Ringworm - precautions?Im a moron!

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Ranyhyn

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I am a moron and I have never encountered ringworm.

What precautions should be taken with a horse who has ringworm - can it be transferred from horse to horse?

Is it just a case of worming a horse?

Sorry moron alert!!
 
a horse that has ringworm should be kept away from other horses. and stable and rug and grooming kit should be disinfected as other horses can pick it up if they come in contact with something infected with the fungi.
cattle generally carry it but not all of them. humans can pick it up by leaning on fences that cattle have rubbed on.
if you wanna know more il get my folder coz i have an essay on it. lol.
 
If a horse on a yard has got ringworm - and has been in a field with my horse
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Should I be worried?
 
Don't worry, you are not a moran. better to ask if you don't know.

Firstly, call the vet so they can check and prescribe the appropriate medication. its a fungal skin infection rather than a worm as we know it, so worming wont make any difference.
Secondly, if you can, isolate the horse because it can spread quite easily and its a pain in the butt if it does spread.
All your horse's equipment should be disinfected - buckets, haynets, grooming stuff, pitch forks etc, rugs, you (!!) and kept separate to try and minimise the infection spread.
Then its a case of trying to control the infection, which your vet will advise on, keeping you & your horse away from others (always really difficult) and keeping your gear clean.
With the right management it should clear up pretty quick.
We had a horse recently who came onto our yard with it and we managed the horse and owner and it didn't spread.
Luckily its not life threatening, just a pain to have to manage. Good luck.
 
Ring worm is not a worm but a fungal infection, it causes raised ring like lesions, these can be very itchy - as another poster has said , it can be passed via contact with fences, people and brushes. It is thought that some horses are immune and others can be carriers without showing symptoms. I beleive its easer to catch if the horse has any sore bits or is run down. Loads of onfo on the web.
 
Hi

Not a moron - only know what I know now after Foxy having a suspicious skin condition in the summer!

Firstly, vet can tell you if def. ringworm by doing skin scrape and it's easily treated by specialist lotion. My boy's turned out not to be RW but some other dermatological complaint which was treated with a dog shampoo!

It's not actually a parasite but a fungal infection so is treated by application of medicated lotion rather than wormers.

Unfortunately it's pretty contagious so you'll need to be careful not to use same brushes, tack, rugs etc on other horses to avoid spreading it. Virkon is what you need to get all your kit disinfected to kill the fungus and avoid your horse getting re infected.

Hope this helps!
 
i would be very cautious yes. look out for any lesions on your horse. and if you get any then make sure you disinfect all you stuff as it will be on that to and you might get rid of it on your horse but you can re-infect them if its on your rugs and brushes. is the other owner aware her horse has ringworm or is it still in the field with yours.
 
The owner approached me last night saying her horse has RW and to make sure not to use feed, tack etc but our horses have been in the same field for the past month.

I am thinking of asking to move my horse anyway to another field- but how will I know if he has it?? I don't want to infect the other horses in the other field!

Thanks guys!!
 
right... essay time
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ringworm is a highly contagious skin disease that can be transmitted by direct (horse touching horse) or indirect contact. (using an infected grooming brush or rug that has been used on the affected horse)
if an outbreak should occur than control of the outbreak is through prevention of the spread between horses. anti fungal drugs and fungicidal washes will treat the fungus on the horse whilst disinfection of the stable environment and equipment will limit the indirect transmission.
make sure you dont come in contact with the infected horse and then go an give your horse lots of hugs and kisses. as you can give it to them through indirect contact.
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just read the one above lol. he will have raised leisions.itl be abit scabby with hair loss. its hard to get a photo as the ones on the internet are quite bad cases of it but youl get the idea. put horse ringworm in google images and youl see a few pics thatl give u a heads up if your horse has it.
if you wana be on the safe side ask your vet to recomend you a wash you can use and bath your horse with it and wash your tack and grooming brushes etc. its fairly easy to treat but it does spread easily.
 
Lol- nice!
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You can buy a fungal wash i believe, which if your worried may be worth buying and giving him a good old scrub and eithe was/disenfect his rug or if you have a new one that hes never worn chuck that on him- then move fields.

The same thing if hes in the same field, unfort if any of the others have already caught it in the big field and may not yet be showing any symptons it can still spread to yours as above (horse on horse)

Others need to be viligelent aswell, if its just you doing it its not really solving the problem as it will continue to spread.
 
get the vet out to prescribe some drugs for him. wash all rugs grooming kit rugs etc keep the horse away from other horses and be very careful you dont get it aswell!
 
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Gah - can I wash him in Jan?? He'll die of cold!!

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You could use Mycophyte instead, you mix it with a bit of water and apply all the way down the spine, no need to bathe and it spreads in similar way as spot-on
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It normally takes 2 application about 10-17 days apart to get rid. You can also use M to make spray to treat your tack and rugs and all other bits and bobs
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Oliver had it late summer/early autumn. He had three lesions. They lose their hair on the lesion, so it's plainly obviously to spot a bald scabby area on their body.

I already had the appropriate treatment in for ringworm as I'd had a youngster with it a couple of years ago. Washed the area in Malaseb wash and treated with a made up spray bottle of Immaverol solution. I sprayed him from head to foot (and the inside of his rugs, his stable blah blah) and sprayed every third day just onto to the lesions after that.

It had gone in a week. I didn't remove him from the field of the other horses as he had a rug on at all time which covered the lesions. By the time I had spotted it on him (he'd had a lightweight sheet on since the Friday evening to the Sunday morning when I noticed it), I figured the others would have already been exposed anyway.

Out of interest, not one of the other five horses on the yard came down with it.

Humans, cats, dogs, mice, rats, cattle etc can all pass ringworm to each other as it's one of those zoonosis type "infections" that can cross the species barrier.
 
Where can i buy that from Martlin?

The YO is going to get some stuff for us to bathe all the horses in - but I dont really want to bath mine, so that would be fab.
 
Just to echo what Patches said. We had a horse in a field of four. None of the other horse caught it. I wouldn't worry unless you signs of ringworm. It's quite easily treated anyway. Just be vigilant.
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Sue
 
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