Glad you bumped it Jeano. And VERY glad your mare is seeing relief.
For the sores, I do like Aloe Heal. It’s gentle. You can also mix it with Caladryl for the itching.
I used the DD EM protocol last summer on a sensitive mare with great results. I know this has been discussed, but what is the maintanance schedule? DD EM every 14 days for three treatments I get. Then the symptoms abate. Do you just automatically then DD every month unless symptoms return and then go back to the 14 day interval? Do you go to normal dose every six weeks? Just not sure what the right procedure is to prevent recurrence while the gnats are out while not dosing the EM in excessive amounts. Thanks! This thread has really saved my mare a lot of suffering and has kept her off of the steroids she was on when it got that bad.
I think I’d err on the side of caution against resistance and go with regular, proper deworming, making absolutely sure you don’t under-dose.
Welllll…there BACK
So is this is lifetime sentence for a horse?
I am just getting so many creepy feelings hammering Milo with Equimax-but the alternative is equally as creepy.
I have eliminating them (apparently) in some horses but not all.
So back to the Equimax store i go.
:sadsmile:
I am in the middle of a discussion with the previous owner of a pony we just bought about adult onchocerca being an issue with him. He has a midline itch that has been going on for yrs despite allergy testing, and much more. It would be wonderful for it to finallly be cured so easily. But this lady had just emailed me asking why only him would be affected out of the same herd of ten she’s had for many, many yrs? She says the pony had this when she bought him ten yrs ago. That’s a very long time to itch.
I have no answer for her. I read as much of that thread looking for an answer as I possibly can today. Does anyone else know the answer to this?
Her horses have been all wormed using the same products, same rotation. Is it a resistance thing in which the other horses are not affected?
Alas, that is one answer I have yet to find myself. Probably an “immunity” thing ???
But you’re right: My Clyde-X can be hit with them and itch, scab, get scratches, etc. yet my Percheron is fine. Go figure!
I still double dose everyone tho 
5 people are in a room with a sick person. 1 person gets sick, the other 4 do not.
Same issue - it’s all about the immune system.
I was just reading that diethylcarbamazine is effective against NTW-what is this?
Edited to add this link:
http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/44/1/3
and this one:
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=19900864691
What JB said about immune systems.
My other horse, raised I’m sure in Middle GA just as Sadie was, receiving identical care since he’s been here (now 3 years) never ever gets a bump or a rash or an itchy place except from his bridle, with the exception of scratches last spring when it was so wet never has ANY skin issues at all. (Interestingly, Sadie did NOT get scratches, but her legs arent so feathery)
Sadie will be in the barn in the shade, about frantic from a few flies, while Hawk is placidly grazing out in the heat of midday, covered with flies, not bothered one whit. Saddie gets goopy swollen eyelids, horrible swellings in her ears, crunchy places here and there. Its just her cross to bear. All in all, she seems to do best with all of that if she gets hefty doses of Ivermectin/Equimax regularly. At least she gets to keep her mane and have that additional protection from bugs…
[QUOTE=LMH;4860474]
I was just reading that diethylcarbamazine is effective against NTW-what is this?
Edited to add this link:
http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/44/1/3
and this one:
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=19900864691[/QUOTE]
Its good old filaribits, heartworm preventitive for dogs. Hmm. Ivermecitin obviously quite similar to selamectin, the stuff I apply topically to my dogs for heartworm, fleas, ticks, etc etc. Stuff is wonderful. I have FOUR large house dogs, live in the country, in 11 years of using this stuff have never, repeat never, seen ONE FLEA on the dogs. Ticks we do have to contend with, because they can ride in on the dogs and leap onto us before the selamectin kills them. But most ticks we find ON the dogs are DEAD ticks.
however, note that Wikkipedia says not so good to use Filaribits on NTW–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethylcarbamazine
thanks for that info jeano.
Intertingly enough (or not?) I did the DD last night.
Today he has a runny eye-not really gooey but a little moreso than just a plain runny eye.
Okay - I DD my horse with Equimax 8 days ago. She has all these white pieces of what I thought was fiber from her fly sheet (deteriorating or something from all the itching) on her … but now I’m thinking they’re realted to the Neck Threadworms … is this them dying off? I’ve been noticing them since about day 4.
She reacted pretty strongly to the first DD (OR had a sweet itch flareup) and I’ve just been treating her with topical anti-inflamitory and trying to keep her comfortable while I wait … what do you think?
Yup, pretty normal to see skin and scabs coming off, sometimes in rolls. Just treat topically as needed to soothe the skin and plan on the DD repeat on day 14.
Two years ago, I bought a four year old chestnut gelding with the classic symptoms – bumpy withers and shoulders and very itchy and reactive to gnats. His misery came and went with the gnat season. After reading this thread, I started a fairly aggressive worming program, doubling dosing as recommended here. Did it three times two years ago, and again last year. I also PowerPak every spring.
Horse gradually got better, and this year, horse is much much better. Bumps on withers are not completely gone, but mostly they are. He did not have any frantic gnat episodes this year.
Wanted to say that I read the post just above that mentioned the “fibers”. I noticed the same thing, those first two years. I use a small rubber curry, which he loves, and I was actually currying up what appeared to be tiny little “slivers”. Kind of a whitish tan color. I always wondered the same thing – whether they were some kind of die off, but never got anyone here to chime in on that. I also noticed small roundish grey scabs that would curry up.
ChocoMare, how many times a season does it take with the double dosing regimen? Is it, as often as it takes, or once every couple months, or what? Asking because, as mentioned previously, my itchy mare started rubbing her tail and mouth again–not nearly as badly as in seasons past, and she hasnt touched her mane yet. I gave her a double dose of plain Ivermectin last week so she’ll be due again next week–all well and good, but she did fairly well several years ago on a tube of Ivermectin (not a double dose for her, but a dose and a third, approximately) once a month. I’m trying to figure out an optimum schedule for her and my pocketbook. Ivermectin is certainly cheap enough.
I have never noticed a big die off of anything, nor a big increase in itching after double dosing, in fact I’ve noticed what seems to be almost immediate relief.
This season, despite horrible flies I havent noticed many welts or mane crud or terrible ear swellings on her.
I follow my regular rotation schedule but just change any Ivermectin or Equimax to a double dose within that rotation schedule. However, if I see any symtoms in between, I’ll hit 'em with a DD Ivermectin. Darn those gnats!
Here’s what I’d like to know, would it be possible to develop a pour on treatment, not unlike the selamectin broad spectrum treatment I give my dogs that’s good for a month to six weeks. Because it REALLY works on them. No fleas, no heartworm, no worms when they get fecal checks etc.
Of course, it aint exactly cheap. Not for four dogs. But oh, so convenient.
All righty, I think I live substantially further below the gnat line than ChocoMare, and I also think that my infested horse is going to stay infested for the long haul. Maybe I’ll just give her a double dose every two to three weeks Spring to fall… Small as she is, that’s only one and half tubes, call it two to three tubes total a month for roughly 4 months, no wait, my heads going to explode. Thank God the other horse is seemingly bug proof.
