# ?? Worming a miniature mare weanling??



## Olivia67 (Mar 6, 2008)

O.k. we just got in a tiny (24") miniature mare and of course I wormed her as soon as she came in with Quest, don't remember the exact dosage but I followed the directions. That was about three weeks ago, today she had two very long (maybe 6 or 7 inches?) long round worms coming out of her hinny, they are dead of course but do I worm her again? I also have Safeguard so I could dose her with that for three days if it's safe.


----------



## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

QUEST~!!! That is the Worst thing you can give especially to a small mini~!
There should even be a warning on the box by now not to deworm mini's with this product.
The drug has very very little safety margin, and if something goes wrong like the lock nut slips or what ever well not going into detail, 
The safest to worm with is Ivermectin.


> The one caution that is necessary to share with all owners of Miniatures Horses is that you should NEVER USE QUEST when worming a miniature horse. The ingredient in Quest that is dangerous is Moxidectin. Any wormer containing Moxidectin should not be used on Miniatures.


http://iamranch.com/miniwormer.htm


----------



## ShyAnne (Jun 18, 2008)

arabian knight said:


> QUEST~!!! That is the Worst thing you can give especially to a small mini~!
> There should even be a warning on the box by now not to deworm mini's with this product.
> The drug has very very little safety margin, and if something goes wrong like the lock nut slips or what ever well not going into detail,
> The safest to worm with is Ivermectin.
> ...


I agree, I would use a safer product such as ivermectin, or safeguard. 
Its been over 2 weeks so you could deworm again. However I would see about getting her to the vet for an exact weight before you dose her again.


----------



## Olivia67 (Mar 6, 2008)

Ok, thanks for your advice. I won't use Quest on any of our mini's ever again. I honestly did not know that it couldn't be used for minis. I'll worm her again with Safeguard. It's just a pain to worm her three days in a row which is what the label says on Safeguard.


----------



## Olivia67 (Mar 6, 2008)

I did a quick search through Yahoo about using Quest with mini's and although this does not address specifically minis it is, I believe that this is an important point for using Quest in some circumstances. I don't think I will be using it again with any of my mini's but I now wonder if she isn't passing the small roundworms that her previous owner didn't catch with her previous worming regimine. It's hard to put emotion in text but please don't think that I'm knocking your advice, I asked and received good advice from people who know much more than I do on these things. Thank you very much!

This was written by: 

TEXAS VET NEWS
By Dr. Bob Judd, DVM and the Texas Farm Bureau
Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network 




Quest (Moxidectin) as a Dewormer in Horses 


Most of you with horses are familiar with various deworming products and today I am going to talk about a product containing moxidectin called Quest. This product was reviewed in Equine Veterinary Education by Drs. Schumacher and Taintor from Auburn University. Quest is in the same family of drugs as ivermectin but Quest is much more effective against the most serious parasite affecting horses at this time, the small strongyle. Small strongyles are unique in that horses ingest the larvae from the pasture and then become encysted in the horse&#8217;s large intestine. This ability to encyst is important because encysted larvae are not killed by most of the regular dewormers used in horses, including those using ivermectin. This is one area where Quest has an advantage over some of the other products because it has been shown to kill encysted larvae. The only other product shown to kill encysted larvae is fenbendazole, which is sold under the trade name of Panacur. However, a regular dose of Panacur is ineffective and it takes a double dose of Panacur once daily for 5 days to kill these larvae. Also, Panacur is less effective against the other stages of the parasite than Quest. 

A concern about Quest is the possible side effects of the drug as numerous drug reactions have been reported. However, most of the problems occurred due to accidental overdose of the drug or incorrect estimation of the horse&#8217;s weight. So Quest may be a product you need to consider adding to your deworming program but you should use a weight tape to carefully estimate your horse&#8217;s weight before using Quest.


----------



## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Olivia67 said:


> due to accidental overdose of the drug or incorrect estimation of the horse&#8217;s weight. So Quest may be a product you need to consider adding to your deworming program but you should use a weight tape to carefully estimate your horse&#8217;s weight before using Quest.


That is true.
But accidents do happen. Those screw locks Do Slip once in awhile. And getting the true wt. is a guesing game at best, unless you have a scale handy and use it every time.
Why take a chance?
The safety margin of Ivermectin is so much larger, that God Forbid the tube lock slips, the horse turns quickly or whatever, and you give pretty much the whole tube, it won't hurt your mini. But that is not the case with Quest.
On the other hand if something like that should occure using Quest, it is good bye to your mini. I thought that was nationwide in the USA but I guess it is not. 
Well I guess there is sort of a warning on the box for mini's at that~!


> Product Summary:
> Quest GelÂ® Moxidectin, provides horse owners worldwide with safe, effective control against a broad spectrum of internal parasites, including bots. Numerous research trials have demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of moxidectin in breeding mares, stallions, and foals four months of age or older.
> 
> Quest delays reappearance of strongyle eggs for 84 days, permits parasite and bot control with only four treatments per year, is the only dewormer that kills small strongyles in the encysted state with a single dose, and is formulated as an easy-to-use, clear gel that offers less mess and less stress on horses and their owners.
> ...


http://www.horse.com/item/quest-gel-moxidectin/SLT790110/
And that same drug is in dog Heart Worm meds, and there was even a Recall because of severe reactions in dogs.
Why take a Chance? 
Why with all these warnings, would one take a chance when there are so many other safe dewormers to use on miniature horses?


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

There have been a lot of miniature horse deaths due to Quest. Is best not to use it.
If you haven't been to "Little Beginnings Miniature horse forum", you should go check it out. Lots of good info there.


----------



## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

To get back to the original reason for the OP, I think that if she's passing DEAD worms, than perhaps a fecal test should be done prior to re-worming......no sense in worming her if she's already routed out! Over-worming is just as bad as under-worming.....


----------



## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

bergere said:


> There have been a lot of miniature horse deaths due to Quest. Is best not to use it.
> If you haven't been to "Little Beginnings Miniature horse forum", you should go check it out. Lots of good info there.


 For sure, as there are many miniature horse people: 
Total Members 6,123
It is a huge source for miniature horse people.
http://www.miniaturehorsetalk.com/index.php?act=idx


----------

