itchy problem hopefully solved

[tonicsmum]

An update to Diggers itching, which was causing him to rub his neck face and tail. Following an episode of very loose droppings in which live worms were seen(even though he had his regular wormer two weeks ago) the vet identified them as pin worms. Apparently these are on the increase as modern wormers are well absorbed early on in the gut and pin worms inhabit the latter part. Symptoms include tail rubbing and sweet itch like symptoms. In severe cases the female worms can be seen protruding from the anus. It says on the internet they can be difficult to eradicate and treatment is a suitable wormer two weeks apart. Apparently the eggs don't always show up in a facial worm count so if you suspect them it is useful to get some sellotape and use that around the anus to collect any eggs that may be there.
Digs is apparently in very good condition and if we hadn't seen the worms we would have had no idea he had them. He gets very loose when he gets under pressure and I took him to a show last Sunday resulting in lots of loose poo and the worms!!
Hopefully this may be of interest to any one who has an itchy Dales!!

[Debbie]

What a great thing he could do a sloppy pooh for you to see the pins, but ...eeaawwwhhhh!!! Reminds me of when my cat Mister yakked up a couple of extra large tapeworms for me it's disgusting, but at least now you know exactly what you're dealing with.

Thank you for the update and that's very interesting what the vet said regarding where the wormers are being uptaken, but the pins live in the hind gut. Which dewormer did the vet suggest for getting rid of the pinworms, if I might ask?

...I just wanted to add, I'm so glad for Digger's sake. I'm sure he'll feel so much happier after these have been shifted

[kc]

Hi,

We had exactly the same thing. Didn't show up in egg counts and pony looks super. Just had an itchy behind. It only showed up too when we did our first trip out for a while and he had sloppy droppings.

[tonicsmum]

Not sure which wormer we are going to use. He is on a livery yard and the yard manager was going to investigate. I will update this once I know. Glad Digger isn't the only one who gets sloppy poos. He dosnt show any other sign of stress and seems to enjoy going to shows but it obviously affects him. I'm going to try a probiotic( yea sacc) as the vet suggested. Well suggested probiotic - not yea sacc specifically. Interesting that my kindle has changed faecal worm count into facial worm count!!!

[harveydales]

My lot had that problem too a couple of years ago. They, too, didn't show any symptoms until we spotted an odd pinworm in a poo. The modern wormers don't seem to sort pinworm, probably because they are absorbed into the gut too quickly? I poo pick regularly but, of course, that won't stop pinworm spreading as the eggs are spread onto objects ponies rub their bums on. Apparently the old fashioned wormers such as Panacur and strongid are the most effective. I now use one of these at least once a year. Of my 4 ponies, 2 had a heavy load of pinworms, 1 had a light load and Harvey didn't have any.

Really glad you got to the bottom of Digger's itching problem. When you described his itchy neck, it never crossed my mind it might be pinworm.

[tonicsmum]

I dont think Digs itching was typical really as it seemed worse in his neck at first and only later did he start tail rubbing. The first vet who saw him didn't pick up on it even tho I had seen worms previously but as they were just due wormers we didn't think anything of it. Hoping we will get it sorted now. At least the worms don't migrate to other organs so the irritation to the horse is the worst thing.

[dalesnfellfan]

Glad you know what's causing the itching now, Spud always used to have lots of sloppy poo at a pleasure ride too and this was also the only sign he ever showed of being stressed/excited. I'd be interested to know which wormer you end up using.

[tonicsmum]

We are going to use Strongid p. Apparently the older wormers arent absorbed so soon in the gut giving them a better chancefof reaching the pin worms. I will update when I know how effective it is. The life cycle of the worms is 5 months so will be ongoing for a while. I am encouraged that Digger isnt the only Dales with sloppy poos!!! He pooed twice in one small in hand class. And twice between classes. He always poos a lot but only gets really bad at shows. I have him on chamomile which I started for the itch but it seems to have heloed his digestion too. Will see how the yea sacc goes.

[tonicsmum]

Further update. Digger was worked on 22nd with Strongid and the next morning he passed dead pin worms. So it appears to be effective. Going to repeat the wormer in two weeks and then after another two weeks get a worm count done. Have also been washing his bum and applying Vaseline which is supposed to stop the eggs attaching. Will keep that up til we get a clear worm count

[harveydales]

That's good news. Don't forget to wash any surfaces where Digger might have been rubbing his bum.