New horse - not sure of worming history

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dappyness

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I have just got a lovely 16'2 Ish x tb gelding who has been with the previous owners for 2.5 years, he is on LWVTB. The previous owners are not very knowledgeable about the care of horses and subsequently he has been left in the field with the odd hack every few months

I would like to worm him obviously but unsure what to do / which wormer to go for, history is patchy. He will be kept at the same stables with the previous owners other pony. They dont poo pick (6 acres open) so I will have a mammoth task in this weather to clean it up a bit.

So, my question. After hearing horror stories about horses getting colic and other problems what wormer should I use?

If you think this is more of a vet thing than a forum musing just say. I didnt want to go into a tack shop only to find a 'think they know it all but know nothing' sales assistant.
 
If you go into a tack shop which sells wormers then you should find a fully qualified Animal Medicines advisor as wormers cannot be sold by a 'sales assistant who knows nothing'. They should give you good advice after asking a few questions about your new horse.

Why not ring Westgate Labs for knowledgeable and impartial advice? Always happy to help and a worm count is a good starting point with a new horse.
 
I was advised by my vet to give my newly acquired, probably wormy young (18 mths) cob a five day Panacur Guard course, followed by Pramox on the sixth.

I was a wee bit worried about it (he'd also just been gelded and started his vaccinations) but he suffered no ill-effects from it. Shifted a huge amount of redworm and subsequent counts have shown low.

If I had another horse with an unknown history, I would again ask my vet to advise as each case is different.
 
You will also will need to shift encysted redworm which requires a different category of wormer [invermectin/moxydectin], this is normally done in the autumn, so I think that I would be worming for this first hoping to shift normal redworm at the same time.
Possibly Equivalan Duo, but take advice first.
Wormers Direct or Westgate provide advice and clarification.
 
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Thank you everyone! Lots of fantastic advice - will be getting a worm count sent off on Monday.

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If you go into a tack shop which sells wormers then you should find a fully qualified Animal Medicines advisor as wormers cannot be sold by a 'sales assistant who knows nothing'. They should give you good advice after asking a few questions about your new horse.

Didnt know this. Thanks!
 
Personally, I'd always use the panacur 5-day course if I didn't know the worming history, as it's a bit gentler on the system - if he does have a large worm burden then using e.g. equest pramox might increase the risk of colic as so many are shifted all at once. You can then worm for tapeworm separately a few days later. As others have said though - you can always have a chat with your vet about what they think would be best.
 
Once again - thank you so much for the advice. Its always nice to hear from other peoples knowledge and experience. Dumping worm count and possibly getting the panacur.

With my previous horse I always did the alternating equest pramox and the other oogy ma thingy. Also being on a full livery yard the worming was arranged as and when neds needed it.
 
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He will be kept at the same stables with the previous owners other pony. They dont poo pick (6 acres open) so I will have a mammoth task in this weather to clean it up a bit.
Hate to say it -but the pony will want doing too, at the same time- No good just doing yours as the other one will then carry the burden for both of them to reinfect once the wormer loses it's effectiveness. I would consult vet / worm company, but would probably do both with equest pramox which will be effective against all-bots, encysted red worm, tapes, the whole she-bang. If they are both wormy, it may be safer to 5 day panacur first as it is not such an effective wormer and will over the 5 days get rid of the bulk of the worms so that the horse does not have the rapid loss of too many worms which can lead to colic- but ask the vet, they will advise whats best.
 
Unknowns I always stick onto Panacur 5 day. Then slot them into the worming program I have on the yard.

Vets should advise you, as should "responsible person" in a tack shop that sells wormers.
 
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