I'm so upset - My shetland foals have lice

muckypony

muckypony

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My foals have been quite itchy the last few days, especially Acer - they normally love a scratch, particularly a tail scratch! But yesterday and today Acer was really itchy, yesterday I thought it might just be becuase it had got a little bit warmer, but today he just wouldn't stop, practically sitting on the wall to itch his bum. I had a good look through both of them and they are full of lice(well, I'm pretty certain its lice, I've never had a horse with lice before though) Little things with brown heads and clear bodies. And I also found a tick on Acer's ear :(

I'm so upset :( my poor ponies.

I just don't know how they have got them though - they are stabled with no other horses for miles around. I have had them almost 7 weeks so surely if they had them when I got them they would have been intching before now?

I just don't know what to do... :( Luckily I have the vet out tomorrow for vaccinatiosn anyway so will obviously ask about it then. Am I going to have to clip them? Thats the last thing I want to do as they are so young :(

Hugs please!!
 
I don't know where they come from either but one thing that sorts them very,very effectively is Coopers Fly Repellant Plus. It's just amazing! Have never found louse powder any good at actually getting rid of them although you could use it as a preventative, or as well as the Coopers. The vet will probably sell you an expensive ivermectin based treatment which is fine but Coopers is just as good and much cheaper.
 
Aww, Don't feel bad. Its one of those things and apparently its been a bad year for lice, fleas and ticks being so mild.

I remember when I was about 15 my pony got lice and I felt awful about it. The livery yard owner made me tell all the other liveries and everyone had to treat their horses also I felt like the most popular person in the whole world that week! ;)
 
Dermoline insecticidal shampoo is very very good at getting rid of lice, my mare's foal thought he would be lovely and share them with his mother!!

- Washed all there brushes in the shampoo
- Clean all headcollars and any other equipment too
- I washed my stable down with Jeyes fluid to rid any eggs and where she had been scratching to stop them returning.
- I also had her injected too can't remember what it was called but all of these things combined helped to get rid of lice. She has never had them since. Also the injection wasn't much it cost around £25

Hope this helps :)
 
Another vote or Dermoline insecticidal shampoo. Some of mine are foresters who came straight of the forest, complete with their critter friends :-)
 
I've always found just louse powder great for any of my youngsters that usually come from the sales with them! I cover them all over and give it a good rub in with a old brush, I then repeat a few days later and scrub/ disinfect anything they have touched ( brushed, rugs, head collars etc) it always seems to work fine! It's a messy job and I normally end up covered in the powder but it works!
 
powder will kill the lice, but not the eggs.

I can recommend putting coopers into a spray bottle and spraying it on, using a rubber curry to get it deep down. Works a treat. Just wish coopers sold the stuff IN a spray bottle!
 
Springy said:
Louse powder should sort them out

I wouldnt worry to much its an easy thing to fix

:)
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Louse powder has as little effect as plain water nowadays with all the restrictions on chemicals. Inject them, also, if you can get rugs I would clip them out... Not necessary but helped tons with our cob when she came to us with lice.
 
Coopers spot on, one spot on the withers, make sure you part the hair and it reaches the skin. There is no need to spray it, the whole point of the product is it is a spot. They may need another dose in 3 weeks.

It's such an utterly minor thing please don't worry. Very common in young hairy animals.
 
Coopers louse powder has been withdrawn for use on animals (you can use it on housing) but that doesn't stop it working!;)

Just remember to powder twice, a couple of weeks apart, so you also kill those that have recently hatched as the eggs are resistant.

Nothing to worry about and as common as head lice in children (or so I'm told. I don't have either!).
 
Of course follow the vet's advice but deosect is licensed for horses. If they've been with adults you will need to treat them all.
 
Thank you guys, I just feel awful that they're all itchy, must be horrid especially with so much hair!!

I just don't know where it has come from... Is there any way it could be in my hay..? They are only going out for a couple of hours a day too. And if its from the field won't it just keep coming back!?

I don't mind disinfecting all of my stuff, chucking the bedding out and shampooing them. I just really don't want to clip them so young - and I'm desperately hoping its not in the hay!
 
Just out of interest how does the injection work? Does it poison them off or something? Is it something vets will willingly give or do they have to be seriously infested?
 
I'm not sure where they can get them apart from other horses but lice proliferate in winter and with those lovely warm coats they will be having a ball. Using deosect you wont need to clip and I doubt you will with injection either.
 
You will get Deosect from the vets. Its very satisfying to use in a sadistic way... you spray it on (diluted) and the lice curl up and die in front of your eyes.
Its not your fault, and god knows where they come from, birds etc? I guess your shetland foals will be very hairy this time of year, a louse's paradise!
 
FfionWinnie said:
Coopers spot on, one spot on the withers, make sure you part the hair and it reaches the skin. There is no need to spray it, the whole point of the product is it is a spot. They may need another dose in 3 weeks.

It's such an utterly minor thing please don't worry. Very common in young hairy animals.
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This.
 
Someone suggested to me once that they might get them if they grazed on land that rabbits also grazed - and certainly the only one of mine to ever have them was in the field frequently frolicked in by rabbits, and hadn't been anywhere else.
Might just be an old wives' tale!
 
Just to clarify, I've used Coopers Louse Powder for donkey's years but it did lose its licence for use on live animals, probably because someone couldn't be bothered to get its test up to date. (It's expensive). So I asked my vet if it was still safe to use. She said nothing, just winked!:)

I'd rather use something old and well tried than something modern and tested, but then I'm old too!;)
 
I imagine there are several rabbits that graze the land and other animals. Poor ponies! :(

Might be a stupid question, but can they live on humans!?
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

Ordered some Deosect which is due to arrive in the morning - getted I had to leave them for yet another night :(

Will I need to chuck out all their bedding and disinfect their stable? Or will they die as soon as they come into contact with their hair if its covered in deosect?
 
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