deer ked!!!!!!!

[merlinsquest]

Anyone ever heard of a 'deer ked'???

Rode my horse this morning who was very unwilling to work and agitated!! When I took him out of the indoor school and into the sunshine he went ballistic, swishing his tail and kicking out. He was biting at his rump and bucking alternately. very strange for a horse who is usually so laid back as to be horizontal.

When taken back into the school he calmed down and mooched about, had a roll and did nothing much, but when taken back into the sun again he did the same frantic keck, buck, bite thing.

Called the vet who suggested a thing called a Deer Ked, so washed him with dermoline anti louse shampoo and ran hand over the affected area till i found what looked like a giant human head louse. As soon as it had been taken off the horse was once again normal.

Soooo strange that such a little thing could cause such panic and discomfort.

Just wondered if anyone else had come across them???

 

[eohippus]

yes but it is only prevailant in america and parts of brazil. where are you?
it is a flying louse of the white tailed deer and feeds on blood. Yuk, and unlucky for you if it found your horse by mistake.
regards
Dawn

 

[merlinsquest]

Were in Farnham in Surrey, right next to a huge area of common land where there are loads of deer..... this time last year another of the horses had the same thing, but it was only found after a visit from the vet.... he said he had never seen one before and took it away in a jar.

I had read that its a wingless fly and that its wings drop off when it has chosen its host... bad luck lousey you chose the wrong horse!!

I looked on google and found nothing about it getting on horses... although my vet only suggested this and pin worms as her guess, so she must have seen it before I suppose.

Hope they dont land in swarms, I have never seen him so distressed. He even nipped three people on the yard this morning (including me) and I have never known him to bite, and only to kick once when startled on the ramp of the trailer, so he must have been very unhappy with life :-(

 

[bexj]

Uuugh!

I haven't come across them personally, but someone on another board I go on has had a recent infestation of sheep keds which sound like the same thing.

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92095

 

[merlinsquest]

Thanks,

Have read the new rider posts with interest, am now worried that I found only one!!! Hope he doesn't get more than that as he was turning himself inside out with just one...

Poor thing... today he was stood under a dripping roof which dripped on his quarters just near the patch where I found the ked and he was terrified... he must have thought he had another one!!!

Hopefully all gone now, just need to restock with Dermoline to kell any for the future!!

sarah

 

[merlinsquest]

No more to be seen!!!

Hope they are all terrorising the deer they are designed to make life a misery for..... serves them right for keep pulling the leccy fencing down!!

xx

 

[kildalton]

We had a similar thing this time last year, when my daughter's mare went ballistic when we took her rug off. She practically threw herself on the floor and was terrified. We've a lot of sheep nearby. Horrible things.

 

[merlinsquest]

Where are you in hants???

Weird thing is that another horse had the same thing last year.... only reason we knew what to look for.

I never imagined such a little creature could cause such a massive fuss!!!

 

[spaniel]

I had a mare who was host to one of these many years ago. To all intents she looked just like she was having a really bad, hysterical bout of colic. She went balistic!

It was only by luck that someone with sharp eyes spotted it moving about when we took the rug off for the vet.

Horrid little b*ggers!

 

[jayvee]

Yeh keds, oh they do exsist in the UK alright! Main hosts are the deer population anywhere in the UK!
But I have had them crawling over me many a time ( when spending time in direct contact with culled deer), they are a real pain to catch as cling to your skin for dear life!! They are harmless to you or your horse. They look like 'flattened ticks' but they don't hurt you, really just make your skin crawl, get in your hair and basically everywhere!! They wouldn't stay forever on you or your horse if they accidently 'hopped on to you'.

 

[merlinsquest]

FOUND ANOTHER ONE........................YUK YUK YUK YUK............. and this time it was alive (no dermoline left) and i had to get it off with my bare hands

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKK