leg mites in feathers

[parsley]

We are using a very hairy legged cob that has itchy legs so I assume it has leg mites and will be getting it injected with Dectomax next week. He also has some scabs, like grease, on the back of his pasterns. Bearing in mind that I have to keep his feather on as he isn't mine is it likely that these are really grease or could they be irritation caused by the mites. His legs are clear everywhere else as far as I can tell amoung the feathers. (I MUCH prefer cobs to be hogged and trimmed - muddy feathers are DISGUSTING!!!!!)

 

[spaniel]

Was talking about this to someone who has a trad cob yesterday. She had the injections done a couple of times last year, tried all sorts of creams, oils, powders and goodness knows what to clear the mites and the cracked and scabby skin. She came to the conclusion that nothing really worked Im afraid. She too will not take off the feather.

 

[clipertyplop]

try louse powder on the feathers, somone mentioned that they use pig oil on the shire horses feathers which aparently keeps them clean ?????? i havent tryed it myself as we clip our boy to look like a skinned rabbit he too gets greasy looking scabs when the hair is long

 

[Chex]

Chex got quite scabby from mites. I got Barricade from the vet, but it depends on the type of mite. But if you can't get his feathers off there's not much point, they just hide under the scabs. I think he had the injection years ago, but I didn't actually notice a difference after it.

 

[amzy]

Fuciderm cream from the vets is excellent for the scabby pasterns and any greasy scabs behind the knee if it is a dermatitis thing and not caused by mites. You apply it once a day for 5 days and the results are brilliant.

 

[Jemayni]

My friend uses a dog flea spray on her horses leg mites (might be frontline) it costs about £2 and is fantastic! (mind you might not work through feather.)

 

[timeandchance]

I was just acout to suggest Frontline....we used it on a shire at work who got the terrible through the summer...although he has his legs shaved so I don't know whether it works through the feathers or not!

 

[parsley]

OK - Thanks everyone. It looks like the scabs are there to stay then as I've tried frontline and it would be unlikely that I could regularly descab and apply cream. I'll try the dectomax as well

 

[Happytohack]

A couple of injections of Dectomax should clear up the mites (and you won't need to worm him either!). Once they are clear, you can protect the feathers by making up a mixture of pig oil and sulphur and painting this goo on his legs. It will keep the mud at bay as well. Theresa_F is the person to ask as she has a couple of hairies and she swears by pig oil & sulphur. If you use frontline, you will need to clip the feathers off.

 

[parsley]

I use pig oil and sulphur on my hogged and trimmed cob - I'm just not sure if it is grease or mites causing the scabs. He spends a bit of time when he comes in the stable itching his front pasterns on the bar of his stall

 

[Theresa_F]

The injections can work, or you can use frontline - rub it well into the feather and you will need more than if you have legs without feather. I used this on Jemima and she soon cleared up.

I then use pig oil and sulphur - 7 -10 days in the winter - just mix it in a pot so it looks like a thick shake, paint it on with a paint brush and then rub in. Don't wash out the legs too often - I don't between October and April until I need them looking clean for a reason.

I get 10 litres of oil and 3 kgs of sulphur and this does my two about 4 months.

In the summer, wet the legs and rub in a handful of sulphur to each leg - this means that the feather is not oily in the summer, but the mites still find the environment not to their liking.

For the scabs:

Mix together 1 tablespoon of sudocream, 1 teaspoon of sulphur and 5 drops of tea tree oil and rub on them daily - it does look messy but ignore it. After a few days you should be able to gently remove the top layer. Once a week wash with warm water and hibi scrub and continue with the cream until gone.

This also works on mudfever.

Sometimes if they have a lot of hair, they sweat and this makes them itch. In summer I rinse the feather if they have sweated a lot and this reduces the itching.

 

[Dougie]

dectomax injections work well. the mites are too deep for sprays to kill(sometimes) and dont 'eat' enough skin for oral stuff. but injections work extremly well in most cases.

 

[henkvr]

In most cases the cause is a Chorioptes mite infection.
Treatment:
• Clip long hair.
• Topical treatments with anti-ectoparasitics.
• Administration of ivermectin or doramectin are also very effective. Repeat these treatments within 10-14 days, as the eggs are not killed by this treatment.

 

[charlottenicol]

I use the oil and sulphur it really works, did 12 legs last weekend!! My Clydesdale was very itchy when I got him just over a year ago and it has made a huge difference, we have a wonderful hairy cob on loan for the winter for my oldest son and he has been terribly itchy, done him for the second time and is now much better, also did friends Eriska and he just gets muddy and it helps keep him clean.

 

[lizsamW]

How often do you have to use the flowers of sulpher and pug oil?? Weekly?? Monthly???

 

[KateStartin]

Sulphur in whatever form, i know someone who just brushes it into the feathers, apparently it changes the pH so the mites cannot survive

 

[Theresa_F]

I use sulphur every 7 - 10 days either with oil in the winter or just rubbed into wet legs in the summer.