Long-term Tapeworm Infection

[kfrilly]

So I’ve been struggling with gut issues over the past month or so with my four year old QH gelding. He had started to balloon up with plenty of gas and his gut sounded far busier than what I noted to be normal for him. We had switched hay recently at the barn I board him at and I simply attributed his symptoms to the change-over; it was done gradually, but I figured maybe he was just a touch more sensitive than others.

I gave him a probiotic and the bloated belly went down a bit, but still there were problems with plenty of gut sounds and toots. All the while, his appetite was (and still is) completely normal and behaviour was about the same- no aggression that would maybe indicate pain, just a bit lazier than usual. He also had bite marks on his upper flanks that I thought was from playing rough with a pasture buddy, but I finally realized he was biting himself to the point of sometimes breaking the skin. I’ve also found that if I play around and put pressure on his right lower belly/flank, he’ll lift the hind leg out of what I can only assume is ouchiness.

At this point my vet is involved, we were thinking possible hindgut ulcers… but it just doesn’t make sense because he doesn’t have a stressful life whatsoever and his symptoms are relatively limited. I bought him back in May and he’s been outside 24/7, has access to hay almost all day long and isn’t ridden hard in the least bit. This dude lives a pretty chill life if I do say so myself! So a friend and I were chatting and we got into talking about worms. I’ve only wormed him once in the time I’ve owned him with a lower strength Ivermectin wormer as we use a stronger wormer in the fall, but based on his worming history with his previous owner I don’t believe he’s been dewormed for tapes in quite a while.

Does anyone have experience with tapeworms causing this kind of thing? I dewormed with Quest Plus earlier this week to cover that base (plan to deworm again in 30 days), as it seems they are capable of causing gastrointestinal issues if left long enough from what I’ve read. It’s only been a few days, so I’m not seeing TONS of improvement thus far, but his belly is definitely looking a lot less bloated. Again, still gassy, but he’s had a day or two where it’s much better than it has been lately. I imagine the damage of having tapeworms hooked on to the intestinal wall for some time would take a while to heal (he’s also on Equishure as of Thursday evening, in addition to Biotic 8 and Gastra-FX from Alpha Omega)?

I would love to know if others have dealt with this before because I’m at my wits end! (also sorry for the novel of a post, oh my lord)

[Highflyer]

I believe there’s a blood test you can do for tapeworms-- that might be worth trying. And I would think a fecal would be a good idea, too. That said, I wouldn’t discount ulcers, even if his life does seem low-stress.

[JB]

The blood test for tapes isn’t available in the US to my knowledge, and a FEC won’t show them. Given that he got QP less than a week ago, and without a previous FEC, one now would be all but useless. Assuming the dosage was for at least his real weight, QP is very effective.

Could tapes cause that? Sure. If that was the case, you’ll see an improvement.

I would not, however, deworm again in 30 days. No need, there’s nothing for anything to kill.

What is the normal “stronger” dewormer in the Fall, and did you use that last year?

[kfrilly]

@JB

The blood test for tapes isn’t available in the US to my knowledge, and a FEC won’t show them. Given that he got QP less than a week ago, and without a previous FEC, one now would be all but useless. Assuming the dosage was for at least his real weight, QP is very effective.

Could tapes cause that? Sure. If that was the case, you’ll see an improvement.

I would not, however, deworm again in 30 days. No need, there’s nothing for anything to kill.

What is the normal “stronger” dewormer in the Fall, and did you use that last year?

The BO tends to switch between Quest Plus and Eqvalan Gold (Ivermectin/Praziquantel) in the Fall. Based on the health record I have from his previous owner, he was given Eqvalan Gold on August 23rd, 2017. It still would have been warm at that time, definitely no frost then; we’ll typically wait for first frost to deworm come the Fall (so usually mid to late October), which we have had now this year as it’s been an abnormally cool September/October.

I was told to deworm again in 30 days to cover any eggs that would have been hanging around. That isn’t necessarily accurate, then?

[J-Lu]

i would suggest a fecal exam. Tapes show up on fecals, especially if you perform then multiple days. Also, Praziquantel is incredibly safe - much MUCH safer that Ivermectin. Can your vet prescribe a praziquantel dose that is independent of the Ivermectin? Praziquantel is given to puppies for possible tapeworm infection, and I I’m certain you vet can prescribe a praziquantel dose for your horse. Humans take it, too. That said, I believe it is given multiple days in a row to affect worms at all stages. Talk to your vet about a praziquantel WITHOUT ivermectic approach.

[JB]

@kfrilly

The BO tends to switch between Quest Plus and Eqvalan Gold (Ivermectin/Praziquantel) in the Fall. Based on the health record I have from his previous owner, he was given Eqvalan Gold on August 23rd, 2017. It still would have been warm at that time, definitely no frost then; we’ll typically wait for first frost to deworm come the Fall (so usually mid to late October), which we have had now this year as it’s been an abnormally cool September/October.

Eqvalan Gold is ivermectin + praziquantel, so you’d have killed tapeworms, assuming you dosed properly (ie didn’t use a 1250lb dose for 1350lb horse).

I was told to deworm again in 30 days to cover any eggs that would have been hanging around. That isn’t necessarily accurate, then?

Right it’s not. The lifecycle doesn’t really support deworming again in 30 days.

@J-Lu

i would suggest a fecal exam. Tapes show up on fecals, especially if you perform then multiple days.

Unless you win the lottery and happen to see a random tapeworm segment, you should assume FECs never show tapeworms

Also, Praziquantel is incredibly safe - much MUCH safer that Ivermectin.

ivermectin has a LD50 of something like 20x, so while prazi might be “safer”, it’s all relative at that point LOL

Can your vet prescribe a praziquantel dose that is independent of the Ivermectin? Praziquantel is given to puppies for possible tapeworm infection, and I I’m certain you vet can prescribe a praziquantel dose for your horse. Humans take it, too. That said, I believe it is given multiple days in a row to affect worms at all stages. Talk to your vet about a praziquantel WITHOUT ivermectic approach.

If I were going to deworm specifically for tapes, I’d double dose pyrantel pamoate. Far cheaper than Rx prazi, and almost as effective. The prazi that comes combined with ivermectin or moxidectin is a bit more effective against tapes, so no need to target them right now.

[kfrilly]

@JB

Eqvalan Gold is ivermectin + praziquantel, so you’d have killed tapeworms, assuming you dosed properly (ie didn’t use a 1250lb dose for 1350lb horse).

Right it’s not. The lifecycle doesn’t really support deworming again in 30 days.

Unfortunately I don’t know if he was dosed properly as it was his previous owner doing the worming then, but he’s a smaller horse so I imagine if anything she would have given him more than he needed.

Thank you for the info! I’ll stick to the Equishure for him then and see where it takes us from here.