A Look At The Different Horse Wormers
By Jeffrey Rolo
Horse wormers come in a wide assortment of types and brand names, so much so that it's often tempting to just grab the nearest tube or box of wormer and just call it a day. After all, a wormer is a wormer – brand names are just the same products offered by different companies, right? As convenient as it would be were that question true, the answer is no. By Jeffrey Rolo
Horse wormers share a common purpose in ensuring your horse remains healthy by removing parasites from his body, but since each targets a separate set of parasites each should be considered a unique and necessary product. With this in mind, it should now be clear why a proper parasite prevention program rotates horse wormers regularly.
When choosing wormers it help to know exactly which parasites each horse wormer targets.
Fenbendazole-Based Wormers
Effective Against:
- Redworms
- Pinworms
- Roundworms
- Stomach hair worms
- Large-mouthed stomach worms
The most popular Fenbendazole-based wormer on the market is Safe-Guard.
Oxibendazole-Based Wormers
Effective Against:
- Large roundworms
- Large strongyles
- Pinworms
- Threadworms
The most popular Oxibendazole-based wormer on the market is Anthelcide EQ.
Ivermectin-Based Wormers
Effective Against:
- Redworms
- Pinworms
- Roundworms
- Lungworms
- Stomach hair worms
- Large-mouthed stomach worms
- Neck and intestinal threadworms
- Tapeworms
- Bots
The most popular Ivermectin-based wormers are Zimecterin and Equimectrin.
Praziquantel
Effective Against:
- Roundworms
- Tapeworms
Pyrantel Pamoate-based Wormers
Effective Against:
- Redworms
- Pinworms
- Roundworms
- Intestinal Threadworms
- Tapeworms
The most popular Pyrantel Pamoate-based wormers are Strongid and Exodus.
Moxidectin-Based Wormers
Effective Against:
- Encysted small strongyle larvae
- Bot fly larvae
Whereas it may be difficult to give an adult horse an overdose 5 times the standard dose, it's extremely easy to make this mistake when worming a foal. As such, at no time would I recommend using this wormer on foals or weakened horses.
The most popular Moxidectin-based wormer is Quest.
Knowing which parasites each of the above wormers are effective against is a good first start, but in the world of parasite prevention the difference between success and failure ultimately lies with how you plan your horse worming schedule.
Sample Paste Wormer Rotation Schedule
6 times per year, every other month recommended worming
January/February - Anthelcide EQ Paste or oxibendazole
- Panacur Paste or fenbendazole
- Safe-Guard Paste fenbendazole
March/April
- Agri-Mectin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- ComboCare or 2% moxidectin & 12.5% praziquantel
- Equell Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- EquiMax Paste or 1.87% ivermectin & 14.03% praziquantel
- Equimectrin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Horse Health Ivermectin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- IverCare Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Quest Gel or moxidectin
- Rotectin 1.87% Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Zimecterin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Zimecterin Gold Paste or 1.55% ivermectin & 7.75% praziquantel
May/June
- Equi-Cide Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Rotectin P Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Strongid Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Strongylecare Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- TapeCare Plus Paste or pyrantel pamoate
July/August
- Anthelcide EQ Paste or oxibendazole
- Panacur Paste or fenbendazole
- Safe-Guard Paste or fenbendazole
September/October
- Agri-Mectin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- ComboCare or 2% moxidectin & 12.5% praziquantel
- Equell Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- EquiMax Paste or 1.87% ivermectin & 14.03% praziquantel or
- Equimectrin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Horse Health Ivermectin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- IverCare Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Quest Gel or moxidectin
- Rotectin 1.87% Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Zimecterin Paste or 1.87% ivermectin
- Zimecterin Gold Paste 1.55% ivermectin & 7.75% praziquantel
November/December
- Equi-Cide Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Rotectin P Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Strongid Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- Strongylecare Paste or pyrantel pamoate
- TapeCare Plus Paste pyrantel pamoate
To keep your horse in tip-top shape, it is important to rotate dewormers to prevent dewormer resistance from developing.
This schedule is a very basic dewormer rotation program. If you suspect your horses may have tapeworms or would like a deworming program customized to your region or conditions, consult your veterinarian for a course of treatment.
If you feed a daily dewormer, such as Strongid C or Strongid C 2X, be aware that it is not effective against bots, so you should deworm once in the fall and once in the spring using a 1.87% equine ivermectin paste dewormer to control bot infestations.
• Be sure to clean up any spilled dewormers, since it can be toxic to other animals.