itchy pony again, has she got lice?

mandwhy

mandwhy

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The welsh A I have on loan has been itchy for a few weeks but nothing really major, she has barely started shedding her coat and is like a fluffy bear. There were no sore bits so I wasn't too concerned at first. I have been giving her micronised linseed in small amounts as my big horse has it and this has made her coat and skin better, but now suddenly she is itchy again :-(

Today I noticed the hair on her face is thinning along the bones, at first I thought she had just been rubbing it (we are near the river so flies are a nightmare here) but now I suspect lice or something.

Otherwise she is specifically itchy in the armpits mostly and a bit on the chest (i have washed these areas thoroughly and applied some baby oil), she has rubbed the hair on her chest and neck so there are a few patches that look like she has been clipped (mostly where her rug clips were).

As it happens I have bathed her a couple of times with an insecticidal shampoo which is actually for dogs but I find it very good as a mild general shampoo. It kills fleas and ticks etc and repels insects so perhaps that has kept them at bay until now.

If anyone can recommend a shampoo or treatment I could try first, that would be great! I do have some coopers fly repellent plus if that would do it?

I have not embarked on washing her face before as she wouldn't like it so maybe that is why she is not so affected elsewhere.
 
Sorry not the itching part, just how she hasnt lost any coat yet! Have you actually seen any lice? Id get some lice powder for the bod, but a line from her ears and along spine as lice pass over the body every 24 hrs which will then pass through lice powder killing them! Ever considered sweet itch???
 
She is two so shouldn't think so :-) That's interesting about lice I didn't realise they move so much!

I did think sweet itch or just general flies but it was the way she has lost hair on her face without it looking sore that made me think lice, I can't see any though I don't think!

As it turns out, the internet says coopers can be used to treat lice quite effectively! So I have done the itchy areas and a general coating and wiped it on her face as best I can (she is a bit headshy and didn't want to get her in the eye!)

She has just about started shedding now, so think she just started a bit later than the others, she must be boiling!
 
My Welshie lost large patches of hair and itched himself raw a couple of months ago during a week of really mild weather between the snow. I treated him for lice, mites, pinworm all sorts but didn't see any signs of them (despite looking a LOT). he had a very thick coat and we decided it must have been connected to the warm weather so we treated the symptoms and his summer coat is now almost in and is perfect and non-itchy. The vet came out yesterday to do his teeth and agrees that it is probably seasonal alopecia. Apparently it has been rife this year because the warm, wet weather has been so changeable that some horses natural systems are out of sync. Normally this is not itchy but again, she's seen a lot of itchiness and tests have rarely shown anything.My other horses have shown no signs at all.
Our pony has some baldness on his cheekbones and it was awful under his mane on both sides, a bit on his chest and on his bottom. I wonder if this could be affecting your horse? Ours was very hairy, not rugged but brought in at night.
 
The highland I was riding had a terrible case of itchy face this spring - no lice to be found at all. The only thing that helped was putting on aloe vera gel to sooth the itchies and stop him rubbing his poor face raw! I think it might be some kind of allergy in his case, so if you can't find any lice / treatment doesn't work / cant find the source then try applying aloe gel :)
 
My pony scratched most of the hair off his face earlier this year - vet said same as above about the weird weather.

It's growing back now - I used to put camrosa ointment on it every day to help, and sudocream on the sore bits. I'm also giving him piriton tablets (4 a day)

He's always had mild sweet itch but has never been as bad as this year.
 
How is your pony now- a friends Welsh c at our yard sounds similar, she was louse powdered as a neglected horse had come onto yard with lice.
But a month later still itching. YO had deosect i think that's what its called- a poison from vets. We washed her in this, the number of lice which came to surface dying was scary, she is now itch free.
 
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