Advice on keeping horses in countries with venomous snakes and spiders

[PurBee]

We are too far south for Pythons, pity... There are some great species around.
Lucky you didn't get bitten! To be fair, most of the snake bites here are "dry" bites. It takes a great deal of energy to build up venom stores and they would rather use it to kill prey for eating. There are no antidotes to a snake bite, but there is some evidence that injectable Vitamin C given immediately afterwards will help support the body while the venom is in the system. Hence the outback stations will usually have some on hand. Antivenom is too expensive and has a short shelf life, not worth having on hand.

So injectable vit c is useful to have - thank you! Where the best place to inject? Right into the muscle nearest the bite or any protruding vein in the body?
(i hope i never need to, but ya never know)

 

[Northern]

Ugh! I'm staying right here. We have copperheads, black widows and brown recluse spiders. I've seen plenty of black widow and I'm careful picking up things that have been sitting around. I wear garden gloves most of the time. I've never seen a brown recluse. I've also seen my share of copperheads. Other parts of the state can keep their water moccasins and rattlesnakes.
I'm starting to think that Australia may be off of my bucket list.

To be fair, most people won’t notice a snake nearby unless in plain sight. The snakes know you’re there though, they usually skedaddle pretty quickly!

 

[Cortez]

So injectable vit c is useful to have - thank you! Where the best place to inject? Right into the muscle nearest the bite or any protruding vein in the body?
(i hope i never need to, but ya never know)

I really don't think you need to worry all that much. In all my years living in snake-y countries I've only seen maybe six, never been bitten, or had a dog bitten. I did have a foal bitten on the fetlock that was a bit problematic to heal but not nearly as much bother as the one that nearly lost its top lip to a snapping turtle. I know a man that was bitten by a rattlesnake (in Arizona), then walked nearly 10 miles and had a short hospital stay. He ended up with a little dimple in his calf. His Jack Russell was later eaten by an anaconda, but that was in Belize where they have proper jungle.

 

[stangs]

Should think Vit C is useful to have around anyway. I’ve heard that it can be useful in preventing AHS if it’s possible horse has been infected

 

[Flicker]

And applying tick grease everywhere! I don’t miss that stuff but it helped.

Oh god yes haha disgusting!

 

[Flicker]

im currently in Ireland with ticks and midges galore! So me and the animals are ‘safer’ anywhere but here then! ?

This tick bite caused me some issues…

View attachment 82667

Holy cow ?! Yep looks like we’re all in the food chain wherever we live ?

 

[PurBee]

I really don't think you need to worry all that much. In all my years living in snake-y countries I've only seen maybe six, never been bitten, or had a dog bitten. I did have a foal bitten on the fetlock that was a bit problematic to heal but not nearly as much bother as the one that nearly lost its top lip to a snapping turtle. I know a man that was bitten by a rattlesnake (in Arizona), then walked nearly 10 miles and had a short hospital stay. He ended up with a little dimple in his calf. His Jack Russell was later eaten by an anaconda, but that was in Belize where they have proper jungle.

Thanks, these anecdotes really put my mind at rest that incidents are so few and far between, and even if they do happen, are rarely fatal.

I did seriously consider belize jungle for a few months! ?mainly when i was looking at climates on roughly 12/12 light dark year round with good temps year round, they speak english there and land is fairly cheap too! Howler monkeys sound like a pain to live amongst though, and hurricanes destroying your property is a fair risk…..now anacondas there definitely put me off!

 

[PurBee]

Holy cow ?! Yep looks like we’re all in the food chain wherever we live ?

? youre so right…its a planet of predators and prey, parasites and hosts! *shudder*!

 

[GSD Woman]

PurBee, have things like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever made it across the Atlantic yet? That bite made me think of Lyme disease.

 

[Caol Ila]

PurBee, have things like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever made it across the Atlantic yet? That bite made me think of Lyme disease.

We have Lyme, but Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other tickborn diseases are not (so far) in the UK. There are a lot more equine diseases in North America. My horses only get vaccinations for equine influenza and tetanus. Nothing else. In Colorado, they got shots for about half a dozen things, and when we were on the East Coast, there were even more things!

 

[PurBee]

PurBee, have things like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever made it across the Atlantic yet? That bite made me think of Lyme disease.

Yes - galway university hospital did a research study on lyme in ireland as it was previously thought not to be much of an issue. Their results were surprising to them to see many ticks captured from many counties with lyme, especially western counties.

I’ve received bites from ticks - they crawl through the teeny material weave holes of socks that youve got your trousers tucked into. I always wear trousers and long sleeves outside due to them but still some get through occassionally.
That bite i showed was the only one i had that turned nasty. I got it while making hay therefore amongst and handling long grass.
The red swelling eventually ended up spreading and covering my entire calf and thigh! It affected the joints in 1 side of my body i was bitten on. I threw everything at it and immune protocols etc. Initial symptoms were flu-like, tiredness the days after being bitten. Then joint pain the weeks/months following. Its imperative to act quickly with lyme, then it doesnt turn into ‘chronic lyme’.
So a bit like spiders/snakes risk - having been bitten a fair few times by tiny ticks, only 1 of them was infectious and caused problems which eventually fully resolved.

I keep paddock grass short due to ticks where we and the horses mainly access - they really prefer long wild grass areas. We have herds of deer on these lands grazing all year. They aid ticks numbers. I saw a pine marten here in long grass once - it must have been injured as it didnt run - its head had bloated ticks sticking out of it everywhere….it was horrifying, the poor thing.

 

[GSD Woman]

Oh, that poor pine marten! My dogs take Nexguard or else Simparica Trio and those have been very good at keeping the ticks at bay. I always do a tick check after being in fields or the woods. A boy in my class almost died of RMSF. It was very rare in 1970s and he was transferred to a hospital in NY city from the Washington D.C.
One of the physicians there was from the greater D.C. area and recognized it. Saved that child's life. I take ticks very seriously.

 

[Northern]

So injectable vit c is useful to have - thank you! Where the best place to inject? Right into the muscle nearest the bite or any protruding vein in the body?
(i hope i never need to, but ya never know)

Sorry, missed this! It's an IM injection in the neck, for a systemic rather than local effect. Basically because you can't really do much else with a snake bite, administering it "may" help but certainly won't hurt, hence useful to have on hand.