Which Dewormer to start with for a foal?

[ladipus]

I'm curious as to which dewormer is best to give as the foals first dewormer? Pyrantel or ivermectin or ivermectin/praziquantel? And its actually a newborn mini donkey not a horse foal.

[ponyjumper4]

My youngsters do not get ivermectin until they are 1 year old. Starting at 1 month old, they get dewormed every month with a double dose by weight of either a pyrantel poamate product (Strongid) or fenbendazole (Safeguard). At one year they are dewormed with ivermectin then follow an adult program from there. That was the protocol given to me by my vet.

[Laurierace]

I do the same, start with strongid or safeguard and switch back and forth each month. I only do a single dose until late in their first year though.

[ladipus]

Ok..great! thanks for the info

[sid]

I start with Strongid then switch to Ivermectin when they are 3 mos. old.

[JB]

If you are not double-dosing foals with fenbendazole, you are not getting ascarids.

Ivermectin has a high enough ascarid resistance issue now that it's not valid to use for ascarids. But a double dose of fenbendazole is still effective against them.

[Ozone]

We do not worm foals until they are one year old.

[Daydream Believer]

I start at 4 weeks with something like Panacur or Anthelcide EQ, then at 8 weeks, Strongid, and at 12 weeks, Ivermectin. I rotate those three classes of dewormers at 4 week intervals until they over a year old and then I usually taper back to 6-8 weeks but I still rotate.

Do NOT trust Ivermectin, in particular, to keep a foal worm free. Ascarids, which are primarily a worm that infests youngsters, has documented resistance to Ivermectin.

[JB]

We do not worm foals until they are one year old.

I have to ask - why?

[Ozone]

I have to ask - why?

It came from an old horse woman wise advice going back many years now. She said foals need to build an ammunity to the world as it is for a year before we start giving them any type of chemicals whether it be a wormer, vaccine, supplement other than foal-lac for milk nourishment.

It's old school for sure but we have followed this route 15 healthy foals strong without a hitch.

[ponyjumper4]

My vet would have heart attack. She is very adament about foals being dewormed monthly because they are very suscpetible to round worms and strongyles because there is no inherent immunity.

[JB]

My vet would have heart attack. She is very adament about foals being dewormed monthly because they are very suscpetible to round worms and strongyles because there is no inherent immunity.

Exactly.

Young horses have a pretty poor immune system when it comes to parasites. They develop a good one, with proper deworming, as they age.

It is astonishing how much damage, and how quickly, ascarids can do to a young horse, leading to life-long issues from compromised digestive systems.

I'm curious - of the 15 foals, have you followed any of them into adulthood?

[sfstable]

I start at 4 weeks with something like Panacur or Anthelcide EQ, then at 8 weeks, Strongid, and at 12 weeks, Ivermectin. I rotate those three classes of dewormers at 4 week intervals until they over a year old and then I usually taper back to 6-8 weeks but I still rotate.

Do NOT trust Ivermectin, in particular, to keep a foal worm free. Ascarids, which are primarily a worm that infests youngsters, has documented resistance to Ivermectin.

This is basically what I do as well -- foals are wormed every month starting at 4 weeks of life until they are a year old. I start with Panacur also. I have an aggressive worming (adapted for Florida) schedule with all of my horses.

[Daydream Believer]

My vet would have heart attack. She is very adament about foals being dewormed monthly because they are very suscpetible to round worms and strongyles because there is no inherent immunity.

I've seen foals raised in our climate (wet and warm) that were not wormed from an early age, and it shows in their unthrifty appearance, pot belly and smaller size. In some parts of the country like out West where the density of horse per acre is much less and it's more arid, you could get away with less worming.