yes… it could be 
I hope this helps him.
Ahhhhyup. You’re seeing the proof that it works.
I got a picture of the wound yesterday but didn’t at the first DD tx (dang it). Get get another pic in two weeks and post back. Will also update on the lameness. Thank God for this board and all the collaboration and sharing.
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So, I have been using the protocol on both mares. The thoroughbred has been clearing up and is starting to look really good despite the warm rainy weather. The cracker mare however is a completely different story. I double doused them both with Equimax and double dosed again two weeks later. Two weeks after that I gave them a single dose of Ivermectin. I started them on Equishield, Spirulina, Rosehips, and added Chlortabs for the Cracker. Things looked like they were improving and then her skin looked like a war zone out of nowhere. She’s itching all over and bloody and crusty and looks sooo neglected. I gave them both another dose of ivermectin a week ago because Harley (the thoroughbred) has a summer sore and Charisma (Cracker) is still incredibly itchy. How long should I continue the ivermectin and do i keep it at single doses or go back to double at some point?
Just came across this post, and I’ve been reading through. I have a 21 year old mare that’s had problems itching her mane raw for years, and weepy eyes. I’m going to try this. However, I keep reading to check fecals, and the Australian article says that neck threadworms do not show up in fecals. So how often do you continue deworming after first DD to keep in control?
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I give my old Arab gelding two tubes of Ivermectin every two weeks and have for five years. And he’s probably only about 700#. It’s cheap and keeps him going.
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It is true they will not show on FECs
How long to continue the DD is situation-dependent - how much of a load does the horse have, how sensitive is he, what time of year is it.
Some have to DD every 2-4 weeks from Spring to Fall for a couple years.
Some DD every 2 weeks for 3-8 times (give or take) one Summer and that’s it. Some have to do this every year.
The juveniles, the ones cause the problem, aren’t (usually) active in colder months, which is why this tends to coincided with noseeum/gnat season
So it’s just trial and error
But you do, usually, need to DD 2-3 times with Equimax, and then just see if you can DD plain ivermectin, DD every 3-4 weeks, etc. Very trial and error after the first few doses.
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Tell us more please Tarlo. Why every two weeks for your old guy?
I’ve read through all 83 pages twice and then pounded the internet for research articles and vet papers. What I’m bothered by and want input please is it appears the adults can take up residence in suspensory and/or flexor tendons cannot be killed? Right? And cause lameness. And from the vet papers I’ve read large populations of horses can have the worm?
There’s a vet paper titled "Filarial infection caused by Onchocerca boehmi (Supperer, 1953) in a horse from Italy". (I can’t get the link to work here) If you can get to the full research paper like I did you see pictures of the leg and it’s what my old guy looks like right now. There is a bulge off the side of the flexor. And, it has appeared since the second double dose of Equimaxx.
I get that deworming to kill the juveniles is so important during fly and knat season but what about the adults that live for 10-15 years?
Also, how is it that in 40 yrs of owning horses I’ve never heard of this before running into this thread?
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If a horse is dewormed a couple times a year with moxidectin or ivermectin, the load is low
I get that deworming to kill the juveniles is so important during fly and knat season but what about the adults that live for 10-15 years?
can’t kill them, which is why some horses have to be managed every year
Also, how is it that in 40 yrs of owning horses I’ve never heard of this before running into this thread?
likely because most of the time it coincides with gnat season and is mistaken for a noseeum allergy
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Because that is my only option to manage them. If only I could rid him of them… But this way at least he seems to feel alright, still running around, rolling, moving normally.
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For your old guy is it because of front limb lameness? And can you detail the history? I’m curious with these old horses and lameness.
Nope, not lameness. Thought he had EPM. Then thought it was cancer. He just started failing. Started the double dosing and the worms just erupted from him. It was awful. Now this keeps the buggers in check.
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Holy crap!
Apologies for reviving this long ass thread. Looking for some input re: onchocerca/neck worms.
I dewormed my guy with Equimax Jan 29th. Normal time for deworming, but I noticed he had extreme itchiness (mostly dry skin/bare, no sores) on his belly right next to his sheath. Upon searching COTH, I found this thread and am now convinced he had/has onchocerca. Over the last week and a half, I’ve noticed he’s less itchy (he isn’t trying to rub belly on the ground anymore), but the skin is now flaky. Today, the fuzzy areas on either side of the hair-less belly patch are raised like allergy welts but one side is a little worse than the other (like the size of my palm). No open sores, no involvement in any other area but the midline belly. Doesn’t seem to bother him, although I noticed he is pretty low energy although still happy the last day or so.
Could these welts/drier skin areas be the dewormer working? I did not double dose, but would it be effective to do another single dosage of Equimax this “far” out? Thank you!
Absolutely. I bought a horse last year and his FEC came back at 2100. After my first deworm he broke out in hives and then his skin crusted on many areas of his body. And he was rubbing as much of his body on things as he could reach. Ugh.
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I dewormed him with equimax single dose yesterday. Hopefully that gets rid of everything!
But don’t you need a double dose and then 14 days later? I’ll never forget my old guy had those wierd round sores on his underside near his sheath and would have them here and there and normally one at a time. Then there was one on his thigh. One double dose and that thing closed up and went away and after the next 14 day treatment I never saw sore again like those I describe.
I gave him a single dose a week before another single dose. The first single dose I didn’t know about the double dosing technique so I didn’t wanna give him 1 single then 2 doubles within 1 week span. His belly swelling is totally gone and his skin looks better. But he’s still low energy and stiff in the back end. I’ll search the thread for advice
Interesting. And what about his itching?
