Ants and horses- a warning

DaisyDoll

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 January 2010
Messages
304
Visit site
Well today the vet has been out to see poor D a grand total of 3 times! (record? :p)

Firstly she had her annual flu jab this morning which went without a hitch. She stayed in to make sure she didn't take a bad reaction to it and then was turned out for an hour.

The YO went to get her in at lunch time and was shocked to find her face swollen up about double it's usual size. Once she was in and her rug was off we could see that she was also covered in splotchy swellings from head to toe.

Que a bit of a panic and the vet being called out again to check that her breathing and windpipe was alright (thankfully it was). We thought that it could have been a reaction to the jab but more likely was a wasp or bee sting.

She was sedated and seemed very quiet even after the point when it should have worn off, and despite having antihistamines the swelling hadn't gone down after a couple of hours, so vet visit number three was arranged just to double check that everything was alright inside.

Anyway to cut a long story short the YO rode her pony round the field she had been in to look for a wasp or bee nest, and discovered instead an ants' nest! We have burnt it out now but just thought I would warn everyone as the reaction was extremely severe to something as inoculous as an ant.

She appears fine now and is eating normally, so should be back to normal in a few days. Please spread to word and don't ignore an ant nest in the field, I am just so glad she didn't swallow any as I dread to think what they would have done to her windpipe.
 
Crikey!

The first Horse I owned, not so long ago, I arrived one day to find her face badly swollen and then lumps the size of half tennis balls from ears to tail. Vet was called, adrenalin given and she was fine in a few hours. No idea what caused it, but must have been a bite or sting of some sort. Scary!
 
DaisyDoll, that sounds very scary - all the best for a speedy recovery.

If you don't mind me asking what makes vet/YO suspect it was ants rather than a reaction to the jab? Was that first time she had been in a field with them?


Don't know anything about this so just being curious.
 
DaisyDoll, that sounds very scary - all the best for a speedy recovery.

If you don't mind me asking what makes vet/YO suspect it was ants rather than a reaction to the jab? Was that first time she had been in a field with them?


Don't know anything about this so just being curious.

we are pretty sure as she is pink skinned and quite sensitive to flies and bites in general. We thought that if it had been the jab she would have shown more flu-y symptoms such as a temperature, extreme stiffness etc. It could be that having the jab lowered her usual defences more and that's why the reaction was so severe, but you are right we don't know for sure, just an educated guess really.
 
Has anyone else noticed how many ants are around this year !!!! I dont think I have ever seen so many :eek:

Put my arms into a large bale of straw the other day, unbeknown to me right into an ants nest. It was awful, after my intitial screeming and ripping off of my clothes I managed to get them off, I was covered and they flippin hurt when they bite :eek: nasty nasty little critters
 
And then you get flying ants. OMG ants with wings - are we ever safe from the horrible, evil things.
Ants with wings - why? Who decicided that would be a good idea? 'What next? Oh I know, I'll give those lovely, cute little guys, wings so they can visit every corner of the world'.
How wrong is that? They just plan to conquer everywhere and everything. And they will - mark my words!
Run, run for the hills. Save yourselves..............and the ponios.
 
agree with you misterjay, ants are spawn of the devil.

It isnt terrorists we gotta be scared of ! its the blinkin ants taking over the world......

ever noticed how you cant stand on them and squash them either ????
 
Top