Verm-X - any one used it?

[harveydales]

I swore I wouldn't worm Quest with a chemical wormer again because the last few times I did so, it triggered a lami attack. Egg counts have always come back zero for my lot, I poo pick daily and no other horses but mine graze here so we are very low risk for worms. But the worm counts won't detect tape worm or encysted worms so I've just done Harvey and Winnie with a conventional wormer and am trying Quest on Verm-X.

It has a very strong herby smell so I was convinced Quest would turn his nose up at it but, amazingly, he wolfed it down. I watched in shock because he is normally very fussy about anything different. He kept turning round and looking at me as if to say "well, what are you staring at?".

Whether Verm-X will do the job I don't know. Maybe I've wasted my money but so long as it doesn't upset his tummy and trigger lami I won't mind. What are your thoughts on Verm-X? Any positive or negative comments? I've read the Veteran horse Society use it so I am wondering whether it might be better for old Winnie too?

[greydales]

I've not used this Pam but it would interesting if it was effective as Dan and Olivia may then eat it! Although I don't poopick over winter so really they do need an efficient wormer during this period.

[harleydales]

I've always been intrigued by this as well Pam, so will be interested to see what you think of it. It is advertised in farming journals as well.

[mickey]

We used it on the yard once- Mickey refused point blank to eat it (so ended up mixing with water and syringing). We only used it once and went back to conventional wormers. Im not convinced by the efficacy of it.

[harveydales]

Well, with all the blurb about how amazingly palatable it is, you should have contacted them and asked for a refund. I was going to do so if Quest refused to eat it.

The people I bought it from said it works very well for most horses but not all - which seems a bit odd to me. I will continue to to worm counts on Quest to monitor his worm status. For me, it is a case of using a herbal wormer or nothing at all - I can't knowingly risk another Lami episode...........

I'll keep you all informed over how Quest gets on with it. I did think his droppings were a bit loose yesterday which could be down to the Verm-X or could be something entirely different as he is very prone to digestive upsets and all sorts of things set it off including the very wet grass here at the moment.

[tinkerdorisalison]

will be interested to see if the product keeps your worm count down Pam, what is the "active" ingredient?

I just do periodical worm counts and very rarely worm nowadays - hate chemicals!!!

[harveydales]

Alison, it contains a whole list of herbs and smells very strongly of cinnamon. It suggests you have worm counts done but not til at least 3 weeks after worming and you are supposed to worm every 12 weeks or so. This is a link www.verm-x.com/product%201.htm

So far so good. The loose droppings were a false alarm and Quest is fine now. I will get worm counts done and let you know the results.

[spirit]

Only just spotted this post! You may be interested in my experience with Verm-X.

I have two horses who share a paddock and field shelter. The field is poo picked every day both am/pm. I used to use Equest/Equitape up until a couple of years ago when I thought I'd give Verm-X a go as I prefer to avoid chemicals etc. whenever possible. I gave Verm-X every 10/12 weeks as suggested and both horses loved the treat in their feed!

All went well with regular worm counts from Westgate Labs coming back for both horses at <50epg -no worms seen. Then, last July my dales x anglo-arab (Spirit!) had a count of 600epg (medium count) whilst my icelandic was still <50epg! I repeated the count for Spirit after 21 days and the result came back at 400epg. I contacted Verm-X for advice and they sent me a free double pack to give Spirit immediately, along with a free worm count to be done 21 days after worming. The result was very disappointing with a count of 650epg!! Very strange.

After further discussions with both Westgate and Verm-X it was agreed that I should use a normal wormer which I did with both Spirit and my icey too, just to be on the safe side. I used Equest Pramox as it was the right time to make sure tapeworms were covered. Then, 21 days later I took another sample which came back <50epg for both horses. It's now 12 weeks since the Pramox was given so with another dose of wormer due I thought I'd have another count taken. Sent off sample last week and it came back still <50epg for both horses which was a relief. So, as I had a couple of sachets of Verm-X left I've just given them to both horses. I may get another count done in 12 weeks or so and then decide whether to dose with Pramox again, particularly Spirit. I'm also not too confident of Verm-X covering tapeworm, although they say a double dose should do. Maybe I'll end up just giving Pramox in Spring/Autumn and Verm-X at other times.

Hope you can follow the above!! I must say both Westgate and Verm-X were VERY helpful giving free wormer and tests in an effort to sort things out. In the end we agreed that Verm-X was just not going to work for Spirit but still not really sure why! His counts were only in the lower medium range but I wasn't happy as I knew he'd been <50 previously. He also seemed to be losing some condition.

Hope that helps!!

[harveydales]

Thanks Spirit, that is very interesting. I have been told that Verm-x doesn't always work for all horses but don't know why. I would like to see some statistics on what sort of horses it doesn't work for - age, breed, other management factors etc. I will do the same as you and get Quest tested for worm counts in a couple of weeks. I am not altogether convinced about Verm-X but felt it worth a try for Quest.

I went through a phase of not worming at all for 2 or 3 years, but had regular worm counts done and they always came back as "none seen" for all 3 of my horses. then I had a couple of years where I wormed just twice a year with Equest and then last spring with Panacur Equine Guard which triggered laminitis again. Haven't wormed Quest since until just now with the Verm-X. i will let you know what the worm count is.