Can't stop pony itching his tail, what else could I try?

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inthehills

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Hi,
I posted back in the spring about my highland rubbing his tail and bottom and how I'd done a pinworm test which had come back positive.
Two courses of wormer later, pony still itching and so I did another test. But it's come back negative.
He started rubbing last winter in his stable, originally I'd thought it was lice or mites so tried various lotions and potions to no avail. The rubbing then continued outside in the spring which is when I did the pinworm test.

I'm really after some suggestions to why he still could be rubbing? it's not a 'driving me mad' rub anymore (he was rubbing himself raw in the spring) but still enough to keep scrubbing his tail bad and making the odd sore spot. Oddly, he doesn't seem to rub every day. I fenced off the worst offending spots in his field (tree and electric pole) but it's a big field with a stone wall around it so impossible to stop him finding an itching place somewhere

I've also cleaned his sheath which does get a bit smelly, and tried washing his tail to see if that makes it feel better. Nothing seems to work and I'm really concerned that when he starts being stabled at night this autumn he's going to have the whole night and a lovely solid stable wall to scrub his bum on.

Next stop is to talk to the vet again but just thought I'd ask you lovely people first as you generally keep me right :-)
 
My vet mixed up a potion for me which I had to use on a regular basis, ivermectin based. That helped my son's pony.

What do you use to wash his tail with? Possible that he has had a reaction to it?

My friends pony has dreadful sweet itch and she has been using something called Skratch (I think that's the name anyway). She mixes it with an oil and that has really helped this year.
 
What wormer did you use ?
My mothers horse was like yours. The pinworm test came back negative but the vet said to put him on the 5 day wormer (Panacur I think) and that did the trick. He was rubbing himself raw and she had wormed him as normal previously.
 
Try benzyl Benzoate, buy the pure stuff online. It stops them itching and breaks the itch/scratch cycle. I've been using it on my sweet itch horse this year and for the first time ever he has an actual mane and tail rather than a bog brush.
 
Have you tried Killitch? Think its based on a benzyl Benzoate lotion, I found it brilliant. I used medicated shampoo every few days, Killitch twice a day and Aloe Gel in between which did the trick for mine.
 
many thanks for the replies :-)

I did use two courses of pyrantil six weeks apart but the vet did suggest if I needed to worm again to try the panacur 5 day, so I might try that just to make sure (did test using the sellotape test but I guess the worms could be having a day off from laying eggs!)

I tried benzyl benzoate last winter, he was rubbing on a gate that partitions his stable and it took the paint off the gate- pony ended up with a green bum!!

How long do you have to keep applying the benzyl benzoate for? I tried it for four days at the time and it didn't seem to help (and I was fed up of the green paint on a grey pony). maybe I need to keep persisting though. same with the tail washing, how long should it be taking before you start to see relief (if it's going to happen)?
 
Mine itches her tail so it often resembles a bog brush. Washing with cold water and head and shoulders itch relief work wonders for her, helps stop the itch scratch itch cycle. I also have to keep the sides clipped short like its pulled as the hair growing back from the rubbing also exacerbates the itching process.
 
clean with a non-perfumed baby wipe and then apply neam oil. do this every day for about 6 months, that should get rid of pin worms. I did my mare for 12 months!!!!!
 
I would panacur first. benzyl doesnt always work and some horses react to it. it depends on what the cause is but I've had success witb Ruggle It and with RedHorse Sweet Oil (both contain neem and therefore both require spot testing).
 
I can sympathise with you OP. My boy also has (or, hopefully, had!) pinworms and they are a complete nightmare to get rid of. He is also in an electric fence paddock and I have caught him sitting up like a dog and scratching his bum on the ground.

Definitely use the Panacur Equine Guard five-day, and as JEZA suggests, use neem oil on his anus. I have also used an ivermectin solution prescribed by the vet, like how Peregrine Falcon described, to syringe into the rectum so it might be worth calling your vet and having a chat with him/her to see if they think this might be appropriate for your boy. Pinworms have a long life cycle and worming just once might not eliminate all of them, which is why your boy may still be itching. This happened with mine, and it has taken over a year but I think (hope!) that I've got them all now.

FWIW, I don't think the pinworm sellotape test is particularly reliable as it depends on whether the worms are laying and whether you manage to pick them up. I have done them and come back negative even though he was itching like a thing possessed and not too long after doing the test I pulled a worm out of his anus. Grim.

Good luck with your boy OP!
 
Thanks so much for the help and support :-) This itchy tail/bum problem seems to be a long road so it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's had problems.

It was quite funny though as I'd literally just picked up the post which included a bottle of neem oil, and then read JEZA's message about using it!

I've also armed myself with a bumper pack of baby wipes and we've started wiping every day and putting the oil on. Washing his tail recently seemed to make things worse- I'm wondering if it irritated the sores/scabs (despite using sensitive skin shampoo) and so I plastered on sudocrem (sp?) which I'd had in anyway to treat my son's nappy rash and it seems to have calmed down quite a bit.

Thanks for the thoughts on the pinworm test, it backs up what I've been thinking as it seems like it is still pinworm causing the problem. Mainly because it's definitely his bottom that he's trying to itch, and it's like his tail is just in the way really. It's almost like the worming I've done has reduced the numbers as he's not going mad with it now, but there are still a few there which are still causing some irritation.

Thanks too on the advice regarding ivermectim, I'll ask the vet about that. Have ordered the panacur equine guard too.

Fortunately he's so quiet I can wipe his bum and apply the oil in the field (think he quite likes it!) without having to tie him up, and the hardest thing is keeping his friend's nose out the way as he likes to 'supervise' !

Thanks again :-)
 
Hi pin worm is tricky to get rid of as the eggs, once shed, can hang around for about 6 months and reinfect the horse. I "borrowed" a pony from a friend when my old TB died as a companion for my other horse, fortunately I noticed a worm in his droppings in the stable he'd been in. Friend had said he had sweet itch as his tail was red raw but close investigation of the worm was conclusive. I disinfected his stable and every bit of fencing/gate he might have rubbed on and used 5 day panacur guard + washed his bum with a neem solution every morning. He went home a month later worm free (I think)and I let the small paddock he'd been in stay empty for 6 months. We seem to be worm free but it was a complete pain. Good luck and stay vigilant!
 
Bit of an outside chance but last weekend I was on a course about equine bodywork and it came up that sometimes if horses have tight hamstrings/discomfort in the hind end muscles they end up rubbing their tails. If you have any physio/similar sessions coming up might be worth mentioning it alongside treating for the pinworm?
 
killitch is amazing stuff. that and very regular washing. I don't know about your area but the midges seem to have been bad around where we are this autumn.
WandaMare said:
Have you tried Killitch? Think its based on a benzyl Benzoate lotion, I found it brilliant. I used medicated shampoo every few days, Killitch twice a day and Aloe Gel in between which did the trick for mine.
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Could be the pinworms coming back, they take ages to mature and if even a couple eggs survived then pony could be reinfected. They're an absolute nightmare, so I sympathize with you OP. I had to nuke my girl with a course of embotape followed up by ivermectin to get hers. I've been watching like a hawk since for any signs of return, which is hard as she's sweetitchy anyway, and loves a good bum scratch.
 
Friends horse has had four wormers down its throat, three or four up the bottom and three courses of selenium sulphide shampoo and pinworm wash and countless hours of wiping anus with baby wipes, and using camrosa around tail head to stop itching. Eventually after 10 months it appears to have disappeared but they are not counting their chickens just yet! She has described it as a 'total nightmare' and its cost her over £400 to treat. Horse still rubs tail but very, very occasionally and the vet even started to suspect it wasn't pinworm in the end, in part due to the fact that all this treatment should have killed them off. Can only sympathise with the OP, my friend used to get very upset and down hearted about it all.
 
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