This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below:
HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Worms, Deworming, Parasite Control » Overview of Deworming » Topics Not Covered Above »
  Discussion on Tube worming
Author Message
Member:
boomer

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2007 - 1:04 pm:

Good morning,
I follow a 6 week de-worming program, I've been using the on feed Ivermectin powder called Iverease. Recently, someone told me that their vet said Ivermectin is absolutely ineffective. He also told me that the only thing that works besides tube worming is Strongoid (spelling may be wrong). I have noticed that my TB mare and one of my babies (yearling) have barrel bellies. I wormed them about a week ago, which I think upset the babies stomach, she didn't eat hardly anything the next day and was really quiet. She's fine now, anyway, do you think maybe I should have a vet out to tube worm these two? I also have another question, if a horse has worms, how can you visually tell? Besides actually seeing them? Is there a coat condition or is this belly thing telling me something? This vet (mind you, this is 3rd party information) says that horses should be tube wormed twice a year and Strongiod for maintenance. Help!
Member:
kbr1

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2007 - 4:49 pm:

Patricia,
I have never tubed my horses, I just use a rotational program (different active ingredients, many equine supply companies now sell 'worming sets'. I usually have a fecal count done ever so often and it almost always comes back clean. I would imagine a bad case of worms would have many adverse effects on the horse, I have seen them come down with really bad case of the 'trots'.
Member:
dwinans

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2007 - 6:51 pm:

Dr O has some very good articles about worming that you probably would benefit from reading.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2007 - 9:12 pm:

Yes Patricia,
you have heard a lot of misinformation and our articles on deworming will set you straight or at least as straight as modern veterinary science and lots of experience can.
DrO
Member:
freshman

Posted on Monday, Apr 16, 2007 - 9:46 pm:

Check with your county extension service or local university to find out what deworming program that they suggest for your area. Of course, your vet should be able to give you advice, and can perform a fecal flotation and egg count to determine what parasite load that your horses are currently carrying.

Ivermectin is a good dewormer and usually an important part of any program. Other products are rotated into address specific parasites that ivermectin does not cover. A product that contains praziquantel (zimectrim gold, etc) should be used at least once per year to address tapeworms. A product like Panacur that contains fenbendazole should be incorporated to kill encrusted small strongyles, and it also kills tapeworms. If there is some doubt about your horse's past deworming program, many people like to use a Panacur Power Pack, which is 5 days worth of fenbendazole at double the label dose--sounds like overkill but has proven a good way to get at all encrusted small strongyles that might be burdening a horse that has been inadequastely dewormed in the past.

Young horses have different deworming needs than adults, and some recommend monthy deworming with ivermectin and the periodic inclusion of Strongid at the double dose.

There are plenty of options out there, and there will be many different opinions about how to best manage parasites in horses (sometimes strong ones). I don't think that tube worming is necessary as long as you don't have a problem getting the commercial paste wormers into the horse.

Work with your vet to come up with a plan, and then check the results of your program with fecal testing.
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 2:03 am:

Wow, wow, wow. Back in the sixties and seventies, tube worming was about all we had. Boy, that was barbaric and HARD on horses. They would go down for a couple of days afterwards. I didn't realize that tube worming was still around. Anyway, in the seventies, sprinkle-on-food wormers came out ( which NO horse EVER ate), then, I think in the eighties, Ivermectin came out in injectable form....what a gift that was! Unfortunately, some horses, ( apparently, those loaded with a bazillion worms ) had a bad reaction to it. The paste wormers today are very effective. Bless them. Try to use them as instructed in Dr.0's article...it works.
Member:
boomer

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 10:38 am:

Thank you! I have read everything I just had never heard of this tube worming and wanted to see if anyone used this. I will definitely re-read the articles and follow the information..thank you everyone for helping me.
Home Page | Top of Page | Join Us!
Horseadvice.com is a BBB Accredited Business. Click for the BBB Business Review of this Horse Training in Stokesdale NC