Your technique in delivering dewormer influences it's efficacy. ©EQUUS Magazine
Deworming always seems like such a chore, but our friends at EQUUS magazine have a simple tip to make deworming a much friendlier process for you and your horse.
You may be quite adept at squirting paste dewormer into your horse’s mouth. But even with the best technique you won’t succeed in delivering the medication if you don’t make sure his mouth is empty first.
To learn more from about deworming, download our
FREE guide—Deworming Your Horse: How to find the best deworming schedule for you and your horse.
A least 10 minutes before you administer dewormer, restrict your horse’s access to forage or grain. That way, he won’t have a partially chewed wad in his mouth to get in the way of the dewormer or to aid his efforts to spit it out.
Either remove his hay and grain or tie him so he can’t reach them. If you suspect he’s still concealing a last bite, carefully open his mouth by placing your fingers in the toothless bars, as you would if you were inserting a bit. A little thumb pressure against his tongue will encourage him to swallow. If necessary, use a catheter-tip syringe to flush his mouth with water.
When you’re sure that your horse’s mouth is empty, deliver the medication and watch for a moment or two to verify that it doesn’t come back out. Dewormers are formulated to be extra sticky and cling to the roof of the mouth, so it’s unlikely any will escape.
Why can’t the wormer just be placed in a bucket with their supplements? If they don’t notice that it’s there, won’t it be just as effective?
As a vet tech, we saw a dog who ate some dewormer that must have been on some grain dropped out of the mouth of the horse. The owners thought they’d just get gel dewormer and do it themselfes. Then they gave the horse grain. 4 days of anti-seizure meds and ICU treatments, their dog took months to fully recover. The tips are great, just make sure no innocent animals can get to the ivermetctin. More than just one breed of dog is suseptable! PS–this happened in a rural WYOMING town that has rodeos nightly and horses are everywhere. The dog’s owner was a people PA. It can happen to anyone anytime!