Deworming the never done before horse

[Cindy's Warmbloods]

I just got a new APHA mare that is 2 1/2yrs old that has never been wormed before. I wormed her yesterday with Ivermectin and would like to do Equimax next. Would two weeks be too soon or should I wait a month? I realise they are the same main ingredient but wanted to worm her fairly good and then will try possibly Quest after that but I don't want a huge die off when I use the Quest so trying to eliminate a bunch of worms first.
I am in Canada and we don't have powerpacks up here that I know of though I could possibly order some from the states if needed. She looks in pretty good shape considering but did live on 600 acres so I don't imagine she is quite as bad off as a horse that would have been in a small paddock. But I want to get her cleaned out safely without overloading her system too bad. Recommendations?

[goeslikestink]

I just got a new APHA mare that is 2 1/2yrs old that has never been wormed before. I wormed her yesterday with Ivermectin and would like to do Equimax next. Would two weeks be too soon or should I wait a month? I realise they are the same main ingredient but wanted to worm her fairly good and then will try possibly Quest after that but I don't want a huge die off when I use the Quest so trying to eliminate a bunch of worms first.
I am in Canada and we don't have powerpacks up here that I know of though I could possibly order some from the states if needed. She looks in pretty good shape considering but did live on 600 acres so I don't imagine she is quite as bad off as a horse that would have been in a small paddock. But I want to get her cleaned out safely without overloading her system too bad. Recommendations?

our vets always say two weeks in between and i have been doing ever since for over 40yrs and never had a problem when a new horse comes in that we dont know nothing about
keep the meals small and often if underweight and feed good qaulity hay
ab lib iw ould tend to do hay 1st to get the gut moving then small feeds once the horse accepts that then worm the horse that way its easier on his system

[BuddyRoo]

I would be more inclined to check a fecal and see what you're dealing with first. If she seems to have a relatively low parasite load, then I'd probably hit her with praziquantel (for tapes) next (in two weeks) and then go back to the ivermectin. I would not do both at once in one of the combo dewormers. To me (and I'm no vet) that is just taking too much risk of massive kill off.

Also, I'd be inclined to deworm on a Monday so you've got access to the vet throughout the week just in case as opposed to ending up with an emergency after hours weekend bill if you get into trouble.

[LauraKY]

Agree, we almost always worm on Mondays.

[Cindy's Warmbloods]

Thanks everyone! Her weight is great and she looks completely healthy otherwise (she was free feeding on good quality hay). But the people did not know much about horses so though she is VERY friendly she was not halter broke or wormed/vaccinated. Supposedly her feet were done but not since last spring, not sure how they did that with her not being halter broke though....Needless to say that is next on the list as well.

[JB]

Did you get a fecal done before the ivermectin? That would have been useful.

I wouldn't have gone right to ivermectin on a horse who's never been dewormed before, for fear or causing the die-off of a too-large number of worms. But, it's done, and all appears ok :)

Ivermectin is "good" for 8 weeks, so at 8 weeks, get a fecal done to see what you're looking at. If the egg count is high enough, then Equimax would be fine. Or, *right now* you can do a double dose of pyrantel pamoate (ie Strongid paste) to get tapeworms that regular ivermectin doesn't get.

8 weeks after the ivermectin, or 4 after the Strongid, whichever comes last, you could do Quest if you are comfortable using moxidectin AND the horse isn't underweight. At that point, it's 12 weeks until you'd potentially need to do something else.