Habronema Larvae
Some of our animals have come to the
Sanctuary
with uncommon diseases.
We are not experts by any means, but I
am always surprised to talk to long time
equine owners that have never heard of some
of these problems.
The internet has been my classroom, as
I’ve tried to educate myself to help these
animals.
Of course your first line of defense
should always be your
Veterinarian.
Your vet may be the most caring person
you have ever known,
but there is no way, one person,
probably working long days, with emergencies
thrown in, is going to be able to keep up
with the rapidly changing face of equine
health care.
There are wonderful Yahoo Groups out
there, devoted to sharing information, on
almost any subject.
I belong to one group that has over
6,000 members.
There are vets, vet techs, medical
doctors, equine dentists, pharmacists,
farriers, barefoot trimmers, nutrition
experts,
equine food company representatives,
ranchers, boarding stable owners, hay
growers, down to the one horse owner that
wants what is best for their companion &
the rest of us in between.
The wealth of knowledge available can
be overwhelming.
But, the information is there, &
everyone is willing to share.
If you have taken on the
responsibility of an animal, it is your job
to provide the best care possible for this
animal to have a long healthy productive
life. One
way to do this, is to be an informed
caregiver.
Habronema
Larvae:
The
2nd donkey we got was literally being eaten
alive by habronema larvae.
His face was raw where he had
scratched to the point of
self-mutilating because of the intense
itching.
His sheath was a bloody mess most of
the time, & ultimately after 7 months, he
had to be euthanized because of the damage.
A search of the web will bring up lots
of information on these larvae.
Stomach worms lay eggs that are passed
in manure.
House & stable fly pupae eat the
eggs in the manure, & once they mature
into flies can leave eggs when they land on
equines.
The eggs can survive if they find a
nice moist place like eyes, noses, mouths,
sheaths in the males or open wounds.
Once the eggs find a spot & hatch,
as the larvae grow, that is when the horrible
itching starts.
Some
animals seem to be more inclined to develop
“summer sores” than others.
Their system seems to over react with
oozy areas of inflammation that are very
itchy, like an allergic reaction. The GENERAL
TREATMENT for habronema is:
regular worming, controlling flies,
keeping any sores dry & covered to keep
flies from reinfesting , using fly masks
during daylight hours,
and using fly repellant.
This is all good information, BUT, in
my experience it isn’t enough.
When we got in another donkey in
almost as bad shape as the one that was
euthanized, I promised myself I would not
lose this one.
This first picture shows a growth that
developed on his sheath over a period of
months. We
never knew exactly what type of growth it
was, nor did the Vet that removed it.
When it was cut open it looked like a
large piece of lard with very few very small
blood vessels.
There were 2 or 3 very large veins
feeding it from the outside that bled
profusely when cut.
This
second picture shows the effort we made to
protect him from further infestation.
He lived in this “outfit” for
almost 6 months the first year he was here.
I spent most of the days that summer
in his corral, constantly doctoring him when
he became uncomfortable from the intense
itching.
I didn’t know then what I know now
& could have made him more comfortable,
if I had access to more information than the
general treatment protocol.
Over
a period of more than 2 years, he was treated
with TMP/SMZ, Azium, Bute, neo-predaf,
panalog, thunja zinc oxide, & anything
else anyone mentioned or I read about, that
might help to make him more comfortable,
& possibly help him to heal.
My vet even had me worming him weekly
for awhile.
When his sheath was oozy & weepy,
I would keep it covered with flour or
cornstarch.
Sometimes it was so wet, I couldn’t
keep it dry, no matter what I did.
I
tried Immunsyn, Missing Link, many types of
herbs & the bottom line was………nothing
by itself worked………!!!
This is a hands on disease, that has
to be monitored constantly.
You can’t slap some medicine on it
& have a good outcome.
Cisco II was a case of horrible
infestation & an immune system that just
won’t tolerate flies, let alone habronema.
After 8 years, he is doing well.
We have developed a system that keeps
him comfortable.
Starting early in spring he gets
allergy pills twice a day.
He also is wormed more often than the
others throughout fly season.
His sheath has been so mistreated by
him, by surgery, & by me doctoring, that
it has to be coated with thunja zinc oxide,
constantly from spring till fly season is
over usually November.
Otherwise it gets very dried out &
he will drop to the ground & scoot until
it is a bloody mess.
He will also come to me, if he is
uncomfortable, stand in front of me lift his
leg & act like he is going to bite
himself.
When he does that, I run for the
thunja zinc oxide….and he knows I will…..!!!!
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