I have read a few posts where people are advising or so it seems to me to worm once the mare has foaled. Previously my understanding was 2 weeks before foaling. So my question is which one? And if you worm on foaling day does it effect milk taste? Real question as my mare is about to foal in 5 weeks time so I would like to get it right. Also what is the earliest to worm? Last time I read it was 6 weeks.
I worm a month before the mare’s due date and on the day she foals (I use ivermectin).
The reason for deworming the mare with ivermectin within about 12 hours post foaling is to make sure you’ve killed intestinal threadworms. These worms are the ones that end up in the milk, swallowed by the foal (duh) and then being the major cause of the 2 week foal scours
The problem with deworming a month before the “due date” and then also right after foaling is the same deal with deworming at potentially 4 weeks apart with a non-pregnant mare - too soon, and you are likely exposing stages of parasites not killed by the chemical, to the chemical, which sets up resistance potential.
Deworm the mare through her pregnancy just like you should be doing anyway - using FECs and the time of year to determine if you need to deworm.
Previously my understanding was 2 weeks before foaling.
But you don’t know when she’s going to foal
And if you worm on foaling day does it effect milk taste?
The chemicals don’t get into the milk
Real question as my mare is about to foal in 5 weeks time so I would like to get it right. Also what is the earliest to worm? Last time I read it was 6 weeks.
See above - within 12 hours post foaling for the mare.
For the foal, you have to give the parasites time to mature to the point they will be killed by the chemicals. This means minimally 6 weeks, you can go as long as 8, and some of that will depend on your climate at the time.
You then have to know that ivermectin has a high enough resistance issue with ascarids that you don’t want to rely on it to kill them. You need a double dose of fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur), or a 1.5x dose of oxibendazole (Anthelcide). But those chemicals have VERY high resistance issues with strongyles, so you DO need ivermectin for those.
This means that for pretty much the first year of life, the foals get dewormed every 4 weeks or so, alternating between ivermectin (or Equimax twice a year for tapeworms) and one of the 2 choices above for ascarids.
thanxs
THIS. :yes:
I worm a month before the mare’s due date and on the day she foals (I use ivermectin).
I had always wormed this way, too, as it is recommended in one of my favorite books on foaling. However, I suspect that worming a month ahead is outdated advice these days for the reasons that JB cites.
Thanxs again I really appreciate the help for some reason this isn’t something I have heard about before until I read about it here on this board. The mare was wormed yesterday so if she foals on time it will be 5weeks and 3days before I worm again so not the best but not the worst case.
Also really appreciate the advise on the foal worming I do regularly worm but always good to have a refresher.
This :yes: 
A month out from what - 340 days? And what if she goes 360 days? 380 days? 390? 320?
Actually this is interesting I spoke to a vet today who advised that they didn’t believe that worming on the day the mare foals would stop the foal from scouring. It was a bad connection but I think they advised that it was diet not worms. I am still going to try the worm on the day that is due but I thought it was interesting.
Has anyone experienced Foal Scouring if they have wormed on the day of foaling? Just a question.
BTW please no knocking the vet.
Somewhat related, how about the opposite end of the pregnancy? How far into a pregnancy are you comfortable deworming? I have read 60 days, and I think my vet says that any time is OK.
The vet suggested 4 weeks out from foaling date. Another person suggested foal scours was from the mare heat not from worms which may tie in with the half heard info I heard in the first place. Either way the vet did say that it wouldn’t hurt the mare to be wormed on foaling day so will see how it goes.
It’s always a bit sad when a vet is so out of date on something so simple as this 
You should talk to Equine Reproduction here, who knows WAY more than your vet does about things like this
Has anyone experienced Foal Scouring if they have wormed on the day of foaling? Just a question.
Sure, nothing is foolproof. Some foals are fine without the deworming, some develop some diarrhea despite the deworming. But I think if you talk to Kathy/Equine Repro, you will see the statistics are far in favor of no scours, or very minimal scours, in foals where the dam was dewormed the day of foaling.
BTW please no knocking the vet.
Not knocking, just disappointed, especially about the diet part
It seems to me that 60 days is a recommended time to wait before doing anything - deworming, vaccines, travel, all those sorts of things that can be stressful externally or internally. So ideally you would do your Spring deworming before she is inseminated, and then follow the FEC-based deworming for the rest of the pregnancy. By the time foaling comes around, you would ideally have done another FEC, and either dewormed her if the FEC was high, or planned on the day of foaling deworming.
[quote=lolita1;5809393] Another person suggested foal scours was from the mare heat not from worms which may tie in with the half heard info I heard in the first place.
[/quote]
This has been the common, long-standing thought
Either way the vet did say that it wouldn’t hurt the mare to be wormed on foaling day so will see how it goes.
It won’t hurt the mare, no. The problem potentially arises if you have also dewormed in the last month, with ivermectin, as you’re setting up a scenario for possible resistance.
We worm all mares barren or pregnant every 30 days (do not use Quest on pregnant ones) on a rotational program. We make sure they are wormed within the thirty days before foaling and are wormed within 12 hours post foaling (Panacur is vet recommended here and what we use). We start worming foals at thirty days (start with ivermectin) and then they go on a rotational program every thirty days like everyone else. We have not had any foal scours since the 12 hour post foaling worming stared.
Why do you deworm every 30 days? It’s way, way overkill and encourages resistance.
Quest is absolutely safe for pregnant mares. From the label:
Reproductive safety studies demonstrate a wide margin of safety when the product is used in the treatment of estrual and pregnant mares and breeding stallions.
Panacur doesn’t kill intestinal threadworms (well) which is the whole point of using ivermectin within 12 hours post foaling.
Foals should not, unless something very specific is going on, be dewormed starting 4 weeks. It used to be the protocol, but more recent (and not even that recent) information says that’s useless, also encouraging resistance, as the foal doesn’t have mature enough parasites until at least 6 weeks.
This isn’t just about “give them the chemical to get rid of whatever might be there”. If we are to ever retain the few working chemicals we have now, it HAS to be about "give them the appropriate chemical for
- what the horse is known to have (ie FEC results)
- what he probably has (bots, tapeworms, get those Spring and Fall)
- what he probably has due to age (ie foals and weaker immune system)
- the life stage of the parasite.
#4 above is why you should not just deworm any adult horse on a 30 days schedule. You are constantly exposing juvenile strongyles, for example, to the chemical - not killing them, but giving them a taste of the chemical, which greatly increases the chances they will mature to be an adult who is not killed, and then they go on to produce babies that are resistant as well.
I recommend you go to www.thehorse.com and look at the webinars under the video section, and watch Strategic Deworming. It’s easy to find articles there too (or any scientic site, ie pubmed) on the reason you don’t deworm foals at 4 weeks.
