scared to worm? urgent help

kat1

New Member
Jul 15, 2007
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Lancashire
I dont know if anyone remembers but in Feb , 2 out of 3 of my ponies went down with colic following being wormed with Equest and left me with a 677 pound vet bill as it went on for a few days!

13 weeks is nearly up, they need to be tapewormed also and I am scred stiff to do it in case the same thing happens! I did get counts done in March and they were zero but things may have changed since then?

What are the most gentle wormers to use? and tapewormers? I am losing sleep over this!!!

nb they have always been fine in the past - this is a new worry!!!
 
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If you are seriously worried, then consult your vet before administering any wormers. They will be able to advise you what is best to use. Hope all goes well for you when you do worm.
 
I was worried about this too as one of mine was colicky last time he was wormed. I missed the following wormer as worm counts came back as zero for one & low for the other but felt I should worm for encysted now. I spoke to my vet & they suggested using 5 day Panacur Guard rather than Equest as it's gentler. They also said to leave a gap before worming for tapes (could bloodtest but the horse I'm worried about is also needleshy - there's always one problem child :rolleyes:).
 
Thanks

I think I may do another count and I think panacur 5 day sounds like a good idea. I have never in the past given worming a second throught, I just did it and now it is another thing to get paranoid about to add to my list of paranoid things to do with horse health!!
 
If you need to treat for tapeworm, ask your vet to take a blood test to see if it's needed. If it shows a sufficient burden then talk to them about the best form of worming given the history. Tapewroms is a big problem; this is from www.wormersdirect.com:

"Tapeworms are an important and potentially very damaging parasite affecting the horse. They preferentially attach themselves to the junction of the small and large intestine the ileocaecal junction. Here, they can cause bowel irritation, intussusception (where one part of the intestine telescopes into another), rupture, or twisting of the intestine.

It is thought that tapeworm may be responsible for up to 20% of surgical colics. Tapeworms are present, to a greater or lesser extent, in the majority of horses.

Parts of the country with acidic soils (for example, heath land), which favour the survival of the intermediate host of the tapeworm (the forage or oribatid mite), tend to have the highest level of infection.

Recent studies have shown that far from being a seasonal problem, tapeworm infection occurs all year round. This is because the forage mite not only lives on pasture, but also survives perfectly well in hay and on bedding"
 
Skyla took a bad turn to Equest as well and had colic.

Speak to gill on the board but i think worm counts do not pick up tape worm ? so wouldn't be able to give you defined answer to whether or not you need to worm? thought it was blood test that would tho?
 
We have always avoided Equest and the other very powerful wormers for our very old ponies, prefering to rotate annually on panacur guard and Strongid P, using double dose Strongid P for tapeworming.

Has any one any experience with herbal wormers??
 
I have been told by my vet in no uncertain terms that "herbal" wormers don't work. "Give them Chemicals " he said with a wry smile.

Why not get a worm count done, and see if they need worming, I think it's a blood test for tape worms mind. But it's got to be cheaper than three tubes of wormer and a vet bill on top!
 
I didn't use equest for years because of the problems people had with it. I have since heard that the problems occur when the horse has a large worm burden. I get mine tested & they usually have no worms. So I usually only dose in the Autumn for tapes & encysted red worm & so far they are fine.

I understood that tapes are not a big problem in horses. Remember that any worm company will always try to put the fear of God into you in order to sell more wormers. That's what they are in business for. Maybe try one of the other wormers next time until you have a clear count.
 
HI this happened to me to

Rite stop panicking !
ok as u probably know you cant do a worm count for tape worms anyway so u need to find a wormer
ok
what happened to ** ponies is because they were choka block with worms and with so many trying to get out of the system at once it completely messes them up ... well now ** over all that and ** worm count was very low for march so this year i would suggest that you get Eqvalan Duo horse wormer this does everything including tape worms..
what happened with your ponies can happened to anyone and with ANY wormer its just important to remember to worm 3 times a year and use different wormers every year in a rotation of 5

Katie XX
 
Rite stop panicking !
ok as u probably know you cant do a worm count for tape worms anyway so u need to find a wormer
ok
what happened to ** ponies is because they were choka block with worms and with so many trying to get out of the system at once it completely messes them up ... well now ** over all that and ** worm count was very low for march so this year i would suggest that you get Eqvalan Duo horse wormer this does everything including tape worms..
what happened with your ponies can happened to anyone and with ANY wormer its just important to remember to worm 3 times a year and use different wormers every year in a rotation of 5

Katie XX

Colicing after worming doesnt happen because there is a rush of worms trying to get out!! My horse coliced 2 days after Equest Pramox, she had previously been wormed with Equiest and Equimax and was fine with those.

When worming time comes round again I'm going to go with the advice from my vet and ditch my remaining equest products!
 
well

according to the BHS and my vet thats the reason
do u think it all happened's instantly?? nope can take 16 hrs to a week to go through the system
ive just achieved a distinction in my diploma based on this!!
not being funny but when it come to worms and field management i have 37 pages on it approved by BHS and in my research i found that most womers cause this reaction and colic then sets in
 
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it can

IT CAN HAPPEN WITH ANY WORMER

my tb got colic from panacur then i gave her strongid p same happened then i did my switch (should happen every year) to equest was fine on that next year i used Belancum all was ok then used pro maxed she had colic this was because the other people refused to worm there horses and she would get counts of 25 min ever woming season normal count is 10 ish so i moved yards and the used panacur again and she was fine then the year after uesed equest and eqvlan duo all it fine now its only due to high worm amonts or allergic reactions which 1 in 389 horses have so thats not many
 
OMG - this is not settling my nerves but feel a little better that it has happened to other people too. The scary thing was last time was that it happened 8 - 9 days after administering the equest and vet said that this timespan was pretty normal and he had seen it happen any time from 1 - 14 days!
I think I will send off some samples and get vet to come and get bloods done - I cant cope!! Which wormers can use use on foals? - I remember my vet naming one and he said it is so gentle that you can use it on foals but cannot remember which one!
 
Best thing

yer 14 days upto but most have reactions in under 7 but they are only adverages and what type of worms etc...
away you cant send samples for tape worm just buy a wormer that is tape worm and summer worms only and finish there cycle soon.... when u go to buy it ask the person behind the desk because they have had traning and everything to sell the wormers ect so just ask and they will be best to tell u all about what new products and which ones ect just remember to rotate
gd luck x
 
I would consult your vet someone who knows your horse, colic after worming can happen for a number of reasons, your horse gets stressed cause you have just shoved it in his mouth, doesn't get on with type/brand, may have recently switched pasture (specific to this time of year), the weather - hot/rain - so grass shoots up etc. your vet will give you the best advice they can based on your horse, a person behind the counter will not know your horse.
 
You know what! There are horses near where I live, out 24 / 7 , survive on grass and haylage and rarely get seen to but I am sure they dont have as many problems as mine! They go out on summer paddocks this week and I am worried about sweetitch for one, gassy colic for another, lami for the shetland and now this wormer worry has hit me!!!!!
Anyone else spend more time worrying about their horses health than actually enjoying things or am I a neurotic freak!!! - I have the pink powder, fly rugs, fly spray and grazing muzzles at the ready!!!!!
 
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