Advice for treatment - MITES

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Cheshire Chestnut

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I recently posted about my boy possibly having lice as he was itchy and rubbing his head until it bled. I treated him with louse powder and washed all his rugs/saddlecloths/brushes and then treated him again 5 days later.

It hasn't stopped him rubbing and biting himself - his little face has got huge bald patches on it too. He's now stamping his feet too and rubbing his legs on his water bucket. I really do think it's mites, not lice although I can't see anything - mites are tiny though. The vet can't come out until after Xmas unless it's an emergency as he's all booked up and not in our area but I can't see my boy all uncomfortable until 27th :(

Does anyone have any advice on treatment I can either get from a farm shop or online I can use to help please? Thank you.
 
Personally, I don't think louse powder makes any more difference than dusting them with icing sugar. We've had an ongoing battle with mites and our chickens and powder has made no difference.

Get hold of some deosect and apply that, it's also Fab fly spray for the summer.

Also probably worth doing his stable as they will be all over that too probably. You can get things to fumigate with, so if you can shut the top door and make it fairly airtight then that's worth a shot.

I have full sympathy- our chickens used to go in Misty's stable, and so they infested that too. Had Yorkshire boarding though, so no change of fumigating!
 
If it is mites then I'd highly recommend dectomax as an injection.

It's normally given to sheep/cattle for lice/mites etc and within a week of the injection all parasites are dead. Think you need a vet to get it done. I've only had mine done once as we had an infestation on the yard at the time and 20+ horses needed doing so we got a full bottle of dectomax and did the injections ourselves.
 
bliss87 said:
Frontline spray for the legs is what I use but you can only get it from vets, weve got some for the dog but is also used on the horses leg
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Can you use the dog one on horses then and not have to get a specific horse one? My friend is a vet nurse but for cats/dogs etc so if you can use the same one then I will get one from her.
 
madlady said:
If it is mites then I'd highly recommend dectomax as an injection.

It's normally given to sheep/cattle for lice/mites etc and within a week of the injection all parasites are dead. Think you need a vet to get it done. I've only had mine done once as we had an infestation on the yard at the time and 20+ horses needed doing so we got a full bottle of dectomax and did the injections ourselves.
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Does that protect them from future infestations like Frontline does for cats? Sounds like what I need but no one else on the yard seems to have to problem but I think it's because my horse is in the field that rouge chickens keep coming in (no one knows where they come from so I can't stop them!). I can't fumigate the stable as it's in a bit barn and the walls don't go to the ceiling, although I will find something that can at least kill the little sods on the straw!
 
hnmisty said:
Get hold of some deosect and apply that, it's also Fab fly spray for the summer.
QUOTE]

Ok, will try and get hold of some, thank you. Have Misty's mites gone now? Did Deisect get rid of them fully? I just feel so helpless, I want to help him as much as I can. I can't fumagate as he lives in a barn with stable walls that only go a third of the way up :( There are chickens on the farm and they sometimes sit on the straw so they could be the carriers, didn't even think of that!
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Cheshire Chestnut said:
Can you use the dog one on horses then and not have to get a specific horse one? My friend is a vet nurse but for cats/dogs etc so if you can use the same one then I will get one from her.
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Weve always used the cat/dog one

youd be suprised the amount of dog drugs etc are used in horse care, my horses steriods came in a bottle with a picture of a dog on as it was made for dogs
 
As you can't fumigate the stable, I suggest clearing out the old bedding and scrubbing all the floors and walls that you can reach with diluted Jeyes fluid. Then replace with fresh bedding, preferably some which hasn't been sat on by chickens :D!

Do this on the same day as you treat the horse.

Btw, I've used Frontline too for feather mites, I was given it by my equine vet but it seems to be licensed for dogs and cats. I've only had to use it on legs, though, not a whole horse.

ETA The frontline gives a recommended number of squirts of spray per kg of dog or cat, so I imagine that you just extrapolate up to the horse's weight. I'd check with your vet that it is ok to treat a whole horse with frontline.
 
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Both my horses have had mites. I use Frontline it is only licenced for cats and dogs but vets can give it to you for horses. You need to use it then re do it 10 days later as eggs may have hatched out. They have had mites a few times, I think the mites are in the grass, as my horses got them even when living out 24/7. Some people use pig oil once they have gone which can deter them.
 
katherine1975 said:
Both my horses have had mites. I use Frontline it is only licenced for cats and dogs but vets can give it to you for horses. You need to use it then re do it 10 days later as eggs may have hatched out. They have had mites a few times, I think the mites are in the grass, as my horses got them even when living out 24/7. Some people use pig oil once they have gone which can deter them.
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Thank you for this - I think after posting this thread I am going to make a trip to Pets At Home tomorrow to get frontline, I get the cat one from there so I will get the same one for him. How many pipettes do you use per horse?
 
Mine had mites for the first time in his life last winter - I went for the dectomax jabs via the vet - two weeks apart I think it was to tackle the next egg hatching cycle. Absolutely effective at getting rid of the little blighters as enters the horse's bloodstream so kills the mites when they go to feed.
 
Dectomax works for my daughters hairy pony. Go each year at first sign of them- she doesn't even come out of the trailer! £8 last visit!!
 
I have done a post since with a picture on of his face - it was even worse today so got the vet to come down. He's not sure if it is lice or mites but he's given me instructions to follow and he's coming back in 4 days. Fingers crossed - he's so sore :(
 
I used hibiscrub on my mares legs. Washed off and left to dry then used Equimins leg mite lotion for 10 days then rubbed in diatomaceous earth (which is so cheap) and never had a problem since x
 
Cheshire Chestnut said:
Ok, will try and get hold of some, thank you. Have Misty's mites gone now? Did Deisect get rid of them fully? I just feel so helpless, I want to help him as much as I can. I can't fumagate as he lives in a barn with stable walls that only go a third of the way up :( There are chickens on the farm and they sometimes sit on the straw so they could be the carriers, didn't even think of that!
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Ah. Well, I decided to turn her out 24/7 to get her away from the source of the mites, and my dad started her on a course of dectomax injections as well. And then she died at the age of 35 before we could finish the course :(
 
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