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Discussion on Horse with fly larvae in sheath
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Member:
quatro
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009 - 11:38 pm:
My friend moved to Phoenix area last year and took her horse from Iowa. She called today and said that she went out to the dry lot where her horse is , and noticed his sheath and belly were swollen and distended.
She got him to the vet the next day, and after examining and cleaning (after sedating him), the vet said that sometimes there can be a cut that goes un noticed and flys will lay larvae in the cut. She said they pulled out a bunch of goo, and little rice like larvae. He is on antibiotics, and her vet said that if this does not work they will have to do surgery.
Anyone ever heard of this? She said the vet she had did not speak very good english, so she could not understand her to further question her.
suz
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009 - 11:49 pm:
Hi, Suz,
Yuck, it sounds icky, doesn't it? I've never heard of it in the sheath, but I have heard of fly larva in cuts, and I've even heard that it can be a good thing as the larva eat necrotic tissue.
Maybe that's an old wive's tale. Not sure. I know that if I saw larva in my horse's skin, I would wash it out right away.
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Member:
mitch316
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Posted on Wednesday, Feb 18, 2009 - 11:56 pm:
Susan, this could potentially be something very serious. i have seen it before and actually had to put down one horse after gangrene had set in. In that case however, the owner waited way to long before calling us out. The antibiotic's may be successful in preventing further infection, but have no effect on the larvae. My main concern here would be the location, because if the larvae get inside the abdomen and tissue begins to die, it would be a pretty grim situation. If the vet was able to remove all of them, as long as it is kept clean it should be ok, but I would make darn sure it really was clean. There is a blue spray labeled as "hook and screwworm treatment" that is really effective at killing all manner of larvae, but Dr. O would have to tell you whether that would be appropriate considering the location, as the spray is for external use only. I will get the exact name of it tomorrow if you would like to try it. You can spray this stuff on a bot egg and watch it literally turn inside out. Also used it on a hock injury that I thought was clean, but as soon as I sprayed it, about a dozen maggots erupted out, so it is pretty effective.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 - 8:12 am:
Susan, do surgery on what? Was a wound found? Something is missing here.
DrO
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 - 10:00 pm:
Susan,
I believe that what you are referring to is "Habronemiasis" or "summer sores."
One of my boys has had this condition as has a horse belonging to a friend.
Ivermectin wormer is effective in killing these fly larvae.
I have always been able to manage this problem on my own, but I have read of some cases that required surgery.
Some horses do not have much of a reaction to these larvae, while others immune systems mount an aggressive reaction.
I am sure that this condition is covered by Dr. O on this site if you do a search, but here is another article for your information as well:
https://www.azequine.com/summersores.pdf
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Member:
mitch316
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Posted on Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 - 10:33 pm:
Vicki, could you clarify whether the Ivermectin was given orally, or applied another way? I was not aware that it worked on the external parasites, but could be wrong.
Susan, where these larvae are dangerous are in open wounds, where they can move a lot of flesh in a short period of time, thereby setting up a nasty infection. I have read where some docs use them to treat gangrene, but have never seen it done and probably could not stomach even trying, ha. And that is a certain type of maggot, too. I am with Dr. O, not sure where your vet would want to operate on if there are no open wounds or obvious infection. But they are the docs, I am just a technician that just nods his head most of the time, ha.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Friday, Feb 20, 2009 - 7:52 am:
Jesse, My friend's experience with her horse was that she had to use the Ivermectin wormer (given internally) more frequently than normal to finally break the cycle of the these flies/lafvae.
Some horse's bodies seem to expel these larvae effortlessly in which case I have had them heal after cleaning and spraying inside the cavity with Blue Lotion and without infection after the larvae "ripen" and expel themselves, but other horses will require much more extensive care of the resulting swollen lesions.
My friend used a sulphur-containing remedy. I have found that cleaning the wound and using Triple antibiotic helpful.
Preventing reinfestation is important so applying a fly repellant closely around the lesions is helpful in this regard. Often they do become reinfested.
I think that the Ivermectin after being given may cause the larvae to die inside of the horse, and if it is left in there, it needs to come out one way or another.
This can be a very labor-intensive problem but when handled quickly and on an on-going basis, can eventually be eliminated.
Cattle also suffer from this problem.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Feb 20, 2009 - 9:38 pm:
The description and treatment Susan describes is not consistent with habronemiasis. But until we know for sure anything is possible. For more on habronemiasis see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Bumps / Nodules / Warts / Tumors » Overview of Bumps, Nodules, Warts & Tumors.
DrO
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Member:
gr8care
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 12:04 am:
This topic has been extremely helpful for us! My husband recently purchased a mother/daughter set of black mares. They were "blistered" with evidence of previous occurrences by the white scars. We suspected an allergy from either a particular vegetation in their original location or fly bites--or both.
The photo below is the 17 yr old mare, while in quarantine, so not the most flattering photo, but conveys the message.
The younger mare actually had the worse case of the two in 2008. Both mares have received no preventative care or treatment in the past--ever. Both mares have improved during our winter season, but I have been trying to plan ahead for any necessary treatments this spring/summer. It looks uncomfortable, and in fact, the younger mare had noticeable impairment of movement from the swollen skin, last year. I can't have them uncomfortable.
Apologies if this is slightly off the original topic, but we would appreciate any input and suggestions.
Much thanks!
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Member:
gr8care
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 12:09 am:
I've read the information within this site about bumps, warts, hives, etc.
We also have beef cattle and when we dehorn, we use the screw worm spray. Is the spray safe for topical use on horses? I've not ever considered it before Jesse mentioned it...
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Member:
mitch316
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 12:46 am:
Grace, the spray is safe for horses- if you read the back, the instructions include equine treatment guidelines. We have just used it to help clear up a severe case of drug resistant pinworms in a three year old gelding. In three days, he had totally stopped itching and the hair around his tail began to grow back. It is also effective against bot eggs, if you can stand to see them run around with four blue stocking feet. Of course, Nick mentioned above and is solid white, looked really funny with a blue rear end and inner thighs, ha. I have used it around the sheath, but always try to avoid it going "inside" if you know what I mean, but it might be safe or might not. I DO know it kills larvae, eggs, maggots, and bots on contact, and can add to that pinworms, their egg sacks and their larvae. Hope this helps! A note, from looking at the pics, I cannot tell if that is fly bites or not, but am guessing it isn't due to the season. The spray I mentioned is only used for an active infestation (in equines, but preventative in bovines) with visible larvae (that is coming from the vet I used to work for who I still consult...often, ha)
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Member:
mitch316
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 12:48 am:
Grace, the more I look at the picture, the more it looks like scars from a horse whip. Are you sure this lady wasn't "roughed up"?
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Member:
imogen
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 3:40 am:
I would think bashed the hip while travelling then white hair regrowth on the scar tissue from the picture, but this is pure speculation and way off the original topic and might be better in a separate thread... Is the mark on the other horse on the opposite hip by any chance Grace?
Imogen
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 21, 2009 - 10:46 am:
Yes let's restart this in a new thread please.
DrO
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