ID this worm please?

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FfionWinnie

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Apologies for the minging pic but what is this worm and what do I need to do about it. I've never had worm issues with my horses who I blood /dung test (and rotate the grazing with cattle and sheep). This horse was bought in and I've wormed her with pramox about 2 weeks ago but several live creatures came out today so really just wondering what to do! She's not doing particularly well despite extra food, good grass and rugged which makes it especially worrying.

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Its a pin worm - lives just inside the anus.

Female comes out and deposits eggs around the outside of the anus - you may notice a creamy like substance around the anus. Developing eggs are tickly and horse may itch its butt on anything and everything. Worm with Ivermectin. To prevent female laying, clean all the deposit off and then smear a layer of Vaseline around the anus.
 
Tnavas said:
Its a pin worm - lives just inside the anus.

Female comes out and deposits eggs around the outside of the anus - you may notice a creamy like substance around the anus. Developing eggs are tickly and horse may itch its butt on anything and everything. Worm with Ivermectin. To prevent female laying, clean all the deposit off and then smear a layer of Vaseline around the anus.
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Thanks. That's what I was worried about. Is it likely to mean my others are infected now too?

She's not itching but definitely not doing well.
 
Possibly - depends on your worming program - egg counts are usually done for roundworm which are generally not a problem in adult horses so when worming treatment is reduced some of the others get sneaky and take hold.

Its about time to worm for bots so a good dose, double up on the recommended amount for your horses size and weight and you should get rid of them.

When grooming look for the tell tale sign of pin worm - the sticky, creamy coloured deposit around the anus. If you see it then either worm again or discuss with your vet. Keep the jar of Vaseline in your grooming kit and make life uncomfortable for mrs Pinworm.
 
Tnavas said:
Possibly - depends on your worming program - egg counts are usually done for roundworm which are generally not a problem in adult horses so when worming treatment is reduced some of the others get sneaky and take hold.

Its about time to worm for bots so a good dose, double up on the recommended amount for your horses size and weight and you should get rid of them.

When grooming look for the tell tale sign of pin worm - the sticky, creamy coloured deposit around the anus. If you see it then either worm again or discuss with your vet. Keep the jar of Vaseline in your grooming kit and make life uncomfortable for mrs Pinworm.
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Thanks. I don't normally use ivermectin as I've had two horses die of EGS here so worming (and anything else which could cause even the slightest upset/disturbance to their digestions) is a really worrying time. Don't get bots here. Appreciate the advice, never had to deal with this in decades of horse ownership!
 
FfionWinnie said:
Apologies for the minging pic but what is this worm and what do I need to do about it. I've never had worm issues with my horses who I blood /dung test (and rotate the grazing with cattle and sheep). This horse was bought in and I've wormed her with pramox about 2 weeks ago but several live creatures came out today so really just wondering what to do! She's not doing particularly well despite extra food, good grass and rugged which makes it especially worrying.

5112B798-AAB3-4E5F-B9AD-0D22FA0A5DE5_zpspad4taqu.jpg
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Without looking at other post.

It is a pin worm, you want to get panacure are put it round the anus

One of my liverey horses had these and it took several attemps to get rid of them. Also the mare was put on a 5 day panacure guard course. We did however and they have not returned.
 
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One of my horses had pinworm. The vet said that they have had problems getting rid of them due to resistance. I used a double dose of a pyrantel based wormer as recommended by vet and it did the trick :).
 
Pinworm - good luck, I had major problems getting rid of this with my youngster. took over 18 months, but never infected my other horse.

Best thing is to work with double dose pyrantel as suggested, then a couple of weeks later with a different wormer (newer ones don't work as well as absorbed too early) such as ivermectin, then again a couple of weeks later with pyrantel.

Also make sure anus cleaned daily and you can use Vaseline to stop eggs sticking, try to prevent horse rubbing on gates etc.
 
We currently have a mare on our yard with pinworms. Don't know how she got them because the horse is never grazed anywhere else and the horses have been here for years and are separated on turnout. Pinworms can be an absolute nightmare to get rid of. We have done a lot of research on the subject.
The eggs drop off into the bedding and onto grass so the cycle starts all over again when they are ingested. I think the eggs remain viable on the grass/bedding for about 6 - 9 weeks. Where the horse rubs all around the stable it will be rubbing the eggs off onto the walls etc. Ivermectin alone will not do the job as by the time it passes through the gut and gets to the hind gut it will have dissipated. Have read a lot of posts on H&H where owners have tried everything and finally have got rid of them by using 5 day Panacur Guard and organic Neem Oil (cheaply available on Ebay). Having cleaned the anus with wipes, paint on the Neem Oil where the female worms come out to lay their eggs. Apply the oil twice daily but especially in the evening as the worms come out at night to lay. Its thought that the Neem Oil which is a gentle insecticide interferes with the worms hormone cycle.
The mare on our yard has been treated with the above and so far we have not seen any worms in the droppings.
We also sprayed disinfectant around the walls but didn't go as far as removing the bedding which was recommended.
Would strongly suggest you do the above because anything else just will not do the job.
Good luck.
 
On the advice of west gate our reoccurring pinworm problem was eventually eradicated with five day panacur guard and four weeks later double dose of strongid p, also wipe the anus everyday and apply Vaseline and disinfect all grooming kit, buckets, stable etc etc
 
I'll probably get flamed for this (so nothing new there! :)) but is there any need to panic over the sight of a single worm? Yes, I agree, it should be a heads up but most adult hosts become resistent to internal parasites unless they are stressed in other ways (sick, old, or young) or confronted by an overwhelping invasion (through tight stocking on dirty grazing). How do they acquire resistance if they never have worms?

Another thing, my vet remarked that worm eggs are killed by freezing, so shouldn't we be timing the worming to when it freezes rather than rushing out to worm at the first sight of a single worm -- or worming by the calendar?

I know I had a hook worm infestation in a kennel of dogs. The (tame) vet looked it up and advised that the worm eggs were killed by frost and also by salt sprinkled on the kennel floor. I waited for a hard frost and dosed the lot. I never saw a worm again.

Just trying to be logical! It is in the interests of vets and wormer manufacturers to make us all paranoid about worms and worming so we buy more wormer, I merely question whether it is always really necessary?
 
Well she's a formerly obese welsh D and she's wasting away despite good grass and extra feeding so I would say in this instance DR I have to do something! Also don't want the other horses infested with them.

Thanks all for the replies. I got panacur guard and am just syringing it into her as she won't eat it.

Will get neem oil too. Have put Vaseline on just now.
 
Dry Rot said:
Another thing, my vet remarked that worm eggs are killed by freezing, so shouldn't we be timing the worming to when it freezes rather than rushing out to worm at the first sight of a single worm -- or worming by the calendar?
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some are, many are not, some persist down to -15! I've been told about ones being inadvertently frozen in the lab to then be viable. UV/dry heat seems to be more useful which is something that's in short supply in the UK and some types of worm larvae can produce melanin if needed..
 
MotherOfChickens said:
some are, many are not, some persist down to -15! I've been told about ones being inadvertently frozen in the lab to then be viable. UV/dry heat seems to be more useful which is something that's in short supply in the UK and some types of worm larvae can produce melanin if needed..
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Yes, I agree with you. I did read that some survive. Didn't know about the melanin though! It was a remark by my equine vet that frost kills them, which I did challenge at the time and have wondered about ever since.

FW, I don't question for one moment that you know what you are doing. My comment wasn't aimed at anyone in particular.
 
pyrantel is the best treatment for pin worm.

Re the freezing it shouldn't matter as you should only be kicking out dead or very sick adult worms anyway, not related to eggs and larvae on the pasture.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Well she's a formerly obese welsh D and she's wasting away despite good grass and extra feeding so I would say in this instance DR I have to do something! Also don't want the other horses infested with them.

Thanks all for the replies. I got panacur guard and am just syringing it into her as she won't eat it.

Will get neem oil too. Have put Vaseline on just now.
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In that case I'd be consulting the vet - pinworms should not cause a horse to 'waste away' like other worms can, in fact other than being a pain and itchy they are relatively harmless.

I'd wonder if she has become susceptible to the pinworms due to a weakened immune system because something else is going on.
 
Pinworms should not cause a loss of condition as they don't damage the intestines but they can cause distress as the itching can drive them nuts and if severe the raw rubs can cause skin infections. Also, its not very nice if every other horse on the yard picks them up - you can quickly become persona not grata! Pinworms can take up to 5 months to mature inside the horse and can take as long as 12 months to clear up. Pyrantel is not a reliable stand alone remedy.
If your horse is losing weight then there must be something else going on - I would have a chat with your vet.
 
Seeing a single worm is a sign that there are many, many more. While pinworms may not do massive damage like bots do, they still do damage to the rectal area. Apart from that they can make the horse pretty miserable as they itch.

They are also not good for the fence or whatever is being used to itch on. You also run the risk of the horse putting its legs through the fence.

As far as freezing killing parasites, that theory I thought had been disproved many decades ago. If it were true then any horse in an area where snow and heavy frosts are a winter norm should be worm free.
 
samlf said:
In that case I'd be consulting the vet - pinworms should not cause a horse to 'waste away' like other worms can, in fact other than being a pain and itchy they are relatively harmless.

I'd wonder if she has become susceptible to the pinworms due to a weakened immune system because something else is going on.
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The vet saw her last week. When I say she's wasting away, in the 10 months I've known her, I would estimate she has lost 140kgs. She needed to lose most of that but no more now and she's lean going into winter. I bought her a couple of months ago out a dealers yard. She has had a highly distressing time for the previous 8 months or so. I don't think there is anything wrong with her, she's full of energy and bright and had a full health assessment from the vet and is not girthy or anything. She was eating a bucket feed until I put her on better grass and now she just wants grass. I have seen loads of worms in her dung, I've also read it can depress their appetite - admittedly she isn't itching but she has been nervous at times and doesn't/didn't stand still well. I've done her with pramox, which I believe should have tackled them but it obviously hasn't got rid of them all and I'm now doing a five day course of panacur and I will follow it up with pyrantel or strongid p in a month.

The vet is back in 2 weeks, at which point we will have another weight tape to see if she's getting worse or better (I suspect staying the same could be likely which would be fine this time, all things considered).
 
Do consider treating from the other direction too, the trouble with pinworms is that because they are near the anus they avoid treatment as it has had to travel a long way to get there!
 
ester said:
Do consider treating from the other direction too, the trouble with pinworms is that because they are near the anus they avoid treatment as it has had to travel a long way to get there!
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Sticking it up her ass? What wormer do they use for that do you know, I could have some in for the vet when he comes and get him to do it or tell me how (I have long gloves Peaches and I'm not afraid to use them lol)
 
You can insert the wormer paste just inside the anus but there is no guarantee that this will be effective as, obviously, it will come out with the droppings. You are better off painting Neem Oil around the anus which is sticky, like vaseline, and will stop the eggs from being deposited and at the same time, being an insecticide, do the actual worms some damage.
Glad to hear that you horse has a new home and will probably pick up a lot of weight now that it is settled.
 
It's usually an ivermectin wormer used rectally (although made no difference with mine). Neem oil is supposed to help, although again didn't work for mine.
My vet sent me a useful study when I was struggling with this, if you pm me your email address I'll send it on.

Newer wormers such as pramox aren't usually very useful in practice because they are absorbed too early and don't reach where they are needed.
 
They do sometimes need a multifaceted approach as they seem to have had a resurgence of late. - worming both ends, vaseline/neem oil the area, treat any surfaces they have been scratching on. They can become a bit of a ******!
 
Pramox is not the best wormer for pinworms although good for all others, don't forget to double dose when you give the strongid p. Also have you done a worm count recently to check for any other worms and even a saliva test for tapeworm might be an idea. Sorry if you've already mentioned this I haven't been through the whole post.
 
Just bumping this, I know it's an old post, but I suspect my mare has these. We've wormed them last month and this month with pinworm workers, overdosing, but she's still itching. Just wondering what people had success with..
 
FfionWinnie said:
Apologies for the minging pic but what is this worm and what do I need to do about it. I've never had worm issues with my horses who I blood /dung test (and rotate the grazing with cattle and sheep). This horse was bought in and I've wormed her with pramox about 2 weeks ago but several live creatures came out today so really just wondering what to do! She's not doing particularly well despite extra food, good grass and rugged which makes it especially worrying.

5112B798-AAB3-4E5F-B9AD-0D22FA0A5DE5_zpspad4taqu.jpg
Click to expand...

As others say pin worm, one of my livery owners horse had them and they are a devil to rid but panacure 5 day wormer eventually cleared them
 
I used 5 day panacur I think (memory is shot!!) and I syringed it into her ungrateful gob mixed in water as she wouldn't eat it. Haven't had a recurrence and no one else got them. Thank god.
 
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