Should I be disgusted/concerned or am I over reacting?

[Milliechaz]

Hi

I took possession of a youngster from a reputable charity 5 weeks ago. She will be 3 in July and was born whilst with them. She was wormed with Equest Pramox two weeks before she came to me. Since arriving I noticed a couple of red worms in her poo each day, nothing major just one or 2 (that I could see). 5 weeks on I was still noticing them and she really wasn't looking as good as I would have expected her to, having put her on a balancer and giving her 3 x very small feeds a day (her coat wasn't coming out as well as I would have expected and she just looked a bit dull and wasn't eating much hay overnight. She is very weak looking for her age anyway.

Anyway I started her on a 5 day course of panicur equine guard on Sunday as I was concerned I was still seeing these few red worms so many weeks later. Well I wasn't prepared for what I have seen since. Overnight Sunday all of Monday and over night Monday her poo has been literally full of red worm (and I mean full) and yesterday I saw 2 pin worms in her poo, one about 5 cm long and another about 12 cm long. They are all dead, nothing is still wriggling.

I know youngsters are more prone to worms, with having low natural resistance but surely I shouldn't be seeing such an infestation in something that should have been looked after well since birth? What are your thoughts?

I messaged the charity on Monday to let them know and sent them some pictures of the amount of red worm being expelled. I know they have read the message as I can see but I haven't received a response which I am really disappointed about. Do I let them know about the pinworm too? I messaged them under the guise that they would be aware and could check the others she had been grazing with but was expecting some form of response or shock at my update.

I am really unsure what to do, she is a lovely little thing but really weak looking and the worms are probably part of the reason why I would imagine? Would you send her back, really annoyed that something in their care was in such a state or am I over reacting. I am annoyed I have to say. Im also a bit concerned that this is going to affect the rest of her growth given she is nearing 3 years. She hasn't shown any signs of growth upwards or outwards since being here albeit only 5 weeks but maybe i'm expecting too much?

Thanks in advance

 

[AmyMay]

Well, no I wouldn’t send her back. Presumably there was a reason that you got something from a rescue and you’ve given something needing a home a home. I would however make it very clear to the organisation the extent of the problem and what you’re doing to resolve it (with veterinary guidance).

Providing you can sort the issue out, and have good grazing then she should come good by the end of the summer. Remember, a poor horse will hold on to a rough winter coat longer than a healthy one.

 

[Milliechaz]

Thanks Amymay, the last thing I would want to do is send her back, I just wasn't sure how much of an issue this would be to her longterm with her being so young.

 

[honetpot]

I bought a yearling with a masive amount of worms, I don't think since the 70's I have ever seen anything pass live worms. I got a worming regime from the vet school, he was wormed every two week,then four weeks. I think he is now 14, and having an active busy life.
I tend not too worry about things I can not change, but to cover your self for the future, I would contact a vet, get some advice on worming by email and forward it to the charity.

 

[HeyMich]

Nope, I wouldn't send her back either. Worming is an ongoing task, so just because they maybe didn't fully keep on top of it, it doesn't mean the sale should be voided.

What I would do from now on is a very regular FEC count, and worm with chemical wormers as appropriate. Make sure your vet knows the situation, and take advice from them as necessary. What you do now going forwards is the main thing.

As far as letting the charity know - you have told them the situation, which is the important thing. They did worm your horse 2 weeks before you took possession, so they aren't neglecting their duties totally. Charities are all facing tough times just now, maybe they don't keep in touch with new owners due to time/staffing constraints?

Good luck, I hope your horse picks up again soon.

.

 

[ihatework]

There is a saying that 20% of the horses carry 80% of the worms!

Yes it’s disgusting but worms are a ‘normal’ part of horse ownership and some are more susceptible to a burden than others.

I would hope any reputable charity would have thanked you for alerting them because it might indicate they have some underlying resistance.

If it helps alleviate the stigma I’ve got a big event horse who has been in my ownership for 2 1/2 years. He is on my local vets programme that includes routine FEC, saliva swabs and wormers twice a year. The horse to everyone’s knowledge was fine, a picture of health and jumped an international etc.

He went in for a routine op I the autumn and when he was coming around from the GA he expelled a huge volume of worms over the next 24h. Very very grim indeed. But it wasn’t for lack of care or oversight, sometimes it’s just how things are!

Now that I know he is susceptible to an encysted burden and presumably not that responsive to equest, I can take suitable precautions in future.

 

[Milliechaz]

Thanks everybody for your replies x

 

[TheHairyOne]

I would suspect he will probably pick up quite quickly now! My sister got an emaciated pony a while ago who was expelling live large pinworm as soon as we started feeding him.

On vets advise (he was so, so poor) we did the 5 day worming twice inside 5 weeks (on the basis of deal with the worms or cant save the pony), but after the first dose he almost immediately started putting on condition and perked up hugely.

 

[paddy555]

5 weeks is very little time to settle into a new home so even with the worm problem I would just accept her as she is and start to rehab her. You cannot make the charity do anything or respond. You just have to accept some people's standards are not a high as you would like them to be.
I have taken horses like this. In a year's time when she is 4 and has had a year's good nutrition and care she will be a different horse. They do come right.

I would start her life now. She is a lucky girl. Do a resistance test in 2 weeks and see what you have got. Also I would tapeworm test. I know she has had pramox but as you personally didn't put the syringe in her mouth I would take nothing for granted.
It took me several wormings and subsequent counts to get one horse sorted. One rescue came with continual low grade colic due to worms. I wormed when he came expecting he had problems. He didn't improve so I did a count and he still had over 1000. In his case I had used P. Guard when he came so I wondered if he was resistant to that chemical. I kept testing and worming until we got it sorted. In my case after a couple of horses being wormed with P Guard I was pretty sure I had resistance to febendizole. The charity may have used wormers that had resistance in their particular cases but hadn't worked it out. Good luck, I hope she works out for you.

 

[SusieT]

There may well be resistance in their herd in which case they may have done it all right, but still had a problem but they need to know for the others so correct to let them know

 

[Ceriann]

I took on a young mare who had suffered badly with worm burden issues. Shes often the only one in my herd of 3 that needs worming on a count despite not being treated any differently but she’s healthy, a good weight and happy. Ive now had her almost 7 years.
Give yours time, get a good worming regime with regular counts and enjoy her.

 

[TheMule]

Rescue centers are a breeding ground for worms due to the profile of what they have coming in. I wouldn’t see it as anyone's failing, I'd just be pleased I'd found the reason she's a bit poor and keep up a routine of egg counting and worming

 

[Errin Paddywack]

A friend of mine bought a palomino yearling in a sale. She wormed it and was horrified at what came out. Literally bucket loads of huge round worms, absolutely gross. Filly went on to do really well.

 

[Milliechaz]

Thanks for all of your replies everybody. The last thing I would want to do is send her back, I think I was just taken a back at the amount of worms having never seen that kind of burden before and panicked at the effect it would have on my other two as well as her.

 

[ester]

The trouble is if there is moxidectin resistance they have a serious problem!

OP I would probably get a count done 1-2 weeks after the end of the panacur.

 

[Cortez]

I used to have a largish (50+ horses all told) stud farm and had a comprehensive, vet-supervised worming program, including worm counts. Everything was running smoothly until I took some young horses to their first show; travelling was a bit stressful and they all pooped quite a lot in the lorry. Imagine my horror to see one particular horse (in great condition, shiny coat, etc.) passing huge quantities of wriggling redworms. He was of course then put on an intensive worming program, but remained susceptible to having a high worm burden all his life, although he was always perfectly healthy and looked fantastic; vet said that some horses just have higher levels of worms, and wormers don't always work.

 

[Milliechaz]

The trouble is if there is moxidectin resistance they have a serious problem!

OP I would probably get a count done 1-2 weeks after the end of the panacur.

Thanks Ester, I will