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  Discussion on Quest wormer not working??
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Posted on Friday, May 3, 2002 - 11:18 pm:

Hi, DrO,

I noticed about a week ago that my gelding was extremely gassy and was trying to rub his tail on everything.

This was strange to me since I worm him regularly. I use Ivermectin every 8 weeks with an annual double dose of Strongid in the fall and just rotated to Quest which I administered about 6 weeks ago (first time used). My gelding was estimated at about 1200 lbs. last fall by my vet, and I was able to get a little weight off him over the winter months. I used an entire tube of Quest which is supposed to dose up to 1150 lbs.

Tonight when I checked him he was still very gassy. He had rubbed a big chunk of his tail hair off. His stomach looked bloated and felt hard, but he did not seem to be in distress, only wanting to scratch his butt. His manure is not firm balls,but not diarrhea, and he is on good pasture 24/7 which has a lot of moisture. He gets no grain at all and does drink his water.

He has never acted "wormy" before. It has been 6 weeks since the Quest. Should I worm him again? I am concerned about colic.

Also, he is pastured on 15 acres with only one other pony, not your usual wormy pasture situation.

Thanks for your help,

Lisa

Posted on Sunday, May 5, 2002 - 12:09 am:

Hi again, DrO,

After reading some more posts/articles, I checked for pinworms. I did not notice any eggs or other evidence on or near his anus, nor any worms in his manure.

I am wondering if his tail itching and gas/bloat are not related to worms.

My pasture is very rich and I am going to start keeping him in a stall at night to see if that helps with the gas and bloating.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks, Lisa

Posted on Sunday, May 5, 2002 - 9:54 am:

Great picture in your profile Lisa. I think that insect bites are the most likely cause for the tail head itchiness. See Equine Diseases: Skin Diseases: Overview of Scratching & Rubbing for more on this.
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 5, 2002 - 11:09 pm:

Thanks, DrO,

That makes sense as I have noticed some bug bites in other areas. I will try some of the remedies suggested on this site to see if it helps.

Lisa

Posted on Sunday, May 5, 2002 - 11:14 pm:

Lisa,

Your pasture situation sounds a lot like mine (ample & "rich") and I have had recurrent "gas" problems with my husband's quarter horse, Austin. I have had a number of other horses on the pastures with no problems but they have all been warmbloods and bigger than Austin. Anyway, I don't know if size is the difference or if Austin is just more sensitive (he does, also, tend to be more gluttonous).

Whenever there is a lot of rain, Austin tends to get gas colic (and yes, sometimes it also seems to be accompanied by tail rubbing...though this is not a major issue. Even my other gelding has done some tail rubbing in the wet weather -- and yes they get wormed every 6-8 weeks so that should not be the problem -- I have hypothesized that the tail rubbing might be due to the fact that, when the pasture is really wet, their poop is runnier and they are consequently dirtier under the dock than usual. I've started keeping baby wipes at the barn and use these to clean under the dock and it does seem to help re the itching -- I even use a little baby powder!)

At any rate, the gas colic can be quite alarming. The symptoms usually start about 15-30 minutes after he is brought in at night. He begins to look very uncomfortable, head hanging, will often lie down, groan a little, sometimes try to roll. Vital signs stay fairly normal but his belly is clearly distended and he has a symphony of sound in there. I usually walk him for fifteen minutes or so and then he is better as if by magic. Really kind of weird.

The only solution I have found to help the situation is to seriously limit his pasture time when we have wet weather. I also try to keep the pasture mowed down so he can't eat as much per bite.... We have a lot of clover in the pastures and I think that is probably the culprit.

I know they make several products for cattle, like Bloat Guard, that help keep cattle from getting bloat/gas on rich pastures but have not been able to find a similar product for horses. Does anybody out there know of anything like Bloat Guard for horses?

(I already use Ration Plus regularly and Probiotics when the wet weather hits)

Anyway, lisa, I wish you luck. If you find any great preventatives for gas, let me know!

-- Michèle

Posted on Monday, May 6, 2002 - 12:38 pm:

Michele,

you are so right about the runny poop thing. I have noticed that it is not as clean back there as usual. I will try your babywipe idea to see if it helps. If you scratch or rub anywhere near the underneath of the tail dock, he is in heaven.

Our pasture situations do seem similar. I have never had this problem before, but we have had soooo much rain. It scared me a little because it happened so quickly. I kept him stalled last night with a little hay so he wouldn't chew the barn down. I think he was feeling a little better this morning.

Fortunately, I will be moving him to my house this summer (if the rain stops so I can get my fence up!) so I can control the pasture situation.

I will have to research the probiotic thing to get more info on it. Anything that might help is worth a try.

Thanks for your input, Michele

Lisa
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