Biting and pulling out feathers
Itching of the skin Rubbing against walls fencing, trees Hair loss from the neck, shoulders, face, body Bleeding scabs from rubbing or biting Loss of conditions to their coats Lice on the surface of the horses skin Feathered horses, like my horses, mites love! They like thick feathers because it is warm and moist, making it ideal for them to thrive. Cob horses have lots of feather and it starts from the middle of their legs and goes all the way down to their hooves. They don't only stay in feathers, they also go into the top part of the body and love to get under their manes and the base of the tail and the flanks. This is where the hair is thick making it warm and moist for the mites to live and keep breeding. |
Most horses with feather will always have problems with mites and will never be completely free from them.
Keeping a check on the horse and treating when needed will help the horse to stay healthy.
The mites cause the horse to rub on anything to take the itch away, but it never stops. They will start to stamp their hind legs and even bite their legs, body and even rip their feathers out causing them to bleed! I have seen sores on horses where they have bitten themselves or rubbed on walls, trees and water tanks. When this happens after a time, their skin starts to thicken and becomes like 'leather'. If the mite are not treated, some horses can become lame (throughing stamping thier hind quarters). Their legs will swell and become hot, making it very painful for the horse.
The best way to delice the horse is to cut away the feathers! Most people will not do that. The reason you are told to do this by a vet is be cause the feathers are so thick and keep the mites warm.
Once the feather is taken away, the mites will be easy to kill. Spraying into the feather usually doesn't work when they are so thick.
I did have to cut, Paris's, feather off one year due to mites. The vet injected Dectomax for the mites and I treated the top of her hooves with sudocrem for the sore which I couldn't see with the feathers on and it worked a treat.
Horses that are unwell can be prone to mites and will go onto have a severe infestation making the horse even more ill.
There are two type of mites in horses, Haematopinus asini, bloodsucking and the Bovicola equi, the biting louse.
The Haematopinus asini feeds on the horses blood and is easier to kill then the, Bovicola equi, with systemic insecticide.
The sucking louse can cause the horse to be very ill. It can suck a lot of blood causing anaemia.
The horse would have to have extreme infestation for this to happen. But left untreated will lead to this.
They are also larger in size then the Bovicola equi and have pointed heads and piercing mouth parts. The size of the adults are around one-eight of an inches.
The eggs are normally close to the skin and like human nits, stick firmly to the horses hair. The egg normally hatch in two weeks and start to suck blood immediately. They reach adult in 12 days times. They end their life cycle around 2/4 weeks.
These will be found around the head, mane, along the back and inner thighs. They also move about on the skin, causing the horse to itch, when they are not sucking blood from the horse.
This is the reason for the second treatment to the horse to kill the eggs that hatch.
The Bovicola equi is a lot small and have a red/brown head and their bodies are white/yellowish, and short.
This louse can be all over the horses body. They do prefer the base of the tail and the withers of the horse. They seem to like the finer hairs of the body. They like to feed on the horses hair, the scales and any scurf on the horses body.
The eggs are again like the Haematopinus asini.
Both lice have flat bodies and wingless. The time you will see a big increase in lice is in the winter and spring months. The winter is when the horses coat gets long and thickens up making it moist and warm for the lice.
You must wash everything you use on the horses. Grooming equipment and wash all tack, rugs and blankets. Do not forget to wash all equipment twos after treating the horse again.
The vet is the best place to start for treatment.
They can use the Dectamax injection. The injection also treats, gastrointestinal roundworms, lungworms, sucking lice and mange mites. Farmers use this for cattle.
Frontline is another one a vet will use. It is a spay and you spray under the mane, along the back, base of the tail and the fetlock. You must make sure you get under all of the feather for it to work and spray down the leg also making a parting.
You can also buy powders and special shampoos from horse shops. There is no licensed data available for the use of Frontline spray for horse's
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
Keeping a check on the horse and treating when needed will help the horse to stay healthy.
The mites cause the horse to rub on anything to take the itch away, but it never stops. They will start to stamp their hind legs and even bite their legs, body and even rip their feathers out causing them to bleed! I have seen sores on horses where they have bitten themselves or rubbed on walls, trees and water tanks. When this happens after a time, their skin starts to thicken and becomes like 'leather'. If the mite are not treated, some horses can become lame (throughing stamping thier hind quarters). Their legs will swell and become hot, making it very painful for the horse.
The best way to delice the horse is to cut away the feathers! Most people will not do that. The reason you are told to do this by a vet is be cause the feathers are so thick and keep the mites warm.
Once the feather is taken away, the mites will be easy to kill. Spraying into the feather usually doesn't work when they are so thick.
I did have to cut, Paris's, feather off one year due to mites. The vet injected Dectomax for the mites and I treated the top of her hooves with sudocrem for the sore which I couldn't see with the feathers on and it worked a treat.
Horses that are unwell can be prone to mites and will go onto have a severe infestation making the horse even more ill.
There are two type of mites in horses, Haematopinus asini, bloodsucking and the Bovicola equi, the biting louse.
The Haematopinus asini feeds on the horses blood and is easier to kill then the, Bovicola equi, with systemic insecticide.
The sucking louse can cause the horse to be very ill. It can suck a lot of blood causing anaemia.
The horse would have to have extreme infestation for this to happen. But left untreated will lead to this.
They are also larger in size then the Bovicola equi and have pointed heads and piercing mouth parts. The size of the adults are around one-eight of an inches.
The eggs are normally close to the skin and like human nits, stick firmly to the horses hair. The egg normally hatch in two weeks and start to suck blood immediately. They reach adult in 12 days times. They end their life cycle around 2/4 weeks.
These will be found around the head, mane, along the back and inner thighs. They also move about on the skin, causing the horse to itch, when they are not sucking blood from the horse.
This is the reason for the second treatment to the horse to kill the eggs that hatch.
The Bovicola equi is a lot small and have a red/brown head and their bodies are white/yellowish, and short.
This louse can be all over the horses body. They do prefer the base of the tail and the withers of the horse. They seem to like the finer hairs of the body. They like to feed on the horses hair, the scales and any scurf on the horses body.
The eggs are again like the Haematopinus asini.
Both lice have flat bodies and wingless. The time you will see a big increase in lice is in the winter and spring months. The winter is when the horses coat gets long and thickens up making it moist and warm for the lice.
You must wash everything you use on the horses. Grooming equipment and wash all tack, rugs and blankets. Do not forget to wash all equipment twos after treating the horse again.
The vet is the best place to start for treatment.
They can use the Dectamax injection. The injection also treats, gastrointestinal roundworms, lungworms, sucking lice and mange mites. Farmers use this for cattle.
Frontline is another one a vet will use. It is a spay and you spray under the mane, along the back, base of the tail and the fetlock. You must make sure you get under all of the feather for it to work and spray down the leg also making a parting.
You can also buy powders and special shampoos from horse shops. There is no licensed data available for the use of Frontline spray for horse's
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.