Worm damage

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Paint it Lucky

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Has anyone had any experience of a horse with long term worm damage (due to not being wormed and very poorly managed for a few years whilst on loan)? The horse has been back with his owner a few years now but he is still a poor doer and has a runny bum which we have to wash daily (along with his back legs
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), although his poos are fine. He has a lot of other things wrong with him but do you think the runny poo is due to long term intestinal damage that will never heal properly (as the vet says). He was on codeine but ran out awhile ago and the owner refuses to buy anymore as she says surely he doesn't need it anymore. He is not in pain at all or unwell but surely an ongoing medication of some kind would help him digest his food better and not have horrible liquid poo all over his legs
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Sorry probably a pointless post as I can't do much about it seeing as owner refuses to pay extra for him, but I just wondered what you all think as to me it seems a sorry state for a horse to be in.
 
I have an old horse who had severe redworm when I bought him as a 2 year old. Once the worms were cleared (took quite a few doses) he had no runny poo or anything so this might be a separate issue. In terms of long term effects, he has never been a good doer and doesnt digest food well so needs good grass all year round. He cannot have large feeds either. Have found through trial and error really that he is best kept on pony nuts , soaked to a pulp, and alfafa. He also has sugarbeet and linseed in the winter. Have tried blue chip, equilibra, pink powder etc but didnt make any real difference.

If he goes off his feed he is wormed immediately as he has a very low tolerance level due to the damage (not sure if this is the right term). So even if he is not due for worming he is wormed.

He is now 31. He was never expected to get much older than 20 and I was warned he would suffer from colic. Hence I have to be extremely gradual with any diet changes and he lives out 24/7 for as much of the time as possible to keep his gut constantly working.
 
A big side effect of codeine is constipation so the pony may have been prescribed a dose to 'dry up' but not solidify the poo. It may be that the pony needs the codeine to ease any diarrhea, although there are other drugs which are actually designed for the purpose.
 
My old mare is suspected to have this...she has a tendency to diarrhoea, but only in wet weather (when the grass is high in water and wet). Sugar beet (non molassed) helps, as do probiotics. Feeding bran (fairly dry) can also help.
And of course, worming regularly
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I used to have a gypsy cob who had worm damage to her bowel, due to not being wormed as a youngster (prior to me owning her!).

It first became apparent when she came off the grazing in the winter to be fed on hay - as this is alot coarser her gut struggled to digest it properly. She was prescribed codeine tablets to slow the bowel down, so water could be reabsorbed into the body and not come out in her faeces.

I found by giving her good quality soft hay and a diet low in protein (liver disease often goes hand in hand with worm damage) I could reduce her tablets to 3 a day. I never found I could take her off them completely.

To stop giving the codeine tablets is false economy as you just have to keep feeding more food to keep the weight on. Its a vicious circle, because the more food that is fed, the more the guts have to work, thus putting them under more pressure & produce more poo! Another problem with the horse having the constant runs is it can become seriously dehydrated and malnuorished as a result. For the sake of a few tablets a day I think the owner should keep the horse on them. What a pain to have to keep washing tails & legs every day (I know - I've been there!!)
 
I have experienced several horses with worm damage, one who's ex owner thought that if he fed teh horse a bucket of carrots (giving the horse diahoerra) was adequate as he would then see worms come out!
I have also seen teh calcified intestines of a horse with worm damage, it is definately worth keeping the horse on wither codeine or prednisolone as constant diahoerra does cause dehydration which can lead to colic.
 
How much codeine would a Section A pony need? I would like to see if codeine would help my companion pony, who has loose droppings all year, but is awful when eating hay in winter, constant bum and leg washing. Vet seems stumped about treatment.
 
Really pleased to have found this thread, we bought a 12hh welsh pony in Oct which has constant runs.. droppings formed but so much fluid, we give him one 30mg tablet of codine twice a day an it keeps him perfect.. was worrying about it as a long term prospect but seems fine...
 
Just seen this again! My old chap will be 35 this year! When I made the earlier comment I dont think i expected to still have him 4 years later.:)
 
Well done Dozzie, glad your old boy is doing so well. I have just found this thread again too. Just to update I now own the horse (note thread started three and a half years ago), the owner didn't want him anymore and was basically giving him away so I said I would take him on so have had him over 3 years now. I am pleased to say he is doing much better, I think he must have been intolerant of something in his diet as I have changed it a bit since I got him to mainly fibre based and his droppings are much better now. I was worried about putting him on Codeine long term so have found him a herbal supplement that keeps him much drier. He has a few other problems too (hence why he was given away) but overall is a lovely sweet horse so I'm very glad I've got him.
 
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