Deworming: Too much or too little?

If the horse at left was at my barn, the first question I would ask would be: when was the last time she was dewormed?

Why? Well, she's got a bit of a potbelly, but you can see her ribs. She doesn't have a whole lot of "shine" to her coat even though it is summertime, and her topline and hips indicate she's not in the best of physical condition. If she's being fed on a regular basis, there is some reason why she's out of condition, ribby, and potbellied.

Around here, some people believe in the "twice per year" cure. Probably the same everywhere. So, let's talk about the holes in that theory, and why you might be overdoing rather than under-doing.

1. Do you have your horse(s) at home/in an isolated environment, or do they share a pasture/stall/barn with several other horses owned by different people.

This is important because if you have your own horses on your own property - there is no cross-contamination from outside horses, new boarders, or boarders who may deworm less frequently or less effectively than you do.

2. How old is your horse?

Foals and yearlings are more susceptible to certain types of worms than older horses, and studies have shown they should be on a more frequent deworming schedule.

3. Where do you live?

North, south, east or west...Different flies (and therefore different worms) are more prevelant in different areas. Likewise, if you live in areas with high deer populations, you absolutely, positively should be deworming for tapeworms twice a year along with using other standard products. Depending on your area, certain types of worms have developed a resistance to certain types of dewormers.

4. How often should I deworm?

Part of this answer is determined by the above questions. Two times a year with ivermectin just flat out doesn't cut it. If your horse lives in a mixed populations, more often is indicated. If it's just your horses, you can probably get away with a little bit less, although some experts may argue this point. If you clean the manure from your paddocks, or you have very few horses per very large acreage, you are in a much "cleaner" position than the barn that squeezes 3 horses per dirt lot.

5. So what about this whole "parasite resistance"?

When you deworm, don't under-dose. Use the entire tube, unless you are using Quest which requires a bit more care. All these dewormers have toxicity levels much higher than a single tube. Exceptions are minis and small ponies, which I would more carefully dose by weight. But if you have an 800 pound horse and you give him the 1000 pound dose of dewormer - it's not going to kill him.

So how do I know if my horse has worms? And why should I worry?

Well, the easy answer is: every horse has some level of worms, at any given time. The question is, what kinds, and what product should you use? The long answer is: a fecal, inexpensive at your vet's, will determine which types of worms your horse has, which will tell you which product to start out deworming with. Or you can jump in blind and start with one product, but rotate every 2 months and monitor your horse's condition.

The whole point of deworming is to kill off the parasites before they build to a harmful level. Some adverse affects of heavy worm load are poor hair coat, generally poor condition, anemia, colics, and long-term harm on the digestive tract.

I hear you saying...ok, but I'm still confused about all this.

Deworming on a rotation is key. You want to rotate by ingredient, not by brand. Most vets now say every 2 months is a good plan.

Ivermectin kills basically everything except tapeworms and encysted small stronglyes. It's a good base dewormer, and it's non-toxic to several times the weight-dose. I usually give an entire tube when I deworm my horses, just because they are bound to spit/drool/rub some out - at least my appaloosa enjoys doing so!

Ivermectin is sold under the names IverCare, Zimectrin, Equimectrin, Bimectin, Equell, and Rotectrin, among others.

Pyrantel Payomate kills large and small stronglyes, roundworms, and pinworms. It is a "softer" dewormer, with a more narrow spectrum of what it will kill. If I buy a new horse with an unknown or questionable deworming history, I will deworm with a Pyrantel dewormer first.

Pyrantel is sold under the brand names: Strongid, StronglyeCare, Exxodus, and Rotectin P.

Fenbendazole kills large strongyles, small strongyles, pinworms, and ascarids. If your vet recommends a "Power Pac", you will want to do 5 days in a row of a Fenben dewormer. This is a super-safe dewormer that is excellent at clearing out persistantly wormy horses.

It is sold under the brand names: Panacur or Safe-guard.

For tapeworms, there are two products on the market that contain praziquantil, which kills tapeworms plus Ivermectin, discussed above. These are Zimectrin Gold and Equimax. Spring and fall are the recommended times to use one of these products to take care of tapeworms, if they are a problem in your area.

Finally, I want to mention Moxidectin (sold as Quest); Moxidectin plus praziquantil (Quest Plus) and the daily dewormers (Pyrantel Tartrates).

Quest and Quest Plus have received a lot of bad press: but Quest is not the problem. Moxidectin kills everything but tapeworms, and it kills effectively. If your horse has not been on a regular rotation, do NOT use Quest until you get him on a rotation. The problems people experience with Quest is the worm die-off it creates, and a subsequent colic in the horse. Likewise, Quest Plus kills everything, period. I use both products, and have used them for three years on several different horses, without an issue. BUT, I have followed a rotation recommended by my vet, for my area and been careful. This is the one dewormer I will dose carefully by weight and not just walk out in the field and shoot the entire tube into their mouths.

On the reverse side of the spectrum: daily dewormers don't kill a whole lot. You cannot rely on them to be your entire deworming program. You still need to rotate in an ivermectin-based product, and deworm for tapeworms as well, when using a daily product.

Are there exceptions to all this? Sure. I know of a 6-year-old gelding who probably had never been dewormed in his life, was dewormed by a new owner with a regular dose of ivermectin. He had an instant allergic reaction, basically like a seizure. It was over in a minute, and he was physically okay - but it took vigilant daily deworming (PowerPac), plus more ivermectin, then on a monthly rotation, to clear up all the worms in the poor guy's system.

As always, discuss your plan with your vet - a phone call is free, and he/she knows your horse and your geographic area. I do not :)

How do you put weight on a thin horse?

There are posts all over any horse related message board asking this question. The answer is simple. Feed it.

Now, people spend all kinds of money on all kinds of feed, supplements, builders, and boosters. On an otherwise healthy horse, you don't need any of it.

I said, "otherwise healthy." This assumes that:
1. You are not feeding a senior horse with special needs (see previous post)
2. Skinny horse has been dewormed more than once in the past year, i.e., on a schedule approved by your vet, been PowerPac'd, or had a fecal to determine appropriate treatment.
3. Skinny horse has had teeth floated by a professional within the past year, so that you are certain he is able to get the most from his food.
4. Skinny horse has had vaccinations on schedule and, if difficult to put/keep weight on, skinny horse has had bloodwork/CBC to make sure skinny is not a result of underlying infection.
5. Skinny horse is just "skinny" and not a "2" or worse on the BCS chart. A severely malnourished, starved horse will need supportive care including all of the above, and more.

So let's say you pick up Skinny Minny from the sale barn, you can see her ribs and backbone, but she's not emaciated; she's just too thin for you to think about riding. You could dump high calorie feed into her, but why? First of all, a horse's body is designed to GRAZE up to 20 hours per day; your feeding 2 or 3 or 4 meals of sugary grains every day doesn't maximize her metabolism.

Here's a tried and true practice: Turn the horse out on good grass pasture. Let her eat to her heart's content. Ranchers out west have done it for years and years, and you don't hear about the remudas losing horses to colic and founder. Let me say it again: A horse is designed to graze. They will eat at a slow, steady pace - they will be able to roam and build muscle exercising at will - Let your skinny horse chill out and be a horse for 30 or 60 days, and I promise you, weight, shine, and a better attitude will come out of it.

If you are still worried about colic/founder: Fill them up on hay the night before you turn out. In the middle of summer on unmowed, ungrazed grass, nothing is starchy enough to cause founder unless - as I have said - you have underlying health issues already at work.

Let's Talk About Our Senior Friends

Lately I'm finding an astounding number of senior horse owners (that's people who own senior horses)...who really, honestly, don't know HOW to care for their aging companion. It's sad and it's scary. Older horses don't do well tossed out to pasture for the winter to fend for themselves. Older horses have been there, done that, earned their keep for years, taught owners how to ride and babysat their owners' children - they deserve true 'Golden Years'.

There are many simple steps you can take toward helping make your older horse more comfortable and healthy, and most of them will cost you less money in the long run -- most of it is just basic care!

As a horse ages, especially if he is essentially retired and not ridden/exercised on a regular basis, he will lose some muscle tone - much like an older person starts to "shrink" - it's not uncommon for an older horse's back to start to droop and hindquarters to look less filled out than in the younger years. But there's a difference between loss of muscle tone and loss of overall weight and condition. Age is NOT an excuse for a horse to be thin, period.

If you can see ribs, tailbone, and spinal bones - your horse is too thin. What are some things you can do to maintain his weight in his golden years?

- Have his teeth floated annually - have the vet do teeth at the same time he comes out to do vaccinations and pull Coggins. Horses wear their teeth constantly over their lives - many develop sharp points that make chewing and processing food difficult. This annual 'dentist' visit will also help you keep track of how many molars your old buddy has left - helping determine when you might need to make a feed change. If you notice lots of dropped feed, or wads of grass/hay that have been partially chewed - those are both huge signs your horse needs his teeth floated. (Just to note, there are equine dentists out there who specialize in taking care of horses' teeth! Not all vets are qualified to deal with serious dental issues!)

-Which leads to...make the switch to a senior feed BEFORE your older horse starts losing weight. Most feed makers say around age 15, but really, any age horse can benefit from senior feed if they have a low-weight problem. The benefits of senior feed include - it is a complete feed, meaning if your horse can't chew and digest hay, he still gets all the fiber and nutriens he needs from his feed. Also, senior feeds are softer and easier to digest than 'sweet' feeds and other pelleted feeds. You can add water to it to make a mash that's even easier for your horse to eat. Many of the senior feeds on the market also include probiotics for digestion, beet pulp for fiber, omega 3 and 6 oils for skin, coat, and joint health, and biotin for healthy hooves - so in the long run, you save money on supplements, too. When you look at the cost of a bag of sweet feed - and the amount you might have to feed for Ole Bones to keep weight on - you save money in the long run by spending the extra $2-$4 per bag buying the senior feed.

-Just as you do with younger horses, make sure your older horse is on a consistant deworming schedule. Rotate by ingredient, not brand name. Deworm for tapeworms spring and fall with Equimax or Zimectrin Gold, and use other products as recommended by your vet or the rotation on the front page of this site throughout the year.

-Yes, some older horses will need to be fed seperately from the herd. It may take them longer to eat. Be prepared for this, and keep stalled/seperated overnight if necessary to give access to all their feed. In general, I am not an advocate of stalling and blanketing 'just because a horse is old'. I've had horses that would stand in the snow in front of the barn when given the choice where to be in the winter - but you DO need to provide your oldster with at least a run-in, 3-sided shed, or some type of shelter where he can get out of the worst of the weather - especially frigid winds up north and ice storms farther south.

-There ARE hay replacers out there if your old timer can no longer chew regular hay. Alfalfa cubes or alfalfa/timothy cubes soaked until they are mush, soaked beet pulp, soaked hay replacer pellets, or chopped 'dengie' hay, are all options. Visit your local feed store and check into your options.

-A cheap, easy way to put on weight is to add fat to the diet. Soybean oil, corn oil, or 'vegetable oil', fed 1/4 to 1 cup per day, is an old standby for many horsemen.

There are a great many products on the market in feed stores for 'hard keepers' or 'senior horses' - what works for one doesn't work for all. Start with the simple - teeth, deworming schedule, senior feed - and go from there. It is easy for a horse to lose weight - it can take weeks or months to return a horse to a healthy weight that's lost a lot. The easiest solution is to keep the weight on in the first place!

Everyday human products that work as well as products labeled for equine use

Saving money is especially important to a lot of us right now...Especially with more than one horse to feed, or if you take in a "rescue project" that needs a little TLC.

Feel free to add your tips/tricks/remedies in the comments. Here are just a few I've used or read about over the years that work!

- Yellow Listerine (or generic yellow mouthwash) - put in a spray bottle - used to treat rain rot. Great for winter months when a bath in iodine shampoo is not possible, too!

- Skin-So-Soft or Skin-So-Soft + apple cider vinegar - Great fly spray

- 1 part bleach to 4 parts water - good thrush remedy - but will dry out feet if used over long period of time

- Gentle iodine - also a good thrush remedy - good for soles on newly barefoot horses to help toughen soft sole

- Good old fashioned generic "vegetable oil" is soybean oil - puts weight on hard keepers quickly (start at 1/4 C per day, work up to as much as 1 C per day if needed until horse regains healthy weight)

- Baby oil - works as well as showsheen on manes & tails - doesn't dry them out and makes them look silky shiny soft. Can also be used as pre-show hoof dressing instead of hoof-black which dries out feet!

- Maxi-pads make the greatest, cheapest sanitary bandages ever. Use on wounds, abscesses, etc.

- A cheapy human digital thermometer works just as well as those more expensive "livestock" thermometers, plus it's more accurate and easier to read!

Lots of human medications are the same as some horse supplements. For example, if you have your horse on "SandClear", a generic human psyllium laxative is the same stuff - I know several people who give their horses a couple teaspoons of Metamucil daily. Generic human Mucinex is the same as horse "AniHist" - great in a pinch if your horse has a minor cold and no other symptoms. In the case of minor hives/insect bites/allergies, human Benedryl will help with allergic reactions. (Disclaimer of the day - fever, loss of appetite, other scary symptoms - CALL A VET if it's not something you feel comfortable handling on your own!! A phone consultation is FREE and could save you money, time, and heartache in the long run! )