Does anyone ONLY worm for tapeworm?

[Sophstar]

My ponies have only ever been wormed once or twice a year and when they last had their annual vet check, I asked the vet about worming. His point of view was worming is overdone and as long as you keep your pasture in decent condition you should only ever have to worm for tapeworm. Does anyone only ever worm for tapeworm?

The boys were wormed with equest pramox last year as this is the only one that kills pretty much everything and now pondering whether I can use this again this year or whether I need to use different active ingredients from different wormers so the resistance isn't built up. Worming is confusing

We keep our paddock poo picked twice daily in the spring and summer but now we can't push a wheelbarrow through the mud, we had to give up till it dries up (or freezes over!)

 

[Polos Mum]

Some very qualified people on here will give you good advice but I believe you need to worm also for encysted worms as they can lie dormant in the lining of the stomach for many years.
My horses grab the odd bit of grass out hacking or at competitions so it's not just my pasture I have to worry about.

 

[Auslander]

Do you worm count? That's probably the best way to work out whether you need to worm or not. We use the Intelligent Worming system at our yard, and all the horses test clear every time, and are just wormed for tape at the appropriate time of year. Any new horses have to be tested before they go out here, and are treated if nec, so we're pretty confident that the land is clear.

 

[Patterdale]

I only worm for tapeworm, spring and autumn.
There are only 3 horses and the pasture is well maintained and cross grazed with sheep and cattle

 

[Tnavas]

I'd definitely be worming around 3 times a year with a broad spectrum wormer.

Contrary to the popular belief I have used the same wormer every time for over nine years and have horses in excellent health.

I use Parade - (Ivomec & Praziquantel) it is so easy to give and the horses like it. Has the same quantity of active ingredient but only half the carrier so is easy to get the full dose down.

I always give more than the recommended dose to allow for the fact I don't have an accurate weight

Worm counts alone don't give you info on redworm which are probably the most dangerous to our horses - you need a blood test to be done for them.

For redworm to become encysted there needs to be a massive number currently in the gut - they only hatch when the gut is cleared - the reason I bomb drench new horses to the property - wormed weekly for three weeks with an Ivomec/praziquontal based wormer.

 

[cavalo branco]

You can have a blood test done for tapeworm but nothing shows up encysted redworm so you do need to worm for this once in the winter. This is the advice from my vets anyway

 

[jenni999]

I worm once a year with Pramox to kill the lot and then worm count for the rest of the year. I've been doing this for the last 2 years and never had a positive count from the lab.

 

[amandap]

I think it's wise to worm at least once a year for encysted and other laval stages not touched by some wormers and of course bots. Wormers suuh as equest don't seem to get pin worms for example.

My thinking is most of the resistance comes from under dosing as well as over use. Horses can spit bits out and their weight is sometimes under guessed etc. Even weigh tapes can show very under the true weight I believe.

Contact somewhere like Westgate labs re worming info and counting.