Talk to me about summer sores

[MustangTwist]

The vet diagnosed my horse with a summer sore on his urethra this afternoon. She gave me an steroid ointment to put on it daily (with ivermectin) and instructions to give oral ivermectin every 2 weeks and wash his sheath weekly. She didn’t recommend surgical removal because of its location (and perhaps also because he’s older). She warned it would be a long road ahead…

I’ve been doing some reading on the internet about summer sores on sheath areas, and I’m freaking myself out a bit since it seems like many did not have luck with topical treatments/oral ivermectin alone. I‘m planning to follow my vet’s regimen but hoping to hear from others who have been in the same boat.

Regarding our barn, the stalls are cleaned 2x/day and I keep my horse fly sprayed & in a mosquito mesh belly guard fly sheet and fly mask whenever he’s not being ridden. That being said, the flies are pretty bad. I’m not sure if they’re this bad all around this area (just moved here last year) but our barn seems pretty awful even though we use fly predators and have some fly traps. Also, my horse got pigeon fever last fall right after we moved to this area.

I just ordered one of the hanging battery powered fly sprayers for his stall. I would like to get a fan for his stall too but the owner is extremely hesitant because she thinks it will be a fire risk (and cost extra money). I’m willing to get a sealed motor fan and pay her a little extra for electricity, but I’m not sure if she’ll come around. I also know a few of the horses in the barn aren’t on a regular worming schedule.

Anyway, would love to hear some tips & success stories as I’m feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment!

[JB]

An acquaintance is dealing with this and she keeps the Cashel fly belly guard on him at all times to help keep flies off the sheath
http://cashelcompany.com/FLY-SHEET-BELLY-GUARD-199/

My vet is very adamant about heavy deworming with ivermectin of ALL horses on a property where there are habronema. Without that, the cycle isn’t broken.

[MustangTwist]

@JB

An acquaintance is dealing with this and she keeps the Cashel fly belly guard on him at all times to help keep flies off the sheath
http://cashelcompany.com/FLY-SHEET-BELLY-GUARD-199/

My vet is very adamant about heavy deworming with ivermectin of ALL horses on a property where there are habronema. Without that, the cycle isn’t broken.

Thanks. I didn’t realize there were belly guards that covered the sheath. How do they drop to urinate while wearing it?

All the horses in training are wormed on a regular schedule. The horses that aren’t…well, it’s a combination of absentee owners and people who think they know better than the vet. The barn owner will not force everyone to worm, she’s fairly hands off. There is also a farm next door with lots of livestock, and judging by the state of their property, I’d guess they aren’t the most vigilant about worming/fly control/etc.

ETA: I see Cashel makes a version with a little sheath pouch (probably not the technical term for it, but here we are). I ordered it, despite all the comments that people couldn’t figure out how to put it on/keep it in place. We shall see!

[CBudFrggy]

MOXIDECTIN!!! Not ivermectin. You must use Quest dewormer. Read Merck’s online veterinary manual. Moxidectin is the only thing that kills the Habronema adults living in your horse’s (or your stablemates’ horses’) gut. You need to deworm using Quest at least once a month. I also use Strongid CX2 feed through dewormer to keep the intestinal parasites to a minimum. In addition I use the Solitude feed-thru fly stuff. (I can’t remember the initials but it is also by Zoetis). This keeps the flies to a minimum in my horse’s stall at least.

You need to wrap his sheath to keep the flies away. Yes, it can be done. The sheath fly mesh thing doesn’t work because it retains urine in the mesh all day long and has to be washed daily. It’s a hot mess that does not keep the flies away. Rather, it attracts them and they get in under the mesh anyway. I have had good luck using Florida sore medicine and Swat after the bloodiness has stopped.

[JB]

@CBudFrggy

MOXIDECTIN!!! Not ivermectin. You must use Quest dewormer. Read Merck’s online veterinary manual. Moxidectin is the only thing that kills the Habronema adults living in your horse’s (or your stablemates’ horses’) gut.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/digestive-system/gastrointestinal-parasites-of-horses/habronema-spp-in-horses

“Most anthelmintics have not been tested against Habronema spp or Draschia sp, although ivermectin is effective against their cutaneous larvae and against adults of H muscae. Moxidectin is also effective against adult H muscae.”

You need to deworm using Quest at least once a month.

I’d never do that unless under careful vet supervision. Moxidectin is not something to use as liberally as ivermectin.

[lorilu]

Knocking on wood here, but this is the first summer we havent had a summer sore. Two years ago it was on his sheath right at the edge. SO hard to treat. This year I have been right on top of every little scratch or rub - anything flies can get to the skin - with Coat Defense. It’s like a paste, like clay. Blocks the flies and sticks even through a rain storm.
Use what your vet gave you. It’s probably ivermectrin with an added antibiotic and perhaps DMSO for added absorbtion. You can also cover the meds with silver spray or I have found PuriShield works better - it’s a liquid bandage type spray and keeps the flies off the medicated area. https://www.farnam.com/all-products/wound-care/purishield-barrier-spray
Around here we double dose with Equimax and repeat in 2 weeks. It’s ivermectin with praziquante
Good luck. It’s a long road, don’t give up, and be on top of it regularly. I check my guy 2x/day and remedicate anything that needs it.

[PrincessPonies]

Had my first summer sire this year. Vet had me worm once a week for four weeks with ivermectin. Washed with listerine once a day. Then cover with diaper rash ointment. This was six and a half weeks ago and it’s finally starting to look better. Since my current vet can be hard to get in contact with and I’ve had issues getting things taken care of I also googled a lot. I ended up doing a double dose the first week and then a single the next three. I did get an ivermectin based ointment for a week middle of the road. I also found that the Burt’s bees diaper rash stuff worked better than the big tub of stuff I used in the back. One I got a fan on her I noticed it stopped looking as bad every night I went to clean it. Good luck, sounds like yours is in a much harder spot to deal with than mine.

[MustangTwist]

Thanks everyone! This thread is making me feel better.

@lorilu my trainer just introduced me to coat defense! I’ve been using it to treat a hock sore and it’s great stuff. Can’t believe I never heard of it before! Because of its consistency I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable putting it on the summer sore, though. I feel like it might block his urine since it’s sort of on the inside of his urethra. I also think he’d kick my face if I tried to use Alushield on his urethra :lol:. He recognizes the sound of me shaking the bottle and starts fidgeting around.

@PrincessPonies where is the summer sore on your horse? Glad it’s looking better!

I’ve been treating it with the steroid cream my vet gave me 2-4x/day and it is looking much better. It’ll probably take a good while to fully heal though. My horse is much more comfortable, though, thank goodness.

Since my guy’s is located in a tough spot, my vet said fly control was going to be the biggest challenge. The barn owner vetoed fans, unfortunately. I bought the cashel belly/sheath cover @JB mentioned. Unfortunately, even with a fly sheet on top, it was a tangled mess a few hours after I put it on (and soaked in urine). I’m too worried about leaving it on him while I’m not at the barn. Next I tried an in-stall fly sprayer. My horse was terrified of it. This is despite the fact his neighbor has two that he can see/hear all day long! He wouldn’t go in his stall even to eat his hay. So that was out. We set up fly tape in the high corners of his stall. Terrified, wouldn’t go in his stall again. We set up a big fly trap outside his paddock. Terrified of it, wouldn’t go into his paddock (where his water is). So…we’re just using SWAT around the area, applying the ointment, administering the ivermectin bi-monthly, and hoping for the best.

Horses :D”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹ !

[lorilu]

So sorry he is afraid of the fly sprayers! I use a Glade battery operated sprayer with the Country Vet small cans; it sits up high in his stall (above his head) and sprays about once every 15 minutes or so - you can adjust it for longer times. Its just a “Psst” - short and done The Glade thing is about $5 at WalMart. Might be worth a try. Another idea is the “wire” style sly string - it doesnt flap around since it is on two reels,and it’s not very thick so almost not noticable.

[kmwines]

When I waa in south Florida we didn’t even bother with the ivermectin since the habronema were so pervasive. His groin/ belly should literally never not be covered in SWAT. We used a mix of lanolin, vit d ointment, abx, and steroid as ointment to apply. You can also make pantyhose mesh undies to go around his sheath.

[MustangTwist]

@kmwines

When I waa in south Florida we didn’t even bother with the ivermectin since the habronema were so pervasive. His groin/ belly should literally never not be covered in SWAT. We used a mix of lanolin, vit d ointment, abx, and steroid as ointment to apply. You can also make pantyhose mesh undies to go around his sheath.

How do you make the “undies”? Do they stay on well?

[MustangTwist]

@lorilu

So sorry he is afraid of the fly sprayers! I use a Glade battery operated sprayer with the Country Vet small cans; it sits up high in his stall (above his head) and sprays about once every 15 minutes or so - you can adjust it for longer times. Its just a “Psst” - short and done The Glade thing is about $5 at WalMart. Might be worth a try. Another idea is the “wire” style sly string - it doesnt flap around since it is on two reels,and it’s not very thick so almost not noticable.

The Country Vet sprayer is the one I tried in his stall. I wonder if the Glade sprayer would be quieter…