Help! My horse has/had worms

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LauraL23

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Bit of background history first..

I own a 15year old horse who i've owned for 8 years, never had a problem with worms before (to my knowledge) has always been regularly wormed but has got increasingly tricky to get wormers into so at the begining of the year i decided to switch to worm counts instead, all of which came back at 0! As i am aware worm counts don't pick up tapeworm i wormed him yesterday with pramox...

to my horror i arrived to poo pick his paddock today to find lots of very runny poos (not like him at all) and a fair few of them had visible worms, i am not 100% on the different types of worms but i have googled and i think there were possibly bits of tapeworm in some poos and a fair few of something else possibly pin worm- they were white/long/thin. I am now really quite concerned! I don't know whether to get the vet to come out and test, whether to worm again, worm count again, or hope the wormer has done its job and he is all clear now?! I am also a little concerned about the effectiveness of worm counting :o

Any advice much appreciated, i am so worried and feeling incredibly guilty :(
 
I would give your Vet a ring for advice on this and don't feel guilty. They may well advise you to do a worm count again in a couple of weeks or alternatively advise you to worm again in a short time. The next time to worm for the important encysted redworms is around January.
It does sound like the wormer has done its job. Could you take any photos of the worms you saw and show them to your Vet? Just an idea so as to identify them.

I worm my horses with a tapeworm wormer in Spring and Autumn, this year using Eqvalan Duo. I will use Equest around January. Through Summer worm count and poo pick all year round.
 
This is why I won't worm count I'm afraid. I feel to Many people do not know enough about worm counts and that it's not just tape they don't pick up on. Iv known horses go down with colic after the owners trusted them only for vet to worm and they are full.

At least you have cleared him out
 
Welllllll.

Our yard worm counts. There's only about 15 horses and all came back clear.

Except mine. Worm count of 700. :(

How when he has always followed a worming programme, was wormed a month prior to the count, does he get a count that high and be the only horse with any at all? Never seen anything in his poo.

I am now paranoid. Unless i'm particularly looking for things now, I'm convinced he itches his tail a bit (i thought pinworm?), but I think that's when he has had the same rug on for a couple of days (I mean rugless in the day, rug on at night). And i've never seen any sign of pinworm either. Unless i'm being blind as a bat or they're particularly crafty worms! :confused:
 
I had the same although I never used worm counts etc. Poo picked daily and only wormed twice year, spring and autumn. But I did worm last year with double strongid P(which I hadnt used before) and was horrified like you to find tape(looked like flat pasta about 1 inch long although others were a bit longer) All dead. In fact it was quite fascinating! He was a good doer and just seemed extra extra greedy and hungry and looked a bit bloaty.

Old boy wasnt in huge herd so managment was quite easy etc
 
You see pinworm won't be shown on worm counts either.
Maybe whoopit you picked a bit off dung to sample which had a lot off eggs in? Another part may of been lower.
I know your ment to blend the dung ideally to hopefully get a more true result but I'm not convinced with it all and feel we are going to get a lot of wormy horses out there
 
Some advice on the net says to rotate the drug group related worm products so that the horses dont become resistant to the product. However there seems to be differing opinions on this. My Vet said to stick to one product one year ie Eqvalan Duo and Eqvalan, then choose another the following year and use all year eg. Equimax and Eraquell (sister product not covering tapeworm) , cant remember the drug group names off the top of my head but if you look on Wormers Direct site for example, its quite helpful.
 
Yeah it did look like pasta! I have got pics on my phone that i can show the vet, just hope no one else stumbles apon the pictures of my horses poo on my phone! :p
I've lost all hope with the worm counting think i will definately be worming more regularly again now, just a little unsure where to start/what to do now!

I'm also really worried what sort of damage may have already been done?
 
As far as I am aware most horses have worms. But no expert on worming. I sort of did my own regime and did change them each time. I printed of a yearly worming plan and did my own thing from there onwards. (I tried to do it smartly ie get all they encysteds etc at the right stage) but I thought poo picking etc was supposed to be the best thing to keep worm burden low? Plus sheep but I didnt have those. If your horse is fine I personally wouldnt get a vet out? Your wormer has clearly worked.
 
I found that pramox couldn't clear the pin worms :(. He just kept passing them.
Had to use strongid P, the pinworms are very resistant to worming. Wor counts won't pick them up unless you send a Sellotape sample from under the tail :(
 
Correct, Pramox is not the wormer of choice for pinworm. You need the old fashioned drugs, as you discovered because they will be better able to reach the back end of the horse where pinworms live.
 
Please don't give up on worm counts, they are best way to work out an effective worming plan. As has been said above ring up westgate labs and talk to someone who actually knows what they are talking about and they will be able to explain to you how they work.
What has come out is tapeworm which is what you have wormed for so is shows that the wormer has worked. I wouldn't be worming your horse again if you have used pramox as that is a harsh wormer and you can do alot of damage to your horses system if you worm again before the recommended interval. Speak to your vet if you are worried but to be honest it sounds like your horse is perfectly ok and the wormer has worked and has killed off what you have wormed for.
 
The thin white worms are probably pin worms. I've been advised, and have used successfully Panacur 5 Day Guard to clear them. A good old-fashioned wormer - but did the job!
 
Yep, pin worms I think from the description. They wont show up on egg count. They can be difficult to get rid of, and when the infestation is bad, its not just the tail end that is rubbed but the whole body so that it can look (superficially) as if the horse has sweetitch, or fleas, ticks etc. Since you have already used Pramox I would not use 5 day panacur, as this is also aggressive. Embotape is best. If your horse does have a bad pinworm infestation you will need to worm monthly for approx 3 times. You will also need to scrub out your water trough, feeding bowls and even the stable since the itching means that eggs are rubbed off onto the surface where they can be re-ingested.
The Pramox should have got rid of the tape worm.
This shows the false idea that worm counts are the only thing you need to do to control worms. Tape worms and encysted red worms do not show up on counts and nor do pinworms. Use a wormer Spring and Autumn to get rid of these and counts inbetween to keep a check on things. Rotate the chemical group annually and keep an eye out for the tell tale white discharge under the tail and itching/rubbing of tail in the case of pinworm.
 
Here's a pic, hope no one is eating!
009-3.jpg


He's shown no signs of tail itching at all though!
 
Yep those are the female pin worms, longer than the males I gather. Called pin worms as they taper to a thin 'pin' at one end. No bum scratching isn't uncommon. Take a look, especially at the end of the day, under horse's tail. You should see some pale coloured deposit - those are eggs. You should keep wiping them away with a disposable cloth or tissue as they can drop off and reinfect pasture, bedding etc.

Also meant to add, dont forget to ask your vet what they would use to worm the horse!
 
HappyHooves said:
Yep those are the female pin worms, longer than the males I gather. Called pin worms as they taper to a thin 'pin' at one end. No bum scratching isn't uncommon. Take a look, especially at the end of the day, under horse's tail. You should see some pale coloured deposit - those are eggs. You should keep wiping them away with a disposable cloth or tissue as they can drop off and reinfect pasture, bedding etc.

Also meant to add, dont forget to ask your vet what they would use to worm the horse!
Click to expand...

Agree
Pinworms
Took ages to get rid of them, lots of tail washing and dock cleaning and disinfecting anything they could rub on. Strongid P double dose finished them off, but ask your vet since you have recently given the pramox.
My boy used to tell me when he had one by spinning round and presenting his dock in my face for a clean, ugh! Just as well he's my favourite!
Nice picture btw.
 
Whoopit said:
Welllllll.
I am now paranoid. Unless i'm particularly looking for things now, I'm convinced he itches his tail a bit (i thought pinworm?), but I think that's when he has had the same rug on for a couple of days (I mean rugless in the day, rug on at night). And i've never seen any sign of pinworm either. Unless i'm being blind as a bat or they're particularly crafty worms! :confused:
Click to expand...

Next time you worm count take a good sized bit of selotape and place it over your horses bum hole and either side then fold tape in half to seal in the sample mark with horses name & send off with poo sample(if using westgate they pinworm test for free).

did you phone the company to talk through results?
 
i dont do worm counts just a worming programme as local vets (both of them) feel the rise in pinworm is due to lack of routine worming/worm counts, pinworm themselves cause no damage to the horse but the horse can do significant damage to itself because of the irritation the pinworm sometimes cause-some horses have them and dont rub at all but so get driven mad by the irritation
 
I have checked under his tail today and there is nothing obvious at all, other than the fact his droppings are very loose which i am assuming is just because of the pramox as they were fine before. He has no signs of itching or anything.

I have checked with a vet who has said to worm again in 3 weeks but not with pramox. I think i will also get him blood tested by the vet when he is due for jabs in about a months time and see what they suggest from there.

I am still so worried though, and i feel so bad i had no idea :( Looking at him he looks the picture of health though!!
 
not allhorses itch when they have pin worm so dont blame yourself for not noticing

one of the vets round here has a paste madeup to spread around your horses bum, its kills the female worms as they come out to lay eggs, we had to put it on every day for 2 wks, it was very effective. oral wormers are not always effective on an infestaion
 
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