Nasty parasite that kills

[motorgypsy]

If you have horses losing weight and not appetite it's a very good idea to do a fecal separation and look for these. You can see them without a microscope. This is what the person who lost some horses to it told me about it. The only wormer that kills it is Quest but you have to be very careful with Quest and know the true weight of the horse because there is little room for error in dosage.

From the person whose horses had them:

How we finally found it was through an autopsy at Texas A&M. After they found it, they called my vet and he looked in the fecal sample he had in the fridge and found more of them. There weren't many in the sample he had ~ about three horse apples had about six or eight of these, so he had to look hard.

What other signs are they showing? Some other signs of what I dealt with were slight mucousy coating on the feces (no diarrhea ever), yellow eyes, and rapid loss of weight. Right before death (one or two days) they laid down a lot and had trouble getting up. They never lost their appetites.

We got rid of it with Quest (moxidectin). I wouldn't recommend using Quest on youngsters without a vet's input since it's a lot easier to OD them on that than it is any other wormer.


http://campcreektexas.com/images/parasite.jpg

[appyday]

thank you very much

[GeorgeGuns]

Is that threadworm?
Not a pretty thought.

I'm not smiling as I think of all the BB members running around with poop in bags and magnifying glasses.. count me in. I've go two horses that have gone hard keeping on me despite more feed this winter. Shoot, I may skip the trouble and pick up the Mox.

I wrote down the weight calculation last time it was posted.
Measure girth,
Measure length from point of shoulder to middle of butt.
Girth x girth x length
div by 330

[appyday]

yep coreen I am with you...weigth tape ($4.95) quest under $10 on ebay horse with no worms priceless...

[CarolU]

I think it is a good idea to Quest all adult horses once a year (I believe Ivermectin Gold is the same fromula). It's worth it to get EVERYTHING for sure.

BTW, that test will also tell you if you have sand and need to metamucil them. If you find sand in the stool, better safe then sorry.

[Polly Aulton]

I'm with you Carol. It's a pain in the patooie to do all those calculations but worth it to keep your horse healthy.
Polly

[DSDECKERT]

Had a friend lose a yearling to this same parasite. ComboCare is the same ingredient as Quest as well. Moxidectin (I think)

[GeorgeGuns]

ComboCare = Moxidectin + Praziquantel for tapes
Zimecterin Gold = Ivermectin + Praziquantel
Equimax = Ivermectin + Praziquantel (twice as much as in Z-Gold)

[finolover]

it's a common practice to take a fecal sample to the vet if you have dogs!!!
why not horses..????
is that threadworm ??

and do you have to dose twice to kill the eggs/larvea ??

[GeorgeGuns]

Okay, now the Quest debate is on. I did some reading up online, and it looks like there is some controversy in giving this wormer? Just IM'd a friend who tells me her vet said don't give it? Is it merely dose realted? One source I found seems to think that horses in poor condition are not good cndidates for this wormer? Any comments?

[CarolU]

Coreen, I have heard that it has killed several horses from impaction (too high a worm load and the horses became inpacted expelling all the worms).

For this reason it is not recommended as a foal (under yearling) wormer, or for horses that have not been wormed regularly.

If you get in a rescue or horse with questionable worming history, it is best to worm 2-3 times before using Quest on them.

[appyday]

Several of my friends minis died...I only use it on my big fat horses on already a regular schedule...I DO NOT worm a new horse with an unknown background....and never a skinny wormy horse or babies in the shape of mine..

[motorgypsy]

It depends on why they are in poor condition. If it's because of a parasite that other wormers won't kill then Quest is a life saver. That's why floating the fecal sample is so important. And doing a float is not the same as just taking a small amount to the vet for a microscope check.