# Quest causing deaths in horses?



## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

There is a FB sight about how quest wormer is killing horses...a huge following trying to get the word out. And now folks are wondering how safe it is for goats. Any thoughts?..


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

It's a myth...

Back when Quest as fairly new a woman asked a vet that had only seen one of her horses about the dosage. He told her to give each full grown horse a full tube... Well within safe limits. 
One of those 4 horses died... The 250 lb miniature horse. This tale has been floating around ever since. 

It's important to know the weight of your goats... AND to know that it's meant to not be repeated on a horse for 180 days (6 months) or to give Ivomec within that time.
An awful lot of horse owners worm every month just because, Quest can not be used in that type of a rotation system.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

When we had miniature horses, most of the owners were cautioned not to give them Quest for deworming as it had been known to cause deaths in some of the horses. I was part of the miniature horse forum a few years back and yes, it is a real thing for mini horse owners to use caution in giving Quest. The reason is- that the Quest doesn't have a safe margin for overdosing. I never used it on our miniature horses. Ivermectin did the job just fine. Because it is easier to overdose with Quest in miniature horses, I have opted to not use this product on our goats at all. As it is- with the Ivermectin horse paste, I am already giving 3x the recommended amount that you would give a horse as it is the 'hear say' recommendation for Ivermectin horse paste on goats. (150 lb goat gets 450lb mark on the tube) So for the reason of easily overdosing I personally do not recommend using the Quest for goats until I know more information regarding the safety margin of the higher dosages for this product. It is not recommended for small horses under 500 pounds. I also do not believe it be wise to give to pregnant goats.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

I don't use Quest out of the tube. I use it measured in a separate syringe at the right dose for the right weight. 

I'm not convinced that the fault is with the drug itself, mini's can't be weight taped anymore than mini goats can be accurately.

When Quest first came out, there were cases of horses dying - not from the wormer itself, but the stories I've seens in print about it reported that many horses that were HEAVILY parasitized and given Quest died because Quest was so powerful that it killed off the parasites in one fell swoop, and the heavy load of dead parasites caused impactions, torsions, and intussusceptions in many of the horses. It was then recommended that in horses with heavy parasite loads (or suspected of), be wormed with another dewormer FIRST, and then given Quest a week or so later to kill off anything else. 

A horse that's been dewormed regularly and is given a correct dose of Quest Gel should not have any problems with it


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

Could you share a link to the page? I'd like to check it out.
I understand that everyone has to choose what to believe and how to treat their animals, but I worm my goats with Quest horse paste, which is cydectin, and have been for about five years. I've never seen any reaction of any kind.
I don't worry much about the dose either. I give kids 100 lbs. I give big kids 200 lbs and I give adult does 300-400 lbs worth using the dial on the plunger. They have improved the dial on the paste, which I appreciate. I don't repeat. I usually only worm every six months.


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

I'm sure it's a good product but since most of us don't accurately weigh our goats, and overdosing with this product is a possibility, I think it's best to be very careful when using it. We have no need to use it, and I don't like the risk it has of overdosing. If it is the only one that kills of a resistant worm, then there would be a need to use it but as to the mini horses- I would still caution people in using this medication without having your vet involved in weighing the horse. We had one very small mini of approx 240 lbs. - not much bigger than our goats.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Actually, Quest has to be overdosed 5 times to kill a horse or a pony... 
There is no page to back me up. I called Fort Dodge and asked. They were quite nice. 

Cydectin is the same drug :lol:


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## Tenacross (May 26, 2011)

goathiker said:


> Actually, Quest has to be overdosed 5 times to kill a horse or a pony...
> There is no page to back me up. I called Fort Dodge and asked. They were quite nice. Cydectin is the same drug :lol:


ANIMAL SAFETY
U.S. tolerance and toxicity studies have demonstrated that CYDECTIN Injectable has an adequate margin of safety for use in cattle 8 weeks of age and older. No toxic signs were seen in growing cattle given up to 5 times the recommended dose. Calves as young as 8 weeks of age showed no toxic signs when treated with up to 3 times the recommended dose while nursing from cows concurrently treated with the recommended dose level of CYDECTIN Injectable. Mild, transient ataxia was noted in growing cattle receiving 10 times the recommended dose and in bulls treated at 4.5 times the recommended dose. In breeding animals (bulls and cows in estrous and during early, mid and late pregnancy), treatment with at least 3 times the recommended dose had no effect on breeding performance.
Signs of toxicity include ataxia, excessive salivation, depression, and mydriasis. These signs usually occur within 12 to 48 hours post-treatment.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

here is the FB sight ...I have not read through it all yet..mostly just people sharing about the illness or death..just wanted to get opinions of how this willeffect goats since Im being asked alot...still reading myself...thanks everyone fro your thoughts...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/468298520018903/


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## packhillboers (Feb 2, 2011)

Very interesting to know. If it is an effective worm killer for some of those who have resistant parasites or the difficult worms, it would be something to consider. It would make sense to know that it needs to be used cautiously as it is such a powerful de-wormer. Something that strong and effective can cause too quickly of a dead worm load in a mini horses intestines and cause issues. I would still not use it on a pregnant goat until more information is available to be sure.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

I think from what i'm reading on this FB sight, Drama begets Drama...Kill the beast kind of thing...I just want to be sure theres not more going on then toxicity or over load...I liked the results I got when I used Quest as a clean up after worming with ivomec plus 3 times..


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

I've used Quest on my horses and goats for years, since it first came out. I even used it on my mini horse and pony. No problems at all. I do weigh the goats with a tape. I also squeeze out the gel into a cup and suck it up to the required dose in a syringe. It is 4 times stronger than Cydectin, so I dose it at 1 cc per 100 pounds. I used it on the goats for a long tuime, until the herd got bigger and the cost did not make it effecient to use and I switched to cydectin.

I investigated the claims when it first came out. Most were because of the strength of it like mentioned above. Using lower doses or another medication first took care of that problem.


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Thank you all...pretty much confirmed what i thought..but just needed some assurance ; )


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## KW Farms (Jun 21, 2008)

I have seen a couple videos now of horses having a bad reaction after being given Quest dewormer. There are just too many reports out there of horses having issues from it. I personally won't use it. Why risk it?

Here's a video...



__ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10206040060258841


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Yes..this is the video they have on the FB page I posted...I dont blame you Kylee, if you feel uncomfortable using it..there are other choices...I certainly don't disagree with that and I may never use it on my horse either just because I don't know enough about it...but I'm not in favor of the fear tactics used, the drama it induces...I want facts...data...proof...and as Jill and Tim pointed out...its the miss use that many times causes the problems....every time we put our trust in man made chemicals we risk our animals health..we don't know what will cause a reaction...but its our responsibility to understand what we are using the best we can and to dose proper... its a fine line we walk!! ;-)


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