I've been placed in charge of barn's spring worming "program". Help.

[HunterJumperGin]

I’m in charge of spring worming for a herd of horses I am confident have never been wormed before, and I have little control over what the owners do in terms of maintenance. I say “program” because I do not follow the typical “worm with something different month” policy with my own horses. Fecals are basically out of the question for the herd at this point. I am trying to determine the most effective plan for these horses based on what I have to work with. I am not a barn manager or owner. I board my own horse here in a separate pasture, but am tired of seeing sad, wormy horses on the property because their owners don’t know any better. Trying to educate and establish a good program with the barn owner that has taken over the property.

There are two smaller horses (about 1.5 years old each as I understand) that are underweight. One showing sweet itch symptoms, shedding hair, generally poor body condition.

Also on the property are a mini donk and horse who are quite chunky, but have never been wormed either.

I’ve always used Quest Plus for my own horses around this time of year, but have read negative things about it for underweight/compromised horses as well as with minis.

Any suggestions are appreciated. I’ve learned so much from this board about parasites and deworming (looking at you, JB :yes:) so I thought I would inquire for advice and experience.

[IPEsq]

Could you do fecals of some of the herd to see if you see any trends?

[HunterJumperGin]

I might be able to swing it. It will likely be out of my own pocket, and I’d rather not go down that road.

[Guilherme]

First, consult with a knowledgeable equine vet in your area and see what is recommended for your area.

If you want a “second opinion” see if your state Extension Service has an equine specialist. Find out what they recommend.

Then make a plan based upon these opinions.

There’s all sorts of “generic” advice on deworming. But what’s good advice in FL might not be so good in NY, TX, or WA. Since you don’t note where you are specific advice is difficult to give.

ETA: You can also try your State vet and see what they recommend.

G.

[JB]

Since you suspect a lack of deworming history, I would give everyone a dose of Safeguard, then in 2 weeks use Equimax. The Safeguard will knock down some of the strongyles, and the Equimax will come back and get more, plus tapeworms.

Then I would assume that 20% of the herd accounts for 80% of the parasite population, and come somewhere in the middle between twice a year (low/no shedders) and every 2 months (very high shedders), so every 4 months if you can, even 3 months if you must.

If you can pick a couple of horses to do a FEC that might give you the chance to see how effective fenbendazola (safeguard, panacur) and pyrantel pamoate (strongid) are/aren’t. If you find they effectively reduce strongyles, then you can use that between the Spring and Fall Quest Plus and Equimax, to save the -ectins for the better times when you need to target bots.

The FECRT (FEC reduction test) should be done 10-14 days after using one of those 2 chemicals, after having a high enough FEC to start with. Meaning - there’s no point in a FECRT if you happen to sample clean horses You need high counts to look at this.

Does that make sense?

[JB]

Just FYI - the type of potential program I laid out works generically. How you get to the specifics then depends on where you are. Southern states are more concerned about infestation over the Winter, where Northern states over the Summer. But you start with the same outline, and you still need to target tapes and bots Spring and Fall. It’s what you do in between that may vary.

[HunterJumperGin]

Sorry, I did not think to post my region. Georgia. Cesspool of parasitic activity. I really value your responses. A call to my local vet would definitely be a good idea, G.

Thanks, JB. Your advice on this topic is invaluable.

I also plan to have a weight tape and advise on the dosage of each horse. I have never personally had a horse that was in poor condition with no worming history, so I want to be sure there is not any brand that would adversely affect these horses EVEN IF the proper dosage is given.

[JB]

I would assume the weight tape will under-weigh the horse by as much as 200lb, so keep that in mind. It doesn’t seem to take long for those tapes to stretch even a little, and that will under-weigh a horse too.

There’s a newer tape my vet whipped out last Spring that I hadn’t seen before, but it’s calibrated very differently from the traditional ones and she finds it much more accurate.

There is also this calculation which is generally more accurate than tapes
http://www.cowboyway.com/HowTo/HorseWeight.htm

So do the tape, then do this calculation, take the higher number, and I would add 10% to that number just to make sure you’re not under-dosing dewormer.

Your safest chemicals to use on a horse with a potential (or known) high load are fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur) and pyramtel pamoate (STrongid paste), which is why I suggested using one of those first. They are very likely to not be very effective, which is why they’ll knock out just a portion of whatever’s there.

Ivermectin and moxidectin (Quest) are very effective, and if you were to combine them with praziquantel (Equimax, Quest Plus) you could be killing of a great many parasites and cause a problem (again, if they actually do have a high load).

If anybody is too thin, don’t use Quest until they are back up to a good weight.

[HunterJumperGin]

Thanks for directing me to this calculation! Bookmarking for all kinds of future use. This information has been so helpful. Planning to follow this safe plan until I can get the owners more proactive and get a few Fecs to see what we are dealing with.

Thanks, JB!

[Wonders12]

I would consult with a vet, and then make sure you get the plan in writing, and get the owners to agree to that exact plan.

“Owners, we are going to deworm the following horses with X product on Y date, then…” All they have to say is “ok”, but you want to make sure they agree to it. Deworming isn’t a particularly risky activity, but it does have risks and you don’t want to be on the hook for those. Especially if the owners aren’t exactly excited about it.