Is It Safe to Give Equest Pramox Wormer to Pregnant Mares?
As a horse owner, you know how important it is to keep your horses free of worms. Internal parasites such as worms can be very dangerous to the health of your horse and can cause serious problems. Using high-quality products to treat your horses on a consistent annual schedule is essential to safeguard their health. The active ingredient in products like Equest Pramox is moxidectin and praziquantel, which combats roundworms and kills all stages of the red worm life cycle.
But what about a mare that is pregnant? Should you switch to a different wormer for a while? If you have a horse that becomes pregnant, is it still safe to use a horse wormer on her or will it be harmful for the developing baby?
Should Equest Pramox Be Used on Lactating or Pregnant Mares?
Just to err on the side of caution, the answer is no. Although many horse owners in online forums have reported using this wormer on their pregnant mares with no effect, the drug is not licensed for pregnant or lactating mares or for foals younger than 7 months. There is a risk of complications and it is a good idea to avoid using this particular wormer if your horse is pregnant just in case it causes a bad reaction.
There are wormers that are designed to be used on pregnant mares or will have no negative risks associated with them. You can ask your vet about what they would recommend. You can use these pregnancy-safe wormers to treat your mare throughout her pregnancy. She will need worming on a regular basis and then at seven days before the due date. The foal will be less likely to pick up parasites if you worm the mother shortly before she gives birth.
Switch Back to Equest Pramox When it is Safe to Do So
Once your mare has given birth and is no longer lactating, you can always switch back so that you can have the beneficial effect of the moxidectin in this horse wormer. This is one of the most effective wormers, so should be used on a regular basis.
Once the foal has reached seven months of age you can begin to treat it with Equest Promax. As a general rule, foals should start a worming program as soon as they start to graze on the pastures. Be sure to take extra caution with dosages when you are worming a young foal for the first time and watch them for any reaction to the horse wormer.
With this high-quality wormer, you will be able to ensure good health and the prevention of parasites throughout the life of your horse.
Equest Pramox Horse Wormer
Equest Pramox Horse Wormer
Equest Pramox contains moxidectin and is one of the few wormers licensed to control the important encysted larval stages of small red worms.
It has a long period of anti-worm activity after the dose has been given (13 weeks) and so helps to reduce pasture contamination. Equest Pramox is also less toxic to the natural beetles and other insects that help to break up the dung on the pasture, compared with ivermectin-based products.
This means that pastures tend to remain cleaner and healthier where the dung is not collected from the field.
Equest Pramox also contains praziquantel which is provided for tapeworm control. Equest Pramox, in a single dose, controls the potentially dangerous small red worms, all other roundworms including pinworm, bots, and all three types of tapeworm.
One dose can be given every three months to protect the health of your horse, providing exceptionally good control of all these major parasites.
Nothing is more worrisome than watching your horse day after day slowly lose weight and not knowing the reason why. Despite making sure they have plenty of access to good quality feed and mineral/vitamin supplements they continue to lose weight. Here are 5 tips that may get you started on the right track to addressing unexpected weight loss in the horse.
Veterinary Evaluation
First and foremost, ALWAYS have your horse evaluated by your veterinarian if they are encountering any kind of health challenge! I cannot stress that enough. There are so many things that may be affecting your horse’s ability to absorb nutrients, from parasites to cancer. Your veterinarian can rule things out for you and make a proper diagnosis if there is a serious medical condition that’s contributing to a weight loss issue in your horse. I’ve seen too many times people take a wait and see attitude to the detriment of the horse.
Intestinal Parasites
A very common reason for horses to lose weight is due to a heavy parasite load. As parasites develop resistance to many of the commercial dewormers available on the market, you may find that your deworming protocols are no longer effective. Your veterinary clinic can do a fecal egg count for you and let you know what kinds of intestinal parasites (if any) your horse may be harboring. From this information, you can then make more targeted decisions as to what deworming protocols might be most effective for your situation.
There are also alternative protocols that are becoming more and more popular among horse caretakers. Many of these are safe to use in conjunction with traditional dewormers and may help increase the effectiveness of your deworming program.
Some of these include:
Food-grade diatomaceous earth – it is thought that the diatomaceous earth works similarly as it moves through the animal’s digestive tract as it does when applied externally to insects. The microscopic silica-based diatom fossils that make up the fine powder penetrate the exoskeleton of the insects, causing them to dehydrate and die.
Essential oils – Animals in the wild will hunt out and eat certain types of plants not normally in their everyday diet to help clear their bodies of parasites. Certain medicinal-grade essential oils are thought to help rid the body of internal parasites based on the historical use of these plants by both ancient cultures and wild animals. Whether these help by boosting the host’s natural immune system or acting directly against the parasite is unclear. Oils that may help most are – Tarragon, Ocotea, Di-Gize and Longevity.
Immune System Supplementation – an organism that has a compromised immune system is going to be more susceptible to all types of infection, including that of internal and external parasites. Adding supplements that are high in antioxidants may help your horse’s ability to deal with these attacks naturally. Immune support is very important for maintaining the geriatric horse.
Equine Dentistry
I’ve been surprised at the number of people that I’ve encountered over the years that are unaware that horses need routine dentistry. There are many factors that play into the function of the horse’s jaw and how the horse’s teeth erupt and wear continually. The way a horse moves, position it eats, what it eats, etc. all contribute to whether a horse will develop dental imbalance. If the teeth are out of balance and the horse cannot effectively masticate his food, they are less likely to be able to absorb the necessary nutrients from that food. Older horses may have worn out the life of their teeth or have missing teeth, also contributing to problems with properly processing their food. Having your horse checked by a reputable equine dentist at least once or twice per year may save your horse some grief down the road.
Adding Calories
Your horse’s weight loss may just be a simple matter of math… they are burning more calories than they are taking in. Upping your horse’s hay and/or feed may be necessary, particularly for horses in heavy training or working horses. However, adding a high-quality high-calorie fat source may be all that is necessary to turn the corner. Traditionally people have added corn oil to their horses feed as a top dress. However, since corn oil is not fully digestible, you have to give large quantities for it to be effective and many horses don’t find that much oil on their feed palatable. The most popular oils that are highly digestible, palatable and provide added benefits to skin and hair coat are – flax seed, soybean, and wheat germ oils.
Alternative Forages
When dealing with geriatric horses, the ability to chew becomes increasingly problematic, not to mention the aging digestive tract becomes less efficient and able to pull the necessary nutrients from what they can chew. Adding some more easily chewed and digestible forages may help. You will want to make sure and consult with your veterinarian before changing your horse’s diet though. Certain conditions, like liver and kidney dysfunction, require special dietary consideration.
Alfalfa – For all my older broodmares, we provide once daily soaked alfalfa cubes in addition to having access to free choice coastal hay and light grazing. In the cube form, the alfalfa is already chopped and the soaking helps to soften the forage for easy chewing. It also has a higher protein and calcium content which helps to support those aging muscles and bones.
Beet Pulp – Soaked beet pulp is also a very popular forage alternative. It’s very high in calcium and very easily digestible. Most horse’s find it quite tasty and easy to eat, even horses with no teeth at all!
Complete Senior Feeds – There are a number of high-quality complete senior feeds available on the market these days. Many of these can even be soaked for easy digestion for horse’s that are toothless or have problems chewing. When looking for a senior feed, I typically try and avoid those that have a lot of sugars (typically molasses). I prefer feeds that are alfalfa meal based so I know exactly what my horse is getting. I avoid those that have “hay byproduct” as the first ingredient listed. The consistency of the feed cannot be guaranteed when they can pretty much use anything considered a hay. If they list alflafa meal on the label, then I know they MUST use alfalfa, nothing else.
