Ace’s Top Tip For Taking Dewormer Willingly

I’m sure you’ve been there before … it’s that time again. Your horse knows something is up as you enter his stall. He’s always paranoid that something or someone is trying to get him, and he can tell by the shifty look in your eyes (your attempt to look natural with a tube of wormer hidden behind your back) that today is the day you are the one trying to kill him.

He finally lets you put the halter on, but isn’t reassured as you stroke his neck and the side of his face. He knows that you are just trying to lull him into a false sense of security before making your move (good call, that one!).

Then that white tube of poison comes out of your pocket – because something that tastes that bad and requires such a careful production HAS to be bad for him. You didn’t know you had a giraffe, or that even if you could reach his mouth that a horse could purse his lips that tightly. And this is probably a good time to wear your helmet for ground work – because that hard equine head will be flying.

Your horse doesn’t know that the horrible stuff you push out of that tube isn’t going to kill him. He has a long memory – and the last time you gave him the stuff it tasted really bad.

So why did Ace get beside-himself-excited the other day when I pulled out the dreaded dewormer – and actually dive on it and put it in his mouth himself?

Because he gets something tasty out of  a tube every day.

Ace is on a natural digestive health supplement called SUCCEED – and he adores it. It’s made from various things including oat extracts and it smells and tastes divine (yes, I know this from personal experience). Ace gets the SUCCEED oral paste. I have to be careful when I go to squirt it in the back of his mouth because he loves it so much that he bites down on the tube and sometimes closes off the end before it’s all out.

The way I get Ace to take his dewormer happily? The bait and switch.

Ace was not a happy camper when he discovered that what was in the tube was Anthelcide (that even sounds like a poison, doesn’t it?) and not SUCCEED. He tossed his head around and tried to lick the taste out of his mouth for a good 10 minutes. The beauty of this? It will be another three months before Ace needs dewormer again – three months of getting his beloved SUCCEED out of a tube – and he’ll totally forget.

Maybe your horse doesn’t need a tasty digestive supplement. But you can still train him to take the tube willingly by regularly giving him something yummy from one – like applesauce. If he comes to expect something good, he won’t be so distraught on the rare occassion you need to give him de-wormer or Bute paste.

Do you have any other tips for getting your horse to take de-wormer willingly? What other creative treats would you put in a tube?