Deworming Schedule..please read! i need help!

[EventPony]

Hi! up until now, i have only leased 2 horses before, and i didnt have anything to do with their health care..all i did was ride them. I am now looking to buy a quarter horse, and i need help on setting up a deworming schedule. If i board at the barn im at now, then i wont need to worry because the barn does it for me and all i have to do is pay 10 or so dollars extra every 2 months. But if board somewhere else (which im going to have to because there is a one year waiting list to get in! {its a military barn and its very cheap for board, so a lot of ppl want to board there}) Ok...now to my point....im going to use a daily dewormer but i know i have to use 2 other things at certain times to kill two more types of worms..(tapeworms and one other kind). When i use ivermectin in the early spring and late fall, do i also give my horse the daily dewormer that day? or do i skip it? and when i have to give pyrantel tatrate (for tapeworms i think.....) , im supposed to give it 2 days in a row, 10 times the normal dose. At wut time should i give him this? Does it matter what two days? and do i also give him his daily dewormer on those days in addition to the pyrantel tartrate?
Ok..so does all this sound like a good program? thanks for any help!!

[Aly]

Although I have never heard of giving a daily dewormer, I might be able to give you a few snippets of advice.

Horses and their worms can become immune to wormers that are used all the time over a long period, which is why I would question the effectiveness, long term, of a product that is used every day.
Yes, there are different types of worms more apparent at different times of the year, and you may need to alter your product for those times.

Worming and horses can be a difficult thing. I normally paste my horse with a broad spectrum wormer every 6 weeks that covers the basic types of worms that horses get including tapeworms. 6 weeks is generally the recommended time frame for most products, although some are now available claiming a 3 month time frame.

Every 3 to 6 months ( depending on the horse and its prior history ) I take a sample of my horses manure to be analysed and a worm count done. The worm count will give me a good indication as to wether my program is successful, or if I need to make alterations to it. If my result is that of over 50 then I will either
A) change brand/type of wormer or give the horse a double dose in quick succession ( providing the vet has advised this ) and have another worm count done prior to the next worming, or
B) I will have the vet come out and have a worm drench done.

If the result is under 50 then I will give the horse another wormer ASAP. Ideally a horse should have a 0 worm count, but this is preety hard to maintain so the common thought is that from 0-50 is safe, anything over 50 should be treated.

I once had a worm count done on my first horse, a few years after I had got him. ( didn't know anything about worm counts before that ) Although I had religiously wormed him regularly for those years, the results came back at 200. That meant that basically the poor horse was infested, and I had the vet come and do a drench immediately, followed a few weeks later by another worm count that read far lower, thankfully.

Having the worm counts done, means that I have a good idea if my horses wormies are becomming immune to the product I use, and tells me when to change the product. It also means that I often do not have to have the vet out and get charged an unnecesary drench, because I know that my horse is basically worm free.

Hope this helps

[Gill]

Hello, as you are in the USA it might be helpful to look up the horsemans lab site. This will tell you all about using worm counts and how to get them done, they are very helpful. We have a similar service in the UK www.westgatelabs.com
Daily dewormers are not used over here so it is hard to comment on what you say.
Aly, a worm count here reported as 'less than fifty' means no eggs were seen in the sample. Some people would disagree that we are trying to keep our horses totally worm free as a small parasite burden enables them to build up some natural immunity, but basically I agree with your helpful advice.