Poor JJ

This poor kid, let me tell you...

When he has something wrong with him, he doesn't mess around. When he had warts, he had them everywhere--inside his nose, mouth, ears. When he had strangles, he had them twice, and kept a 104 degree temp for a week straight until I finally gave up dosing him with bantamine and let it spike (under close supervision). Then he got some skin crud (variation of ringworm) and he had it all over his whole body, even down his legs.

And now he has worms. Strongyles to be exact. And he's not messing around.

Thankfully the Power Pac seems to be doing its thing and really cleaning him out. Everything coming out is dead, but boy, do I feel bad. Poor JJ....

I try very hard to do my research and keep my horses on a rotational worming program that will keep them as clean as possible, but in all the years I've kept horses I have found there are certain horses who seem to have their own little network of worms that are resistant to everything you throw at them. Ben was one of those horses, as was Mitch. JJ seems to be the next host for the apocalypic-resistant critters.

And if I put my ear to JJ's stomach, I can actually hear them mocking me.

I did more research this evening and FINALLY found a website that addresses resistance issues! Here it is. Enjoy: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/AG_Equine_2009-03pr.pdf This is very handy information to have if you struggle with resistance like me....or JJ.

So I hope the above picture is our "before" picture in a few weeks. He's not thin or unhealthy looking, but there's no question that he's just not thriving. He's such a cute kid, too, that it's been killing me that he's not looking like he should...like he could.

How should he look? Well, let's see....

Before JJ was even born, he was known as "The Elephant."

His poor (maiden) momma was so huge, it must have been a great relief for her to finally get that thing out of her belly!

See, you can see the relief all over her face.

JJ was born down in Texas to my wonderful friend Vicki Morgan. He had the very best care and grew into a very cute colt. It was at this point that he became known as "The Moose."

Then he came to live with me and it all went downhill from there....

Well, hopefully we can change that last part. I don't mean to imply that JJ has been unhealthy in any way. His only visit to the vet was to be gelded and that went swimmingly! What I'm getting at is that JJ just hasn't thrived the way his sisters do and when that happens, being the responsible horse owner I try so hard to be, I have to keep searching to find out why.

Keep your fingers crossed that I'm on the right track.

So, question time. Do any of you have any horses that double as worm incubators? Does a daily dewormer help or would that build up even more resistance? Do you have your vet tube worm? Do you have a special rotation for that one horse that is more aggressive than the other horses, or do you spot-treat your problem horses during specific times of the year? Does it irritate you when a blogger asks twenty questions in a row, all of which you can't possibly answer in the time you have to respond to anyone's posts because you actually have a life?

Wait, don't answer that last one....