This spring the same thing except more severe...more itching, so much he was rubbing raw spots - went to clip him and noticed LOTS of lice. Must have had this when I bought him the year before. This was in March '09. Anyways, treated for lice, got rid of them and treated my other horses.

But here's why I am typing all this up...during lice treatment, he started losing weight. Still on a worming schedule, still 24/7 access to bermuda hay, started giving him protein pellets with penicillin and also sweet feed. Still no weight (protrusion of the spine and hip). So I noticed he ate VERY slowly and was dropping feed while eating. Made an appointment with the vet to have his teeth floated and an injectable worming (all of this was done on June 1, 2009)...asked vet what he thought upon seeing my pony, he didn't have any opinions/suggestions about it - I told him I was at a loss as to what could be wrong, the vet just did what I was there for and left. He just told me to see if this works (the floating and worming), give it about a month and then see. I was very disappointed, probably won't be going there again. I know it has only been 6 days but he still doesn't look any different. If he doesn't look better soon then I am going to get some blood work/stool work done to see if we can find out what it is. My mother says that I should have him treated for bloodworms, she thinks that might be his problem.

I am wondering what ya'll might think this could possibly be?

Shouldn't I already be seeing a difference in weight?

Have you had this problem?

Edited by Killrail 2009-06-07 10:30 AM

I'm not sure you should see a weight change yet, but you should see improvement in his mood by now, if the vet is correct. 

Are you sure with the lice treatment you didn't poison him?  If he had lots of open wounds it is possible that the chemical entered his system.  Call the company that made the lice remover and ask about these symptoms.

* I have never had these problems with a mini, but showed them for years prior to getting "full sized" horses.  Mini's can become exposed to high doses of chemicals due to the surface area/body mass ratio that is much higher than ponies and horses.

I didn't think about that, that it could've poisoned him. I hope not! I'll look on the containers for a number to call to find out.

Thanks for that suggestion.

 Could you explain further about 'protein pellets with penicillin'? and 'injectable wormer'? I don't understand what is meant here....

   I began with minis in '84(and with 'big' horses MANY years before that)...I have to say, your vet doesn't sound like a very competent equine vet, based on the comments you attributed to him/her-I believe I'd be looking for a new vet.

   If his teeth were 'bad'-and being a mini, it is very likely they were; minis often need 'attention' to their teeth more frequently than 'bigs'--the teeth simply don't 'reduce' in size as rapidly as other body structures, meaning they are more 'crowded' into the mouth, and more prone to problems--then it 'could' take awhile for you to see the benefits...how does the horse seem to be eating now? At a more normal speed? Seem more comfortable; still dropping feed?

  Have you considered the possibility of ulcers? They are MUCH more common in all horses that most realize, and can occur in minis just as often, if not more often, than other horses.My minis live a very LOW stress existence--I don't 'lock' them into stalls, they have good 'moving around' space, I don't work them into the ground, etc...but I've had SEVERAL over the years develop ulcers, for NO apparent reason. 

  A blood work-up would probably be a very good idea! Keep us posted, and here's hoping your little guy is already on the road to improvement!

  Margo in NM

The injectable wormer was what the vet gave him, it was Dectomax - I know nothing about it. Just started doing research on it.

I am not going back to him, his brother (is a vet too) is better. So I am going to start dealing with him again.

My 2 mini's live stress free and out to pasture w/ open barn, no stalls. No work, just play. They are just pets.

He still eats slow but isn't dropping it as much.

That evening (after the vet visit) I gave him a mixture of sweet feed and protein pellets. He picked through it only eating the sweet feed and left the protein pellets. Now he could have just been full or doesn't like the taste of the protein pellets as much. But he walked away from it.

It seems he does more standing around than eating. Have you seen a horse do that?

What is the general treatment for ulcers?

My next step is blood work, if he doesn't show improvement soon.

Still not noticing any weight gain but then again it's so hard to tell. He definitely doesn't look any worse.

I am going to go ahead and re-worm him this weekend with Ivermectin...since all the research I done on the 'Dectomax" the vet gave him says it's mainly for cattle, pig and goats but has been used on horses though it's not very effective for worms but helps with ticks.

Edited by Killrail 2009-06-13 10:03 PM

Still no sign of getting better...hard to tell but still looked like he was dropping weight.

Called around to other vets and all recommended a stool sample. I went out a waited to get a 'fresh' sample to take. Went to the vet yesterday with the 'fresh' sample. They tested for all internal parasites and it showed nothing. Her guess was a hyperthyroid. But the vet called her brother in Oklahoma who only does Equine Veterinary services to see what he thought it was. She asked me alot of questions while on the phone with him. And came up with, since he had been wormed twice this month and it didn't help. She said the wormers are killing out the adult parasites but the larvae are going up to his colon and "hiding out"...she then gave me 5 HUGE Panacur powerpak paste wormers and said to give him a double dose for 5 days in a row. And that I should see a difference in his weight in 45-60 days from then.

Today is day 2 of the double dose wormings. I am hoping it works because he probably won't make it to the 45-60 days if it doesn't.

P.S.- this time I took him to a different vet.

Edited by Killrail 2009-07-03 12:44 PM

Today is day 3 of the Panacur powerpac worming (double dose)...he seems to be in better spirits. He actually nickers at his girl now. I wormed him for the 3rd time this morning and shortly after watched as he relieved himself. So I went to check his fresh stool he left and there were quite a bit of worms in it. He has a very healthy appetite but he had that even before this last vet visit.

I was told by this vet that I could give my other horses (1 Haflinger gelding and 1 Miniature horse mare) a worming of Quest to clean them out. But I had heard Quest (moxidectin) was bad for miniatures, that it could possibly kill them. I told the vet this and she said that as long as I don't overdose a miniature with Quest then it would be OK.

  There is PLENTY of anecdotal evidence that using 'Quest' on miniature horses is a very BAD idea; just search the archives on "Lil Beginnings" miniature horse forums, by far the largest and most active forum devoted to miniatures.This even when dosing was VERY accurate...I would NOT recommend it for miniature horses, period! 

    The 'Power Pack' of Panacur is largely aimed specifically at a high level of effectiveness against encysted small strongyles (I use "Safe-Guard", which is EXACTLY the same thing, strength and all, is usually less expensive than Panacur, and can be found in a 'multidose' packaging that saves even more $$$. It is the same 5 day, double-dose-by-weight regimen.) Effectiveness against encysted small strongyles is "Quest's" major 'claim to fame', but  reliable information I've read is that the 5 day double dose of fenbendazole(the active ingredient of both 'Panacur' and 'Safe Guard') has a MUCH higher effective rate(% of 'kill' of the encysted sm. Strongyles) than 'Quest'.

  Hoping the 5 day dbl. dose of the Panacur has helped,and next time you need to do that particular regime-most often recommended to do once or twice yearly--you could also use 'SafeGuard'.

   I can't imagine why a licensed vet would give a miniature horse something not usually used on horses, and not particularly effective on worms?? Seems to me you are well off to not use THAT person anymore--JMHO!

  Margo in NM

I wormed my Haflinger with Quest and my mini mare. I won't use Quest on her again. I have read on the Lil Beginnings website about Quest and other sites as well. And that is why I had brought it up to the vet when she mentioned Quest.