Since the bugs die off in the fall is there a reason to double dose in the fall? I was considering it since my mare recently (but after a couple hard frosts) developed some odd pea sized bumps on her back and one in the miidle of the barrel. She has always had crusty legs. If this is the cause would it help to DD now and again when it gets warm? TIA and thanks for such an informative thread!
If you’ve got bumps, do it again. Usually takes a few good freezes or one hard freeze to do the midges in. I just DD’d my two mares last night.
Great info ChocoMare. I have enjoyed this thread, wormy as it may be. In between the rain drops today I will go out, and double dose my rocky filly with ivermectin, then 14 days later the double of the equimax. Both according to her weight. She has had the itchy tail and mane too, has since I have owned her.
Got to get an order into Jeffers for more wormer though! And then do my arab gelding on the same dosing.
Thanks!
I am truly honored to be of what little help I can. We all owe the real debt, though, to Little D (D.J. Williams, my wonderful farrier/trimmer). 
P.S. www.horsehealthusa.com now beats everyone on dewormer prices. 
Sorry to be so dense, but I thought this problem was driven by internal parasites… the neck threadworms that live in soft tissue (and therefore don’t show up in fecal counts). So, how do the midges affect this? What is their role?
The midges/gnats/no-see-ums lay the Onchocerca eggs into the skin of the horse. They then migrate into the soft tissue, joints, etc. When the hatching microfilaria emerge, that’s when you see “sweet/summer itch,” bumps, flaking, rain rot, etc.
Aaahhhh!1 Thank you for shining the light, C’mare!
My horses have those pea-sized bumps – they look as if a pea, literally, has been inserted under the skin. They are hard to the touch, not particuarly itchy. Horse1 that I’m focussing on especially on this matter has several, from the mid-ribcage forward and has the in-front-of-sheath itchiness, the itchy tail and reactive if you scritch the mane; horse2, who seems less affected, has just recently had these bumps (well, 2, actually) emerge, just these past few months.
But, Horse2 is also itchy on his chest mostly, and on his mane – if you stick your fingers in there and scritch – he definitely reacts, but not his tail. He also has had a host of soft-tissue things going on with him from birth (now 15) – club foot since a yearling (if we’d only known about this, he could have been d-dosed as a potential treatment – sigh)
and I’m treating him in very hopeful, almost pathetic hope, that it might stave off further deterioration of soft-tissue, should that be in the cards for him.
Horse1 has, knock on wood, seemed a lot less itchy since double-dose #2. And as noted before, one of the bumps has flattened out and become white (he’s chestnut). He is going to receive a third double-dosing of Equimaxx this weekend.
I’m confused: if the bumps are still present, does that indicate more d’dosing is needed?
All the other symptoms seem to have subsided…
Bumping back up so as to coincide with Beethoven’s “I believe” thread
Also, just found this page: http://horsehints.org/Parasites.htm
And the author, Deborah Johnson, makes specific reference to this thread!
Very Cool!!
ATTENTION ALL WHO HAVE USED THE DD EQUIMAX PROTOCOL:
Please e-mail me at CHOCOMARE@BELLSOUTH.NET and let me know where you live. I’d like to get a feel for just how far these buggers have spread themselves in North America. Thanks!
I’m in Ohio near Lake Erie. We get the flies and gnats from spring thaw through the first freeze.
I did the dd Equimax in the beginning of September, 2nd dd Equimax two weeks later, her whole butt peeled :eek:, though after that she did great, coat was beautiful, no itchies or crusties, even gained weight. Followed up with a single dose ivermectin after another two weeks, got minor itchies with that dose. Waited 30 days and gave her another single dose of ivermectin, zero itchies this time. I think she’s finally clear :).
I’ve never heard of these before, and I’m wishing I’d opened this thread earlier.
This aren’t in the Pacific Northwest are they?
Haven’t read the thread in months, so if I’m repeating, forgive me…
Noticed small bumps/welts under the skin of my boy’s neck 2 weeks ago and he began itching wildly last week - a few weeks after being wormed. I remembered what I’d read here and called the vet.
The vet told me to give him his standard dose of Equimax once a week for three weeks and he gave me Genesis spray to help relieve the itching. He recommended Adams’ Fly Repellant because it was the only thing, in his experience, that would deter the midge.
Today I wormed him, drenched him in Genesis, sprayed him with Adams’ and then went over him with Endure for good measure. I hope it works. He’s miserable.
I’m in Texas.
How reassuring to see that some vets are at least aware of this…
I’m way late coming to this thread. I read about half the thread, I would have read the rest but I really need to finish an outline that’s due tomorrow.
I’m thinking I should maybe do at least one of mine. He wasn’t dewormed at all until I got him as a three year old, neither were any of the horses in the herd he was kept with. Another horse, not one that I owned, from the same herd died from the die off only a few days before I had my guy dewormed. That was all done under close vet supervision.
He’s a on a regular deworming schedule now, but in the summer and early fall he was extremely itchy to the point where he was rubbing his head and neck to the point where he was bleeding. And he had a fly sheet, fly mask, and was sprayed with fly spray. He has also had a case of scratches that doesn’t seem to want to clear up.
One question though, it’s cold here now (some days it doesn’t get above freezing at all), should I wait until it warms up to dose him? Or should not bother and just keep him on his currrent schedule?
Unless you’ve had a true hard freeze or two, I’d go ahead and do the Double Dose Equimax on Days 1 and 14. Then return to your regular schedule.
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[QUOTE=ChocoMare;4464637]
Banamine is in order. Also ask vet about daily aspirin therapy (usually prescribed for Uveitis).
Definitely do the second double dose. Don’t leave NTWs in the body to wreak more havoc.[/QUOTE]
Are you kidding me? txladybug says the following
" Can someone post what to do if there is a die off of microfilia in the eyes? Friend has elderly horse who seems to have weepy, inflamed eyes after the DD. He is on Banamine and a topical eye antibiotic. Should she follow up with the second DD?"
and all you say is ask the vet about asparin?
txladybug , please call a vet - please do not listen to people on the internet who have no idea what is going on with your friends horse.
and once again, once a horse has Neck Thread Worns - you cant get rid of the adults. no matter how may times you “DD” they will still be there in the neck. all you kill are babies. and the die of can do huge damage to the horse.
Please - consult with your vet!
Is there ANY chance that “scratches” on the hind fetlocks (yes, they are white) could be NTW? I have an OTTB that is NOT itchy, no bumps, nothing to indicate NTW, but we do have this ongoing problems with “scratches” - could it be NTW???
It is quite possible. The only time my mare has scratches issues (and she is 1/2 draft), is if I’ve slipped and let too much time go by on deworming during gnat season. The area becomes itchy, then inflamed and then the bacteria/fungus take over and, VOILA’, scratches 
