticeable advantage to using Moxidectin, it is not better than Ivermectin, it only (allegedly) lasts 13 weeks. BUT if your horse does not have enough body fat to sustain the chemical for 13 weeks, even if it does not harm at all, it will be released before the 13 week window is up and your horse will be consistently under wormed.

Moxidectin kills 87% of encysted small strongyles whereas a five day course of Fenbendazole kills 99%.

The only reason that some duo wormers are not guaranteed safe for pregnant mares is that whilst the individual constituents have been tested, the two together have not and it is expensive to test them.

 

[StacyRz]

I was very happy to see all this info! I didn't know there was so much to consider in a "simple" de-worming LOL

For years I had assumed that Ivomec was what would be unsafe in a pregnant animal. Per our old vet, my husband had given one of our pregnant hunting dogs ivomectin as a dewormer, and a week before she was due, she aborted all 5 pups and they were all severely deformed. I always assumed it was because of the ivomectin

 

[Matt73]

I was very happy to see all this info! I didn't know there was so much to consider in a "simple" de-worming LOL

For years I had assumed that Ivomec was what would be unsafe in a pregnant animal. Per our old vet, my husband had given one of our pregnant hunting dogs ivomectin as a dewormer, and a week before she was due, she aborted all 5 pups and they were all severely deformed. I always assumed it was because of the ivomectin

Ivermectin is safe to give to pregnant dogs as per this schedule

: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=0+1303&aid=856

 

[StacyRz]

Thanks Matt!

It was probably just a coincidence and there was something else wrong with the dam. We spayed her after that anyway

 

[chandab]

I was very happy to see all this info! I didn't know there was so much to consider in a "simple" de-worming LOL

For years I had assumed that Ivomec was what would be unsafe in a pregnant animal. Per our old vet, my husband had given one of our pregnant hunting dogs ivomectin as a dewormer, and a week before she was due, she aborted all 5 pups and they were all severely deformed. I always assumed it was because of the ivomectin

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding or not, but... "Ivomec" is a brand of cattle dewormer with ivermectin as active ingredient (the ivermectin is a 1% injectible solution in most of the formulas; there is also a pour-on formula). Ivermectin is also the active ingredient in some brands of heartworm control for dogs and cats. Some herding breeds of dogs do not tolerate ivermectin dewormer well, so consult your vet before using.

[i'm not sure the active ingredient, but we just treated all our pregnant cows for lice (pour-on insecticide).]

 

[StacyRz]

Chanda,

It was ivermectin.

Not Ivomec, sorry for that. We would give ivermectin straight to our adult hog hunting dogs, with our vets approval of couse

He had actually suggested it as an all around wormer and heartworm preventative for our adults. It was a very small dosage but it has been so long since I have used it that I don't remember exactly what the dose was.

I had told him about the abortion and got her an oxytocin shot, but he never really did more than speculate on whether or not the ivermectin caused it.

A few years back he did suggest we use Z-gold on all our dogs and even puppies, when one year we had a litter of pups that were severely infested with worms....and even though I had wormed them (with pyrantel) at weeks 2,3,4 and 6, and keep their puppy pen clean, and kept the mom dog dewormed, still came back with positive fecal results at their 8 week check up.

Oh yeah! I had also used ivermectin on my old rescue doberman who had come to me with the worst case of demodectic mange I had ever seen! I had to give it to her orally for (I think) about 2 weeks.

 

[chandab]

Chanda,

It was ivermectin.

Not Ivomec, sorry for that. We would give ivermectin straight to our adult hog hunting dogs, with our vets approval of couse

He had actually suggested it as an all around wormer and heartworm preventative for our adults. It was a very small dosage but it has been so long since I have used it that I don't remember exactly what the dose was.

I had told him about the abortion and got her an oxytocin shot, but he never really did more than speculate on whether or not the ivermectin caused it.

I just wanted to be sure, as I know someone who before there was ivermectin products readily available for horses, she used the cattle injectible on her horse (not sure, but she may have dosed orally rather than injecting), and she darn near lost her horse, took weeks for the mare to recover (vet figured it was probably the carrier in the cattle product, but the mare could not have any ivermectin product after that). So, just wanted to be sure of what was used, so someone wasn't willy-nilly dosing their dog or horse with product (without at least consulting a vet first). [My dog was dosed by a vet with cattle ivermectin for parasite, suspected mange, but I'd sure not do it myself.]

 

[StacyRz]

I hear ya! My rescue doberman had a skin scraping done and complete blood count done and her dosage was very specific to treat the mange. We had follow-up visits to the vet every week for 4 weeks then a final visit at 8 weeks. She cleared up beautifully and all her hair grew back within a few months

She was on death's doorstep when I got her so I had to follow my vet's advice precisely.

I was really surprised when my vet (not the same as for my dobie, that was in a different state) recommended the horse wormer for the dogs lol.

And I hope that anyone reading this does not take my comments as advice because I am not, and would never, ever suggest giving horse wormer to dogs to anyone without talking to their vet first!!