Ulcers and strongyles in 9mo filly

[paintedpennypony]

We brought our filly home at approx. 5mo. in August. Too young in my opinion to be weaned but nonetheless. She mildly colicked 2wks after we brought her home, generally didn’t seem happy, and was unthrifty/bloated so we did a 28 day round of 1/4 tube Ulcergard. She definitely perked up and was much brighter after the Ulcergard, but recently started biting at her sides and seeming a little dull again so I got her tested for ulcers using the fecal test (vet does not have a scope). She has hindgut ulcers. I don’t believe this test can differentiate between the specific types of ulcers.

I was deworming her on a monthly basis, first with Ivermectin, then a single dose Panacur, then a double dose of Strongid. I haven’t dewormed her recently in anticipation of her vet appointment. The tech told me she had 750 counts of strongyle eggs in her fecal but no other species.

I’m waiting on the vet to call me so I can discuss treatment options. I’m thinking 1/4 tube of Ulcergard until 30 days of Abler treatment gets here and repeating testing after she’s done. Not sure where to go with the deworming though.

Thoughts? She is:

• outside 24/7
• free choice Bermuda and crabgrass hay
• gets 1lb of Purina Enrich Plus, 2lbs of alfalfa pellets, loose salt, probiotics, and synthetic vitamin E all soaked to a mash consistency once a day
• handled daily and officially “trained” maybe 2-3x a week. Nothing demanding or more than 10mins at a time
• lives with my other mare and they have an easy and conflict-free relationship

ETA I was told incorrect info, the Dr clarified that she actually has hindgut ulcers and strongyles not foregut ulcers and ascarids!

[JB]

@paintedpennypony

We brought our filly home at approx. 5mo. in August. Too young in my opinion to be weaned but nonetheless

6+ months is better, but 5 isn’t toooo bad

@paintedpennypony

I got her tested for ulcers using the fecal test (vet does not have a scope). She has foregut ulcers. I don’t believe this test can differentiate between the specific types of ulcers.

Not all blood is from ulcers, nor do all ulcers bleed unfortunately, plus you can have a false negative (obviously not your case)

@paintedpennypony

I was deworming her on a monthly basis, first with Ivermectin, then a single dose Panacur, then a double dose of Strongid.

It’s done now, but if you have a foal again, this is outdated info 2-3 months for the first deworming to target ascarids, then at around 5 months for ascarids as well. Unless you’ve proven ivermectin is effective you’d want to be double dosing fenbendazole (Panacur, Safeguard) or using pyrantel pamoate (Strongid). Then around 6 months, do a FEC to see if you’re switching from ascarids to strongyles, or still dealing with both.

So for you, the ivermectin would have gotten whatever strongyles, the single Panacur likely nothing, and the double Strongid would have gotten ascarids and most tapeworms that made their way in

@paintedpennypony

The tech told me she had 750 counts of ascarid eggs in her fecal but no other species.

I’m waiting on the vet to call me so I can discuss treatment options.

@paintedpennypony

The tech told me she had 750 counts of ascarid eggs in her fecal but no other species.

I’m waiting on the vet to call me so I can discuss treatment options.

this is to be expected, so definitely go with double Panacur, or a dose of Strongid.

@paintedpennypony

I’m thinking 1/4 tube of Ulcergard until 30 days of Abler treatment gets here and repeating testing after she’s done.

You could, not sure that’s what’s going on, the problem is you don’t know if stomach ulcers are the issue, let alone what kind. Her diet isn’t all that conducive to food related ulcers, meaning stress is more likely, and those typically cause glandular ulcers which aren’t truly helped by omeprazole. I might try sucralfate instead of omeprazole, as at the very least it will coat all lesions along the GI tract.

How much synthetic Vit E are you giving and what does she weigh?

If you want to skip right to the foal section, go to p.24, but over time, it’s a good idea to read it all and start to understand the parasites, the resistance issues, and how to effectively use FECs to guide when to deworm and what to use

Internal-Parasite-Guidelines_Updated.pdf

[paintedpennypony]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice JB. I was hoping to hear from you!

The Dr called me and clarified she has hindgut ulcers and strongyles, not foregut ulcers and ascarids. He suggested the 5 day Panacur treatment and another 30 days of omeprazole. Does that change your recommendations?

ETA she’s getting approx 2000iu of the Santa Cruz vitamin E. Not sure how much she weighs

[Simkie]

Omeprazole doesn’t do anything for hind gut ulcers and can in fact exacerbate them. If your vet believes no stomach ulcers are present–which is what omeprazole treats–there is no need for omeprazole at all and the hind gut issue means omeprazole is probably counter indicated.

You may want to clarify with your vet? Because this course of action doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. :-/

[JB]

@paintedpennypony

The Dr called me and clarified she has hindgut ulcers and strongyles, not foregut ulcers and ascarids. He suggested the 5 day Panacur treatment

Adult strongyles need ivermectin, not fenbendazole. If the FEC didn’t show ascarids (or not much of concern), that’s great! Since you already treated for tapeworms with the double Strongid and likely fairly recently (but when?) you don’t need Equimax this time, just plain ivermectin

Omeprazole won’t help hind gut issues, and may make them worse. Sucralfate would still be a better option. You could also look into Succeed the supplement, or EquiShure.

@paintedpennypony

ETA she’s getting approx 2000iu of the Santa Cruz vitamin E. Not sure how much she weighs

Naturel or synthetic? Either way, that’s plenty for her age/weight, so you’re good.

[paintedpennypony]

I asked specifically if sucralfate was the treatment for hindgut ulcers and he said no, that omeprazole was, but giving her sucralfate wouldn’t hurt… very confusing. I don’t think he’s an equine specific vet. I’ll ask for clarification!

[paintedpennypony]

She got the double dose of Strongid on Sept 21. So recently!

She’s on synthetic vitamin e. I will look into those supplements, thank you for the recommendations. The internet is saying that hindgut ulcers respond the best to minimizing stress? She has a low stress life but I do know that weaning and then being brought her was stressful for her, per her breeder.

[Simkie]

I think you need an equine specific vet, because this one doesn’t sound quite up to speed.

[JB]

@paintedpennypony

I asked specifically if sucralfate was the treatment for hindgut ulcers and he said no, that omeprazole was, but giving her sucralfate wouldn’t hurt… very confusing. I don’t think he’s an equine specific vet. I’ll ask for clarification!

Omeprazole is definitely not for hind gut issues. If all you need is a prescription, this guy will do, the sucralfate may help. Or you can get sucralfate through Abler, no Rx

@paintedpennypony

She got the double dose of Strongid on Sept 21. So recently!

How old was she then? 7 months? You’re good for tapeworms and bots until the Spring

@paintedpennypony

She’s on synthetic vitamin e.

At 2000IU, it’s fine. Once you run out of this, go ahead and get the natural E

@paintedpennypony

The internet is saying that hindgut ulcers respond the best to minimizing stress?

Hind gut issues tend to be from acidic situations, like too much starch hitting the hind gut and sitting there and fermenting, in an unhealthy way, not how hay ferments