I have 2 bred mares, one is 1 month along, the other is 4 months along. We will be getting frost anyday now. What are the safest wormers for these gals? (I used to use Strongid P or Equvalan at this time of the year) Thanks! sincerely, Roben
Any of the modern wormers are safe for pregnant mares, and in fact, are strongly recommended for pregnant mares. Assuming your mares have been on a regular worming program, once the frost comes, I usually worm for bots and tapeworms. That involves using an ivermectin product that includes praziquantal. Something like Zimectrin Gold or Equimax. If your mares haven't been on a regular worming program (ie. every 8 weeks) you may want to worm with a milder wormer, like Panacur or Strongid P, and then worm a month later with the stronger ivermectin/praziquantal wormer. While they are pregnant, they should be rotationally wormed every 8 weeks and then again right before or immediately (the same day) they foal with an ivermectin wormer. Generally speaking, foals need to be wormed as often as every month, depending on where you live. My foals get Strongid one month, Ivermectin the next, with a size appropriate dose of Quest when they hit a year old, to remove any encysted strongyles.
If you have any questions about wormer safety, please talk to your vet. They are also the best resource to recommend wormers for your area of the country. I'm in the upper Midwest and the above is what my vet has recommended.
RobenG, arablvr31 has given some good suggestions of wormers to use. I personally use equimax also. But your mare that is only 1 month along should not receive any worming or any meds etc for the first 90 days of pregnancy. After this it is safe to worm her as usual with a wormer recommended by your vet, or one of the suggested ones.
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