Deworming....

[MerMaeve]

Howdy!
We got a fecal done for one of our minis, and the vet we did it through, said to use Quest Plus....I know Quest isn't good for minis, so we asked him if there was a different dewormer we could substitute with and he said Equimax. Is that okay to use? But are there any others that you shouldn't use for deworming minis?

TIA!

 

[candycar]

I use Equimax all the time. The only other one I know you probably shouldn't use is Zimectrin gold. It has the same wormers as Equimax but the carrier can cause mouth and throat ulcers.

 

[Willow Flats]

I have used Equimax in the past with no problems, and also Zimectrin Gold (which I still have some on hand.)

Has anyone else here been using Zimectrin Gold? I've never had a problem, but not sure after hearing this if I should use it or not.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have used Zimectrin Gold. I just made sure I gave it before they ate, as per vet suggestion. I've used it twice, so far, with no problems.
I'm still fighting pin worms in my older horse, and a recent fecal indicated hookworms. I've had Dapper Dan for almost 20 years and have never had hookworm eggs show up. Where the heck did THEY come from?? So, both horses are back on daily wormer for 60 days. I don't like using that, but I'm desperate.

 

[Willow Flats]

Does anyone use a mail in service for fecal tests that they would recommend? I had a local vet where I could drop off but their practice has changed and they didn't follow through last time.

 

[Willow Flats]

I have used Zimectrin Gold. I just made sure I gave it before they ate, as per vet suggestion. I've used it twice, so far, with no problems.
I'm still fighting pin worms in my older horse, and a recent fecal indicated hookworms. I've had Dapper Dan for almost 20 years and have never had hookworm eggs show up. Where the heck did THEY come from?? So, both horses are back on daily wormer for 60 days. I don't like using that, but I'm desperate.

Marsha, does give it to them before they eat mean they need it on an empty stomach or feed directly after so they will have something in their stomach? I just used it on two of mine 2 days before but was planning to give it to Annie today. The timing of this thread is good.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think it can burn the inside of the mouth, so if they eat right after it is less likely to do that.

 

[Abby P]

I have used Zimectrin Gold without a problem - I just gave it to him while he was eating hay (making sure that he was finished chewing his current mouthful of course), no problems.

My understanding is that Quest is the only one to really avoid, because it's very dosage sensitive and it's easy to mistakenly overdose the little guys. My vet told me to err on the side of under-dosing him for all dewormers though - I think he weighs around 275 and so I set the tube to 250.

 

[MerMaeve]

Thanks everyone! What is the best way to ensure they get the dewormer? Put it on grain or shoot it in their mouth?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Thanks everyone! What is the best way to ensure they get the dewormer? Put it on grain or shoot it in their mouth?

Into the mouth. Just take it easy and put the syringe kind of far back and wipe the tip on the tongue as you take it out. Mine don't really mind the whole process. You might practice holding their mouths and gently squeezing with your hands when you groom, to get them used to having their mouths handled. If you try putting it on their grain they will likely eat every morsel and leave gooey paste behind.

 

[MerMaeve]

Into the mouth. Just take it easy and put the syringe kind of far back and wipe the tip on the tongue as you take it out. Mine don't really mind the whole process. You might practice holding their mouths and gently squeezing with your hands when you groom, to get them used to having their mouths handled. If you try putting it on their grain they will likely eat every morsel and leave gooey paste behind.

Good to know, thank you Marsha!

 

[Taz]

Yes to all of the above . If you have a hard time getting the wormer into them you can try liquid ivermectin on their grain, mine eat that no problem just make sure they only get theirs.

 

[Dragon Hill]

My mini mare thinks dewormer is a treat. I had a mini donkey actually take the syringe from me. Talk about a moment of panic.

 

[Abby P]

Like Dragon Hill's mare, I am pretty sure Rowan also thought the dewormer was a treat. He let me do it without even a halter on and then came looking for more! Just figured he was weird, glad to know he's not the only one!

 

[Maryann at MiniV]

Ditto to what Taz posted. We also use a liquid Ivermectin. Some are ok with squirting the syringe into their mouths, but the pissy ones get a small amount of grain in their OWN dish with the wormer squirted onto it. They have always eaten all their grain. (The liquid is put ON TOP so none is left in the dish on the bottom.)
We've never used Ivermectin Gold, BTW. And of course never Quest.

 

[chandab]

NEVER under dose dewormer, it leads to resistance to the dewormer (the parasites become resistant, and future dewormings are less effective). Except for Quest (moxidectin), pretty much all dewormers have a good safety margin, so it's safe to dose at their weight or a bit more. I have mostly large minis; 38" mares pushing 400#, I give them a 500# dose (it's easily marked on the syringe of most dewormers). Several are around 300#, I give them a dose of about 375# (the notch between 250 and 500# marks on the tube). My tiny 175# stallion gets 250# dose (200# on the couple types that have 200# increments). They all manage to spit a little out, so giving a little extra of the safer dewormers also adds a little assurance that they get their full dose.
EquiMax is safe for miniatures.

 

[MerMaeve]

NEVER under dose dewormer, it leads to resistance to the dewormer (the parasites become resistant, and future dewormings are less effective). Except for Quest (moxidectin), pretty much all dewormers have a good safety margin, so it's safe to dose at their weight or a bit more. I have mostly large minis; 38" mares pushing 400#, I give them a 500# dose (it's easily marked on the syringe of most dewormers). Several are around 300#, I give them a dose of about 375# (the notch between 250 and 500# marks on the tube). My tiny 175# stallion gets 250# dose (200# on the couple types that have 200# increments). They all manage to spit a little out, so giving a little extra of the safer dewormers also adds a little assurance that they get their full dose.
EquiMax is safe for miniatures.

Good to know. How do you know their weight? Weight tape?

 

[Abby P]

This is the problem and I think what my vet was getting at - it's very difficult to know their weight accurately unless you can weigh them on a scale. Weight tapes are not accurate below medium pony size. So you're guessing their weight, and then the dewormer tubes are an approximation at best, etc. There's a lot of error in all aspects of the process. I doubt you're really increasing resistance that much unless you severely under-dose (like giving a half dose), or if you were to say feed the too-low amount consistently for a long period of time. In other words under-dosing by 50# or whatever isn't going to be a problem, the dewormer probably still works fine at that dose.

 

[chandab]

Good to know. How do you know their weight? Weight tape?

Weight tapes are notoriously inaccurate for minis, in my experience they weigh 30-50# high. If you don't have access to a proper scale, there are a couple formulas that work pretty well for miniatures and are typically within like 5# of scale weight. The following formula is supposed to be fairly accurate, I can not recall who developed it: body weight (pounds) = (9.36 X heart girth in inches) + (5.01 X length in inches) - 348.53

 

[Abby P]

That is amazingly specific! I'll have to try that on Rowan and see how close it is to the weight tape and my vet's guess. I did use the weight tape method that combines heart girth with body length but my understanding is that that is still not great for minis.