Pedigree Query

I've heard of people worming horses with ivermectin for cows, do they use the injectible or the other, whats the difference, why one for cattle and another for horses and another for dogs?

I know quite a few people who use the liquid ivermectin for horses; also liquid fenbendazole. Personally, I LOVE the 290 gram Safeguard tube, tagged for cattle, that fits a special caulking gun. It is the BOMB for getting the wormer on the back of the tongue so it can't end up all over me. One tube treats 10 1250 lb animals, and is also the equivalent of a power pack, for around $39.

Injectable ivermectin hurts like a sonofagun. I wouldn't stick a horse with that unless I had a death wish. The difference between the ivermectins labeled for different species is the concentration.

I've never seen the injectible used on horses - just the liquid used in an oral dose.

madelyn wrote:I've never seen the injectible used on horses - just the liquid used in an oral dose.

I'm trying to find out if they are one and the same. Big difference in the prices.

The injectible is ivermectin, and the paste is ivermectin, but you can't use them interchangeably. If you put the liquid down a horse's throat, it absorbs through the intestine and is metabolized by the liver before it can reach a high enough concentration in the bloodstream to kill off the parasites. The paste is absorbed slower, and the liver takes longer to break it down so there's enough in the bloodstream to kill the parasites.

I can't remember the exact reason why you don't use the injectible on the horses (the injectible concentration is toxic to the horse, or you can't reach a high enough concentration with the injectible or something), but I was taught not to do it based on the "ouch" factor alone. I've injected plenty of cattle with Ivomec, and they don't react well. If they're in a mobile chute, or a freestanding chute, they tend to move it a bit when you hit them with it

Thanks to both of you, I think I will just stick to my generic ivermectin paste. Have either of you heard anything about worms becoming immune to ivermectin?

They can.. best to rotate wormers a bit.
Generic ivermectin is on sale right now at valleyvet.com buy 6 get 1 free so they are less than two bucks each; if you order $60 shipping is free. I got 35 for $67.20

When Ivermectin first came out, it was in injectable form for horses. It was taken off the market for horses when there were complaints of abscesses at the injection site. It was a bum rap because any drug injection can cause an abscess if not properly cleaned. I doubt there is any difference in the horse and cattle ivermectin but horse owners are bigger bleeding hearts than cattle owners.

Veterinarians were no help because they saw Ivermectine as a threat to their business. It blew up in their face when Ivermectin came in the paste form that made it even easier for owners to administer themselves.

This is my experience, been doing this for over 25 years. Ivermectin injectable, (not the plus) for cattle will work great for horses. You draw it into a syringe, 1 cc for every 110 lbs. I use 12 ccs for our big TB mares. Squirt it into their mouth, or, if you have one that won't take wormer, you can put it into their sweet feed, and mix it well. I was put on to this by our vet, who used it himself. He took periodic fecal tests and said they came up excellent every time. I have had fecal checks done over the years and we have been basically worm-free. I somehow end up with some on my lip every so often, it tastes bitter, but have had no ill effects from it. Noromectin is the generic form of Ivermectin and is much cheaper. I use other wormers once in a while to give some rotation. I got some ivermectin paste (apple flavored) that was ineffective last summer so decided to stay with the injectible.

I too used the injectable cattle wormer (not the Plus) on horses for years. I put it into a syrange and squirt it into their mouths. i stopped it because since it's liquid it was easy for the horse to spit some of it out. Now that the horse ivermectin is so cheap I just use it and mix it in their food and they eat it up. No more squirting it all over my hands.