It would be an honor to work with you, as always 
[quote=LMH;3483022]OK I am a little lost here-will someone summarize the doxy connection for me?
[/quote]
Go back to JB’s post about it/my quote of her. She linked to a Wikipedia page that discusses “human” treatment of ivermectin AND a course of Doxycycline.
Oh and FULL CREDIT & HONOR to the real person who started this: Darla Jean Williams, my farrier/trimmer. I just call her D.J.! You now know her as “little D” 
Wow…got it on the Doxy…
Or
[I]go here-- www.sweet-itch.co.uk get yourself a proper rug and also fly mask
then go to thomas1 sticky for fly repellant
it does work
and it will also help a good cuase-- cancer research
[/I]
There is absolutely NO proof that any of your money Thomas takes is donated to cancer research. Especially after he was caught stealing copyrighted material and then lying about it on 2 different public forums, I wouldn’t give that man a single PENNY of my money.
Stick to what’s tried and true. There are plenty of good fly preparations on the market that are sold by reputable individuals and companies.
Just for documentation purposes, here’s the text from that Wiki page about the Doxycyline connection. NOTE – THIS IS FOR HUMANS but… 
Onchocerciasis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchocerciasis
Onchocerciasis or river blindness is the world’s second leading infectious cause of blindness. It is caused by Onchocerca volvulus, a nematode that can live for up to fifteen years in the human body. It is transmitted to people through the bite of a black fly. The worms spread throughout the body, and when they die, they cause intense itching and a strong immune system response that can destroy nearby tissue, such as the eye.
The primary treatment is a drug, ivermectin. For best effect, entire communities are treated at the same time. A single dose may kill first-stage larvae (microfilariae) in infected people and prevent transmission for many months in the remaining population.
About 18 million people are currently infected with this parasite; approximately 300,000 have been irreversibly blinded by it.
The Lfe Cycle of O. Volvulus
The life cycle of O. volvulus begins when a parasitised female black fly of the genus Simulium takes a blood meal. The microfilariae form of the parasite found in the dermis of the host is ingested by the black fly. Here the microfilariae then penetrates the gut and migrates to thoracic flight muscles of the black fly, entering its first larval phase. After maturing into J2, the second larval phase, it migrates to the proboscis where it can be found in the saliva. Saliva containing stage three O. volvulus larvae passes into the blood of the host. From here the larvae migrate to the subcutaneous tissue where they form nodules and then mature into adult worms over a period of 6 to 12months. After maturation, the smaller adult males migrate from nodules to subcutaneous tissue where they mate with the larger adult females, producing between 1,000 and 3,000 eggs per day. The normal adult worm lifespan is up to 15 years. The eggs mature internally to form stage one microfilariae, which are released from the female’s body one at a time and remain in the subcutaneous tissue.
These stage one microfilariae are taken up by black flies upon a blood meal, in which they mature over the course of one to three weeks to stage three larvae, thereby completing the life cycle. Humans are the only definitive host for O. volvulus. The normal microfilariae lifespan is 1-2 years.
Causes of Morbidity
Adult worms remain in subcutaneous nodules, limiting access to the host’s immune system. Microfilariae, in contrast, are able to induce intense inflammatory responses, especially upon their death. Dying microfilariae have been recently discovered to release Wolbachia-derived antigens, triggering innate immune responses and producing the inflammation and its associated morbidity. Wolbachia species have been found to be endosymbionts of O. volvulus adults and microfilariae, and are thought to be the driving force behind most of O. volvulus morbidity. Severity of illness is directly proportional to the number of microfilariae and the power of the resultant inflammatory response.
Skin involvement typically consists of intense itching, swelling, and inflammation. A grading system has developed to categorize the degree of skin involvement:
–Acute papular dermatitis - scattered pruritic papules;
–Chronic papular dermatitis - larger papule, resulting in hyperpigmentation;
–Lichenified dermatitis - hyperpigmented papules and plaques, with edema, lymphadenopathy, pruritus and common secondary bacterial infections;
–Skin atrophy - loss of elasticity, skin resembles tissue paper, ‘lizard skin’ appearance;
–Depigmentation - ‘leopard skin’ appearance, usually on anterior lower leg.
–Ocular involvement provides the common name associated with onchocerciasis, river blindness. The microfilariae migrate to the surface of the cornea. Punctate keratitis occurs in the infected area. This clears up as the inflammation subsides. However, if the infection is chronic, sclerosing keratitis can occur, making the affected area become opaque. Over time the entire cornea may become opaque, thus leading to blindness. There is some evidence to suggest that the effect on the cornea is caused by an immune response to bacteria present in the worms.
Treatment and Control
The treatment for onchocerciasis is ivermectin (Mectizan); infected people can be treated once every 12 months. The drug paralyses the microfilariae and prevents them from causing itching. In addition, while the drug does not kill the adult worm, it does prevent them from producing additional offspring. The drug therefore prevents both morbidity and transmission. Additionally, Doxycycline can be added to the treatment regimen to kill the endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia. This adjunct therapy has been shown to significantly lower microfilarial loads in the host and may have activity against the adult worms.
Geeze now I really want to deworm myself… oh and will be dosing my gelding as soon as the package arrives.
I have read some of these posts about Onchocerca microfilaria. I just wanted to also chime in that it is ivermectin that kills that darn things. I wouldn’t think you would need to use Equimax, just ivermectin. I bought a ranch raised horse years ago that had never been dewormed with ivermectin. The first thing I did was dose him with ivermectin. but I had to leave him behind in CA while I moved to Oahu. He was shipped to me about a month later. Imagine my shock when he came off the plane with all these white spots on his normally dark bay face! he looked like a bizarre Appy. I had the vet out immediately and she attributed the depigmentation to the die off of the masses of nematodes under his skin. He did eventually regain his normal coloration. It was the ivermectin, a single dose, that killed the nematodes.
Years later, a TB mare at the farm I boarded at in Welcome, MD had something go very wrong with the skin on a leg. It lost all the hair, oozed, peeled, had horrible sores. this went on for months, vets and owner were at a loss, no treatments worked. Finally, a new vet, I believe without even seeing the horse, recommended multiple doses of ivermectin. Bingo! the skin repaired and returned to normal. I do not know how many doses at one time she received or if it was 1 dose for several days in a row. The issue was a parasite, was it Onchocerca microfilaria? I don’t know.
chicamuxen
There is absolutely NO proof that any of your money Thomas takes is donated to cancer research.
Um, except that Thomas doesn’t collect any of the money – it goes directly to research foundations. The U.S. one uses most of the money it collects for research (77-78%) and the rest is equally divided between fundraising and administrative expenses. If you must be a jackass about someone trying to raise money for what is a nasty disease, at least be an accurate jackass.
I donated last year and I know for a fact that the Pay Pal link was directly through the research organization and not to Thomas at all. He has nothing to do with the funds. I emailed my Pay Pal receipt to Thomas and he emailed back the recipe. Don’t bring down this thread because you have personal differences with the man. I think you owe him an apology.
There is plenty of proof if you cared to do any sort of investigation. You would rather besmirch someone’s reputation instead. Thomas is a cancer survivor and not the simple easily treated skin type either. There is no way I would want to go through radiation treatment that Thomas did and at least he turned his ordeal into something that will benefit others. You on the other hand simply don’t have that sort of moral fiber or character.
All this does is show all here just what a low life you really are.
We’ve removed an off-topic and inaccurate post and the responses to it to keep this thread on track.
Thanks,
Mod 1
Yup. Mine too along with Little D!!
[quote=fooler;3483019]Has anyone learned how to rid your pastures of these parasites?
[/quote]
They are carried by black flies as discussed in the wikipedia article regarding humans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onchocerciasis
That is where that ucky, ucky, UCKY photo where the thing is sticking OUT of the black fly’s antenna… ugh ugh ugh.
The section “Life Cycle” explains it.
But… what I don’t understand from the article is it says the human is the only definitive host - the sentence in bold - is what I’m not understanding. Can someone explain? Is it that O. volvulus is the “thing” that causes blindness and there are other “things” in onchocerca microfilarae that cause NTWs?
These stage one microfilariae are taken up by black flies upon a blood meal, in which they mature over the course of one to three weeks to stage three larvae, thereby completing the life cycle. Humans are the only definitive host for O. volvulus. The normal microfilariae lifespan is 1-2 years.
Raises Hand!
Gam 26 year old TB. Retired (bad back)
Almost put this guy down due to him being so miserable. Thought he was seinile. Thank god for this thread.
So very itchy. Knock you over to scratch. Poor ochard trees took a beating too; lost weight at the drop of a hat. Treated all summer for ulcers. And tried every “get fat” diet there was. Now thanks to new feed schedule (hugs to EqTrainer) and this thread (hug to Chocomare and Little D) my guy has done a complete 180. DD Equimax on 8/22. Not as itchy. Think it is just a habit now Will eat peacefully. And seems more at ease. No stomach soother.
Itchies are coming back now. Can I dose again before the 14 days??
Have 4 others on the farm. One with mystery lameness. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to get an MRI?? So they are all gettin DD as soon as it arrives.
If I had to hazzard a guess, I’d say that O. volvulus is species specific (to humans) and that another O. species is what’s responsible for equine threadworms.
I would be very careful about giving corticosteroids to an IR horse.
Ditto…
I just don’t.
[QUOTE=gabz;3483460]
That is where that ucky, ucky, UCKY photo where the thing is sticking OUT of the black fly’s antenna… ugh ugh ugh. [/QUOTE]
That photo is engraved in my mind. More horrifying than the “stomach burst” scene in the first Alien movie. Where’s the brain bleach??? Gawd, I even dreamed about it. :no: :no: :no:
OK, it’s 17 pages… what does the reader’s digest condensed version say about whether we need the equimax or just the invermectin?
[QUOTE=Ambrey;3484403]
OK, it’s 17 pages… what does the reader’s digest condensed version say about whether we need the equimax or just the invermectin?[/QUOTE]
Just do Equimax…then you will KNOW you got it.
Two horses means 8 tubes… I was hoping for the other answer
eta: I have two very itchy horses. My pony has some bumps… not oozy, but itchy for sure. I’m definitely doing this.
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