How do you know if your horse has lice?

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Samantha008

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My retired mare is very itchy at the minute. Just wondered what sort of checks i can do to see fo sure! Never had this problem before!!! She was turned away for a couple of weeks and came back itchy and with an eye infection. Thats the last time she goes out of my sight :/ :/

what are the best signs and best things to look for??
 
im watching this thread with interest - my boys best freinds owner has recently said her boy could have lice - i check my boy everyday and havent seen anything moving but i bet there are more signs than moving objects!
 
actually on this subject - if you suspect a herd mate has lice is there anything you can do or give your horse so he is immune?
 
From what I have seen of lice they generally cause horses to literally rub themselves raw, rub their mane and tail out etc (when they dont have sweetich etc). Most horses are a lot more itchy at this time of year anyway - I made a post about my boy squishing me for the first time ever to rub his bum on me because of him malting hehe!! :)
 
We had them once on one pony only and managed to get rid of them before they spread around the yard. Lift up the forelock and look at the roots of the hairs - the lice are like teeny wiggly white things (pinhead size). I just bought some louse powder from the local feed store and dusted away and they never came back.
 
Usually you will see a lot of white dander and stuff in the mane, and the horse will be rubbing his mane out. The lice themselves are actually quite big and tend to be found at the base of the hair. You can buy louse powder but I am told this is now useless, so would recommend deosect from the vet, or barricade. Sadly there is nothing you can do to make a horse immune, but they are easy to treat :)
 
I'm scratching my hair now, just thinking about it, as previously said, louse powder isn't great, the stuff from the vets is great. Once upon a time, we used sheep dip, as did everybody at the time, but that was hard work, and you had to wash them all over in sheep dip. It did work, however!!! (And FYI, sheep dip is also a cure for warts when you forget to wear gloves, I'm living proof!!).
 
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