WORMS in foals

DosyMare

DosyMare

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Last summer I bought a foal.

I picked him up in September and wormed him in September with the Equimax tablets suitable for 4 month old foals.
End of October (fireworks) he had Equest with the rest of the yard.

When the vet came to do his second vaccination jab 3rd Jan - he had funny tummy and sloppy poo everywhere. He also had rubbed half his mane out.

I decided to worm him again on Friday 6th Jan with Equest. Today I found one dead medium sized tapeworm in his stall.

My yard manager and liverly he turns out with are not concerned - said foals are prone to worms and it's dead so not a problem.
I said should I re worm him in a few weeks in case there was more in there -they advised to be careful and not over worm him.

I don't really know what to do because I've never had a horse with worms - in 20 years. Should I just leave him alone and stop being a OTT owner.
 
Equest does not treat a tapeworm burden, the one you saw may have just been "unlucky" ifykwim , I would treat soon for tapeworm specifically and in future the other horse should be treated for worms at the same time as yours.
It would be advisable to get yours tested as worms in foals can do damage that will affect them in later life. I have rarely seen worms after treatment, the only time I saw significant numbers was in a foal that had not previously been treated, it was riddled in them but recovered fully.
 
This came out of a foal we wormed last year......

P020910_18340001-1.jpg



As you know, foals are far more likely to get a worm burden, so need a good programme suitable for a foal.
 
DosyMare said:
The yard manager said it was tapeworm but looking at the below photo it's the same but half the length.
Click to expand...

That pic is of round worms, they are just different stages of maturity. A tape worm is flat and segmented. You should be able to find some pics on google for comparison.

Round worms are a real problem for young foals. I probably would worm him again in a months time with Panacur. There is widespread resistance to Panacur for redworms, but it's still the best wormer for roundworms.

Then, at the end of feb, especially if the weather is fairly mild, I would do a worm count. There is not much point wormcounting in the winter as the results can be inaccurate.
That said, waiting until redworms emerge from the gut in the spring, can cause massive damage to the foal's gut wall. A sensible precaution would be to worm with Panacur 5 day guard as this will do your round worms AND the encysted reds.
Equest Pramox does the lot, but it's very, very strong. I personally wouldn't use it on foals, but lots of people do.
As for the tape worms. I would have the blood test for this with this foal.

Don't ever dither about with worming foals. There won't be any harm in worming with Panacur monthly until he is a year old. It will ensure the roundworms are taken care of and this needs to be your priority.
 
Many thanks.
He will turn 1 in April so that's only 3 months away.
End of Jan I'll worm him again and then maybe do the 5 day Pancur before change fields in April.
 
DosyMare said:
Many thanks.
He will turn 1 in April so that's only 3 months away.
End of Jan I'll worm him again and then maybe do the 5 day Pancur before change fields in April.
Click to expand...

If we have a mild spring, the encysted redworms will emerge from the gut wall long before april. You want to catch the little beggers before they do, as they will damage the gut wall when they emerge.
I suggest you use the 5 day guard in 4 weeks rather than waiting til April. It will do your round worms too.
 
Monkers said:
If we have a mild spring, the encysted redworms will emerge from the gut wall long before april. You want to catch the little beggers before they do, as they will damage the gut wall when they emerge.
I suggest you use the 5 day guard in 4 weeks rather than waiting til April. It will do your round worms too.
Click to expand...

Does the horse have to be stabled for the full 5 days on the 5 day guard?

So would you recommend using this at the end of Jan or Feb?

I don't want to over worm him?
 
I generally worm my foals 8 weekly from 6 weeks old with a broad spectrum wormer - my favourite being one that has Ivermectin and Praziquantal in it. From a year on they join the others in a four month worming program

Foals are very susceptable to round worm and if your foal develops a cough or snotty nose then worm immediately for Roundworm. Usually the cough and snotty nose will be gone in a few days.

Roundworm do migrate through the throat and lungs so removing these is very important for future health.
 
I would use the panacur 5 day guard 4 weeks from when you wormed him last. He does not need to be in at all during worming. It's a complete myth that a horse should stay in for 24 hrs when being wormed.
All the worms passing out of him will be dead and won't infect other horses, but you should remove the droppings from the field, as I am sure you do anyway.
This should ensure that you remove any encysted redworm lavae and also kill roundworms.

I would worm count him maybe mid march if the weather is reasonably mild. This should give you some indication as to how well your worm programme is working. It's still early in the season for worm counts though, and regardless of the result, you need to worm count him again in the summer as it is only then you will get a true picture.

Did you ever discover what the worm you found in him was? It is quite important to find out. A tapeworm burden needs looking at, and I would suggest you either get a blood test done or incorporate worming for tapes into your programme, so in a nutshell.....

Panacur 5 day guard mid feb

Worm count mid/ end march.

I would then worm him with something like eqvalan duo. This will kill roundworms/ red worms and tape worms. (do this regardless of the the worm count result. You need to kill those tapeworms!)

Worm count again in the summer.


Remember...........

only panacur guard and equest pramox kill encysted redworms. Personally I don't like using pramox on young horses, it's too strong.

Make sure you know what your foal weighs. Weigh tapes can be innacurate for babies. You MUST get the doseage right

Always check the label. The product must be suitable for youngsters

POOPICK! Do this all year round if you can and you are unlikely to ever have a big worm burden.
 
Thanks. I will worm the Pancur 5 Guard in Feb.

How do you do a WormCount never done one before? :(

I have used a tape to get his weight and then I've given him a little more. He is a big lump of a foal.

With the fields we have 3 different areas of fields (summer and winter then the same area for autumn and spring) they are divided into paddocks so you never get the same field! I use to poo pick but stopped. The fields are harrowed if that makes a difference.

As for the previous worm found I'm sure it was a roundworm.

He has however in the last month grown and looks really well at the moment - last week; but I do want to kept on top and keep him healthy.

 
To do a worm count you need to send a small sample of their poo off to a company like westgate laboratories. They will send you a kit through the post and it only costs a few pounds.

I'm afraid harrowing droppings into your fields is the absolute worst thing you can do. It will spread worm eggs around your field. As soon as you have wormed your horse he will reinfest himself as soon as he starts grazing on the paddocks.
Worming your horse is only half the key to prevention. The other half, like it or not is poo picking.
Round worms can really be a problem in foals, so you need to get back into the habit of poo picking as soon as possible.

Follow a sensible worm programme, use worm counts and keep up with the poo picking and he will be fine. :)
 
Thanks for your advice.

I will investigate what I can do regards to poo picking. He shares a field with other liveries and there is no way I will be able to get them to poo pick.

I guess therefore when I worm the Pancur 5 Guard then he needs to be stabled so that he doesn't infect the field and the other horses?
 
DosyMare said:
Thanks for your advice.

I will investigate what I can do regards to poo picking. He shares a field with other liveries and there is no way I will be able to get them to poo pick.

I guess therefore when I worm the Pancur 5 Guard then he needs to be stabled so that he doesn't infect the field and the other horses?
Click to expand...

He does not need to be kept in as he will only be passing dead worms, it is the other horses that, if they are not also wormed at the same time, will be passing their worms on to your foal.
The yard owner or owners sharing the field MUST get some plan in action to worm at the same time.
 
The other horses he turns out with are wormed with the rest of the yard. It's just that I have wormed him a few times without them and left him in.

They are not due to worm till April again but I was going to do him in Feb. I think the horses he is with would be happy to worm in Feb with me - but I'd prefer not ask them if they are not required.

I guess I could pay for the wormers and if they can continue to turn out then it will not affect anything.

It's difficult being on a DIY yard with different horses and different fields.
 
Monkers said:
<snip>
only panacur guard and equest pramox kill encysted redworms. Personally I don't like using pramox on young horses, it's too strong.
<snip>
Click to expand...

I'm a bit confused at this comment... From the literature I've read, Equest (green box) contains moxydectin to kill encysted red worms... Equest Pramox (blue box) contains the moxydecin for the encysted worms and has the extra praziquantel for tape worms... So a more vigorous wormer as it's a two in one...

I personally don't like to go that route and worm for tapeworms separately...

We've been using Panacur Guard on our foal since he arrived but gave him the Equest (green) with the others this week - figured he needed to get used to a syringe and as they were all being done.... :)
 
Ladydragon said:
I'm a bit confused at this comment... From the literature I've read, Equest (green box) contains moxydectin to kill encysted red worms... Equest Pramox (blue box) contains the moxydecin for the encysted worms and has the extra praziquantel for tape worms... So a more vigorous wormer as it's a two in one...

I personally don't like to go that route and worm for tapeworms separately...

We've been using Panacur Guard on our foal since he arrived but gave him the Equest (green) with the others this week - figured he needed to get used to a syringe and as they were all being done.... :)
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have written Equest twice, I meant to!
 
DosyMare said:
Thanks for your advice.

I will investigate what I can do regards to poo picking. He shares a field with other liveries and there is no way I will be able to get them to poo pick.

I guess therefore when I worm the Pancur 5 Guard then he needs to be stabled so that he doesn't infect the field and the other horses?
Click to expand...


Op, I can't stress how important it is to poo pick, especially with foals.
When you worm your horse, the wormer will only kill what is in your horse on that day. It will not offer any future protection, so as soon as you turn him back out, he will reinfect himself.
You don't need to keep him in for 5 days when you use panacur guard, as he will only be passing out dead worms.
You need to have a chat with the other liveries. Roundworms can cause fatal colic in foals, and redworms do long term irreparable damage to the gut wall.
Poo picking is the only way to ensure that worms stop entering your foal's body, so it really is an essential part of your daily routine, especially through the summer months.
 
Spoke to liveries today and have agreed to help me poo pick.

Ive also purchased Pancur Guard ready for next week.

However today I found another dead roundworm, is it normal!? It's been just over 3 weeks since he was wormed? I would have thought they would have passed by now.
 
Great news about the poo picking! It will make all the difference.

If your foal is passing worms, dead or alive three weeks after worming then he is still infested.

I would personally start your 5 day guard as soon as you can.

But... Check with your vet first. Heavy infestations of round worm can be very dangerous in foals, and you need vets advice before worming.

I am sure he won't have a large burden as you wormed recently, but it is sensible to make sure with your vet first.
 
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