How common is lymes disease in horses and ponies

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Patchworkpony

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How common is lymes disease in horses and ponies, especially those kept up on the moors? Have seen a pony I like the look of but his muzzle is simply covered in tiny ticks. He was bred and still lives out on Dartmoor and just checked on a daily basis but has no real individual care. I am worried he might just have lymes disease. Anyone had any experience of this horrible illness that is caused by ticks.
 
Back home on the East Coast of the states it's common enough. Not heard of it in Ireland yet. It can throw up a host of symptoms. I think 2 of my stepmom's horses had it. A month of antibiotics and they were fine. Time off obviously. They had mild cases. My stepmom got it herself and still has issues as it wasn't treated properly as not diagnosed properly. Other than that I'm not up on it at all. But you know how every problem with horses over here is KS or Ulcers, on an American board people will suggest checking for Lyme's which can be tricky. Lyme's or EPM.

Terri
 
Lyme is from ticks that have fed on deer. I believe that's the chain. So deer ticks. I do know there have been an odd case of Lyme in England but don't panic. It's not all ticks.

Terri
 
There is a problem with Lymes disease in Connemara, west of Ireland. It appears to be linked to the National park where there are deer kept. However its not exclusive to deer and there is now some doubt being expressed as to whether it is exclusively ticks that transmit the disease.
I caught Lymes disease in the UK, in an area supposedly with no know incidences. I never noticed any ticks though but did find the bulls eye rash. It took 4 years to get a diagnoses and only then because I specifically requested it.

Anyhow off the subject :rolleyes: ticks carry lots of other nasty infections which make other livestock sick or dead so always worth getting rid of them. Nasty nasty things.
 
A horse that I sold on a couple of years ago contracted Lymes in the New Forest last summer. He was off colour for a while before a diagnosis was finally made, and had intensive treatment with IV antibiotics and seems to be OK now, although I understand that his owners will always have to be vigilant, but at least now they will know what they are dealing with if it flares up again. Several of my horses have been prone to picking up deer ticks in their field as we have lots of deer around, but none have ever gone on to develop Lymes.
 
Would have thought if he's been living on the moors would have come in contact with it already?

We have a bloody plague of deer where I'm keeping my mare on the NF. Today there was more deer poo than horse poo in the field.

I'd cull the lot personally, but would have thought there's not a lot you can do if they are carrying lymes?
Just hope the ponies have a certain amount of immunity, I suppose they have to?
 
Trasa have never heard of it here. Even asked different vets over the years. Must check again. Not the easiest thing to diagnose so am curious.

Terri
 
I live on dartmoor and my mare gets quite a lot of ticks ESP in th muzzle but I just remove them with a tick remover. My son had one on his eyelid the other day so I took him docs because it was so awkward I couldn't get it. They sad that lumens disease in m area is really low so I'm hoping it's the same for horses. I know that doesn't really answer your question but I know how nano hing they are! They jut get everywhere and here's nothing you can do about it
 
Just been Googling!
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Lyme-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx
How common is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in Europe and North America. People who spend time in woodland or heath areas are more at risk of developing Lyme disease because these areas are where tick-carrying animals, such as deer and mice, live.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates that there are 2,000 to 3,000 cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales each year, and that about 15%-20% of cases occur while people are abroad.
Parts of the UK that are known to have a high population of ticks include:
Exmoor, the New Forest in Hampshire, the South Downs, parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire, Thetford Forest in Norfolk, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Moors and the Scottish Highlands
Most tick bites occur in late spring, early summer and during the autumn because these are the times of year when most people take part in outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping.
 
Tnavas. It's hugely under diagnosed here in tne UK and the symptoms in humans, and animals as well I'd suspect, get dismissed as other ailments. Unless things have changed recently there is no requirement here to report the disease when it's diagnosed. Accurate estimates of numbers affected would be therefore very unreliable.
 
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