Parasites??

[Cayuse]

Did you ever try Bio Sponge? Works well for loose manure/diarrhea if all else fails.
Cappy had many episodes of loose manure and diarrhea the first year we had him and we never could find a cause. His poor little heiney was a mess some days .
I tried several probiotics, deworming, changing hay etc. but what worked the best and has kept him from needing the occasional course of Bio sponge is Benegest Pro made by Emerald Valley. Helps with Peanut's gassiness, too.

Where do you get your Aloe? I had looked into trying it, but couldn't seem to find any. What does it taste like?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I will look into the bio sponge. I've heard of that. Got the aloe at Walmart over by the bandaids/hydrogen peroxide. It's inexpensive. I'm putting a scant 1/4 c on her alfalfa pellets. Keeping her in the dry lot for a day or two to see if the wet grass is the culprit. Yes, I finally have a semi-dry lot!!

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Her manure was firmer and actually had some dryish balls! Yay! When she is consistent, I will try her on a few hours of grass and see what happens. Maybe by the time we do the nursing home on the 2nd, she will be trustworthy.
I looked at the bio sponge. Will keep it in mind.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I have an older TB that this happens to. When its time to rotate paddocks , he can only go in for a quick pick and I gradually have to build his time up. This happens especially at the start of spring whilst the grass is so rich and moist.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Dry balls this morning. i let her out for 30 minutes. we'llsee the result. still on aloe.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I have an older TB that this happens to. When its time to rotate paddocks , he can only go in for a quick pick and I gradually have to build his time up. This happens especially at the start of spring whilst the grass is so rich and moist.

You might look into Aloe. It is inexpensive and easy to find. It is making a big difference for Midnight. Too soon to tell if it "fixes" her for good, but so far I'm thinking it is amazing stuff.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

She's been out on green grass several times over night or all day, and everything still looks good. It must be the Aloe working and not the dry lot. Her balls are softer than Dapper Dan's, but still firm. For some reason, the flies are all over hers and ignore his. What could that mean? Just the moisture? Some kind of stomach enzyme?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Moisture

If manure is moist you will notice the flies, the lay their eggs in it and the larvae will feed off it.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

That's fine. It goes into my compost pile and the chickens check that out every day. I really have very few flies on my horses. I'm not up on all my fly types; there must be certain types that are not blood suckers, but feed on other things. I do have nectar flies, which are good pollinators. They look like large house flies. I have a problem with pollination in my garden; maybe the chickens are doing too good of a job.

 

[plaid mare]

I use diatomaceous earth as a natural cure for worms. This product eviscerates worms and eggs in the intestinal lining. My horse is worm free thanks to this wonder dirt. It's cheap, easy to buy,and is easy on the horse,as wormers are harsh. I use it daily.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I use diatomaceous earth as a natural cure for worms. This product eviscerates worms and eggs in the intestinal lining. My horse is worm free thanks to this wonder dirt. It's cheap, easy to buy,and is easy on the horse,as wormers are harsh. I use it daily.

I've heard of this for parasites. My concern would be its abrasion on the gastric linings of the horse. I use it in my garden for roly polys, but after it is wet it no longer cuts/kills them. So, when DE gets wet in the intestine, how is it efficacious to harm the parasites?

btw, the aloe juice is working wonders on Midnight. Her manure is normal now. She is also not on green grass as much, but I believe the aloe is helping. I plan to leave her on it, at least for a while longer.

 

[chandab]

I've heard of this for parasites. My concern would be its abrasion on the gastric linings of the horse. I use it in my garden for roly polys, but after it is wet it no longer cuts/kills them. So, when DE gets wet in the intestine, how is it efficacious to harm the parasites?

DE has little, if any, effectiveness against internal parasites, once it's wet (so shortly after entering the mouth and encountering saliva) it's useless. It might work on external parasites such as fleas, ticks and lice, but even that is questionable.[/QUOTE]

 

[lilly the pony girl]

DE is used because it has microscopic sharp edges. On a garden it will get wet and when it gets wet then it will be soaked into the dirt. When it gets soaked into the dirt then it is ineffective. But in an intestine it is still abrasive. Now I could be wrong but this is just what my research has told me.

 

[plaid mare]

Yes, I agree with Lilly because it is not dirt in the conventional sense,but the microscopic remains of aquatic animals[shells, coral, ect.]. It maintains it's edge. I like it for my mini, because the chemical wormers make him very ill, and can lose there effectiveness over time. Also I don't have to worry about the type of parasite. It works equally well on all. There is also a health benefit in addition to worming. It also works as a digestive aide. My mini is prone to colic. Anything I can do to help his gut is a win win for me.

 

[MajorClementine]

We dose with Ivermectin in the spring and Pyrantel in the fall. We've wormed twice a year as long as I can remember (30+ years) and switched back and forth on wormers to cover all the nasties. I know that over the years the industry has gone from once a year, to twice a year, to four times, to every other month, to every month, to fecal test and only worming if you "need" to. We've stuck to our routine and it works for us. We've never had a problem. I always wondered about over-medicating and creating resistance when they went to 6-12 times per year.

Glad you figured out what they were and got the pyrantel to treat the pinworms. Nasty little creepies especially in young foals.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Well, I'm dealing with pinworms again with Dapper Dan. I thought I got that all cleared up last fall but they are back. According to the information from the state vet, it can take 12 months to deal with them. I dosed with ivermectin gold two weeks ago, then Exodus this past Monday. A huge shed yesterday. I had to take him to the vet to get an ointment that has analgesic properties so he would stop rubbing himself raw. I am using vet wrap on his tail; his tail is so heavy and thick we thought it was exacerbating the problem. I have dosed every horse that has been on the property in the past year and have never seen any shed on them. I keep the manure picked up. I have no idea when/where DD got them in the first place but they are sure devilish to get rid of. There are no other hosts for pinworms and they don't live in the soil--thank goodness. Internet says they are hard to get rid of and they got that right!
PlaidMare, what is the amount of DE you use daily? I have some on hand and am willing to give it a try, though pinworms do not live in the gut.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I'm still seeing an occasional dead pinworm. No live ones. Today the vet agreed with me that I should dose him one more time. I was a little concerned about dosing him in this heat, but vet said it shouldn't be a problem.
He gave me this wonderful ointment to put on the raw places; it is antibacterial, antifungal, and has pain relief properties so Dapper Dan is not inclined to scratch anymore. The raw places are all healed now. The ointment is called EnteDerm. Says it is for dogs and cats, but it works on horses, too!
I'm still putting the vet wrap on his tail; think I'll keep doing that until it cools down a little.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

They're back!! I can hardly believe this. Another round of Attack Of The Pinworm. Dosed him two weeks ago with Exodus and this week I will do Ivermectin. I just don't understand why I can't get rid of them. And where are they coming from. I think I will alternate the two products at two month intervals at least until spring.
I'm doing the washing/vaseline routine again.
I've always been reluctant to use too much wormer, but I think I will have to get more aggressive.
Does someone make a tail wrap for foaling out mares? Instead of vet wrap, which slides down, I'm wondering if the wrap for mares would work?

 

[chandab]

They're back!! I can hardly believe this. Another round of Attack Of The Pinworm. Dosed him two weeks ago with Exodus and this week I will do Ivermectin. I just don't understand why I can't get rid of them. And where are they coming from. I think I will alternate the two products at two month intervals at least until spring.
I'm doing the washing/vaseline routine again.
I've always been reluctant to use too much wormer, but I think I will have to get more aggressive.
Does someone make a tail wrap for foaling out mares? Instead of vet wrap, which slides down, I'm wondering if the wrap for mares would work?

Sorry you are going through this yet again. Check tail protection for trailering too. But, if you flip a little section of hair up while wrapping the tail, and lock that into the vetwrap, it helps the wrap stay up.

 

[Ryan Johnson]

Sorry you are going thru this AGAIN Marsha