Horse with fleas? Even possible? Pics inside... Help!

L&B

L&B

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Giving my little filly a good groom this eve and came across a rough patch. Thinking it was mud I brushed a little harder. Then noticed I'd created blood from brushing... Thinking I'd hurt her I got a closer look only to notice clusters of black blood filled creatures along her tummy and midline.
They were black and a little bigger than full stop sized filled with blood I could pop them with the brush/my nail.
Didn't have any form though ie:legs/heads that could see. Took these pics as best I could... I want to treat asap but no idea what it is I'm dealing with. I've heard of fleas but never on horses. And I've heard of lice but never black and popable!

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Hi there. I think they may be ticks rather than fleas? In my experience a flea would be right out of there if you even managed to catch them, ticks are attached.

I've never treated them on horses but have on dogs and I would imagine it would be the same. You can remove them, but you must be really careful to remove them whole so the mouthparts aren't left embedded in the skin which can cause infection. I have a little green device from my vets which cost literally a few quid and removes them by screwing them round (presumably they somehow release their grip?)

A dog vet also recommended a good soaking of surgical spirit before removal- presumably disinfects area and also stuns the tick I would think.
 
Hey! Ticks really? I've dealt with ticks before and these just seem too small and delicate, they were tiny and just brushing made them burst they are smaller than tweezer sized and pop v v easily... Hmmm... :) xx
 
Hard to tell from the photos but are they in the centre of whorls or on bits of exposed skin? If so I think they're just annoying little flies - my pony really suffers with them, they get in her ears, on her teats/inside her thighs & on a whorl towards her girth area. When I run my hand over the areas they just pop & I have blood covered hands (yuk)!! I put neem oil or green oils on her every day & this stops them attaching to her, horrid critters! :)
 
Yes! Come to think of it they are between her teats and on whorls where the skin is more exposed... So flies then? Ew ew ew! Really? Neem oil on order!!
 
I've never come across this before, if it's winter it's sludge and mud fever! If it's summer it's flies and shedding! Lol!
So can these flies be harmful? Or am I just to squish them and cover her in spray?
Also, why do blood filled? It's disgusting!!
 
I think fleas tend to go for meat eating creatures... Not sure about ticks. Lots of horrid little bugs flying around my horse today too though.
 
The pics are very unclear but ticks that are at the nymph stage of their life cycle are about the size of a poppy seed and emerge Spring/summer. Considering they just sat there to be photographed and popped blood, my guess is ticks! Also explains why no heads were visible.
 
Melody Grey said:
Hi there. I think they may be ticks rather than fleas? In my experience a flea would be right out of there if you even managed to catch them, ticks are attached.

I've never treated them on horses but have on dogs and I would imagine it would be the same. You can remove them, but you must be really careful to remove them whole so the mouthparts aren't left embedded in the skin which can cause infection. I have a little green device from my vets which cost literally a few quid and removes them by screwing them round (presumably they somehow release their grip?)

A dog vet also recommended a good soaking of surgical spirit before removal- presumably disinfects area and also stuns the tick I would think.
Click to expand...

They form a kind of 'glue bubble' around where their heads insert into the skin to prevent becoming accidently dislodged when feeding. The twisting action of the tick remover breaks this bubble allowing the head to be removed intact with it's body.

I strongly disagree with applying anything to the tick before removal, it stresses the tick and can cause them to regurgitate their stomach contents back into the hosts bloodsteam. Big problem if the tick is carrying disease.
 
Another option may be red mites which commonly affect chickens but that come from wild birds and can be present on straw and tree bark amongst other things
 
Wow, I didn't realise horses couldn't get fleas - I treated a yearling once for what I assumed were fleas but I suppose could have been lice? They were jumping like fleas and I was covered in them afterwards, I have her a good scrub with Dermoline shampoo which did the trick.
 
they look like the little flies that my mare suffers with, the always seem to go for where the umbilical cord would join the body at birth, it looks to be a weak spot where there is little hair to protect the skin she also gets them on her teats. they seem to feed on mass and do cause tiny droplets of blood to dry on the surface of the skin.
anything to caot the skin even vaseline will stop them feeding so well
 
I've looked and looked and looked again and Googled. I cannot see that they're ticks at all. Ticks are a different shape to these and harder... I reckon they sound like the flies a few have described. She's had some udder cream on and coopers repellent :)
Thanks for all replies x
 
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