Worming horse with heavy worm burden

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Marigold4

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I have just taken on a 7 year old mare who may well not have been wormed for 18 months. She's not too underweight but she doesn't look right quite right condition-wise. Don't want to "nuke" her with pramox in case of heavy worm burden and possibility of colic etc. Should I tackle each worm group one at a time? Start with 5 day panaguard 5 day for red worm, then tackle tape worm with Equitape or Strongid P double dose then
pramox before Spring for encysted red worm once she has more strength? Should I do testing or just get on with worming based on her history and how she looks? If testing, should I test tapeworm by blood test or saliva test? Are vets experts in worming or is it better to talk to the labs?

What a lot of questions! Thank you in advance for any advice from those who expertise in this.
 
I would speak to the labs over the vast majority of vets. The other people you could ask are World Horse Welfare - they have lots of experience of dealing with horses of unknown background. I was chatting to someone at our local WHW not so long ago and if I remember correctly she said that they've had more problems using the 'mild' 5-day wormer than the 'strong' Equest.... though that may be my memory playing tricks. I'm sure they would be happy to give advice though!
 
before doing anything I would test both; worm count and also the saliva test for tapeworm. That will give you a starting point. It may rule out tapeworm which is one less wormer. I would use a lab. I have found Westgate to be pretty good. Test comes back usually the nest day so you are not going to waste too much time.

I wouldn't use pramox on any horse. If you need to do both encysted and tapes then I would use equest at the end of dec and worm with equitape a couple of weeks apart for tapes.

Her condition may be due to worms but it could also be due to something else. A worm count will give you an idea which way to go.
I have taken on several ponies off the moor who have had worm burdens. For them I always test so we know what we are dealing with. Westgate will suggest how you should proceed with a high count if you ask them. For mine I have used ivermectin on very high burdens as a start and then progressed to equest. Anything really high I make sure I do it on a Monday morning and that I am sure where the vet is in case of problems.

If you have a high count Westgate may suggest a resistance test after a couple of weeks to see if you are going in the right direction.
Not advertising Westgate i have just had success with their methods.
 
I would agree about talking to Westgate - they've always been super helpful even when I'm not testing through them.

FWIW we had a couple with uncertain history come onto my last yard and the vet said Panacur first and definitely not Equest. Although there is resistance to Panacur the 5 day course allows their system to shed the burden more slowly. After 5 days the problem horses were then given Equest Pramox before they were allowed onto the fields. Nothing got colic on that protocol, but I agree with testing first if you can so you know quite how bad the problem is.
 
Yes I would absolutely do what you plan re. panacur and then tapes, definitely not pramox! I would then treat with equest before the spring emergence to get any that were resistant to the panacur.

I would also absolutely not trust a single worm count to make a decision as to whether you should worm her or not at this stage, especially as you state her condition isn't quite right. You may wish to do a count for your own interest/monitor going forwards but with an unknown recent history I would treat regardless of the result. (I can give you a long explanation as to why but have written it a few times so people might be bored hearing it ;) )
 
Thanks for all your helpful replies. Will phone Westgate today. I'm a little confused about which Panacur Guard to use as I haven't used it before. For the 5 day treatment, do I use the liquid one and put in her food? What if she doesn't eat it? Her previous owner didn't give her any feed at all so she's not used to feed in a bucket. Could I use the paste instead? Vet coming to do Elisa test tomorrow. Hopefully get on top of the worms then just the rotten frogs and cough to deal with!
 
The contents of the paste and liquid are different (10% v 18%) I guess you could give the paste if you altered the dosage to be equivalent to the 10%? I've never heard or anyone struggling to get the liquid into a horse and you could syringe it for something not use to hard food?

Frogs- can I recommend red horse products, sole cleanse and hoof stuff are both very good as you can pack the latter in.
 
I have syringed Panacur 5 day guard in and it is very easy. At least you know it has gone down.. If you don't do a worm count before and after how will you know if it has worked or not? I appreciate one worm count in a horse with no worming history cannot be counted on to be totally reliable but at least it gives an indication as to how large the problem is and if it is being resolved.
 
Definitely don't rely on worm count alone. I counted my youngster when I got her as a foal, supposedly squeaky clean! Wormed her anyway and my GOD the amount and variety of worms that came out of her. I did use Equest Pramox, which I'm glad I did as a tape worm came out with it all too, blergh.

My mare, when I got her, I worm counted and it came back as over 2000epg, so pretty riddled. I used Equest Pramox on advice of Westgate and kept a close eye on her, thankfully she was okay but eurgh, again, so many worms, although hers were red worm only.
 
paddy555 said:
I have syringed Panacur 5 day guard in and it is very easy. At least you know it has gone down.. If you don't do a worm count before and after how will you know if it has worked or not? I appreciate one worm count in a horse with no worming history cannot be counted on to be totally reliable but at least it gives an indication as to how large the problem is and if it is being resolved.
Click to expand...

You don't, hence me saying you could use it to monitor/start building up a picture but not to base a decision to treat now or not on.
 
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