Leg mites in feathers

I didnt realise that it was infectious too, this means my other horse can get it, although hes not a hairy type.Really all I need at the moment !
 
I dunno if they are contagious or not (??). My mare got them early Spring last year and she is fine skinned with virtually no feather. I had no idea that she had them as she displayed none of the usual signs, eg. itching and scratching and general discomfort, just a few flaky areas on one of her hind legs! NO, not both - very unusual!
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Sadly, they are all-year hun. They are only contagious because they drop off the horse's leg periodically and live in the bedding. Not sure if they can survive if they drop off in the field - I guess so. They are horrible little buggers and drive some horses frantic with the itchiness that they can't scratch. My Section D gets them and he has the Dectomax injection from the vet. If you use this route the horse needs 2 injections, about 10 days apart. The 1st jab zaps the adults but can't touch the eggs. Eggs hatch in 10 days so ned has 2nd jab. This tends to keep Sunny mite free for about 8 - 10 months. Presumably, the odd mites that drop off into his bedding then build up their numbers again and re-infest him. The Frontline spray is very effective as long as your horse will allow you to rub it deep, deep into the hair so it reaches the skin. If you have a mega hairy gipsy cob, I doubt that you'd be able to get it rubbed in deep enough. There's a product called Footstamp which says it will cure mites but there's some odd safety precautions you have to take and I didn't like the sound of it. There's a Forum member (can't remember her name) who swears by pig oil and sulphur. I've never tried this because I thought pig oil sounded disgusting - thought Sunny would smell like an old dustbin and attract flies for miles around! But I am assured pig oil no more comes from a pig than baby oil comes from a baby!

Of course, the definitive cure is to clip your ned's feathers right out. No feathers eventually = no feather mites. Good luck x
 
I am currently using some stuff called stop it all by Karen Ruggles google it, not cheap but does a good job, has stopped the stamping and chewing chunks out of his legs now.
Also has been made up into a fly spray and has healed all his sweetitch sores, ned is now turned out for the first time in 4 yrs with no fly rug on.

Had previously tried jabs and frontline but no joy with it and cost a bomb, only downside with stop it all is it pongs!
 
All I can say is a mega thank you. My cob suffers from them and I tried everything. All I can do now is keep his legs clipped and clean. He also suffers from mallanders (vile scabby patches) behind his knees.

Does anyone know of anything which we can use to keep him from itching and stamping his legs.
 
My mare suffers pretty much all year, but she has a dectamax injection 4 times a year which keeps them at bay. Its £15 at my vets if I take her, so not a costly treatment!!!
 
My cob gets them (very hairy legs). He seems to get them more in summer, but I know they can be all year around. So far I've had 100% success with the following:

Thorough shampoo with Dermoline (which takes hours with his feathers, but luckily he loves). Leave him to completely dry somewhere clean.

Then (most important bit) apply pig oil really thoroughly, working it right through all the hair to the skin. You can also put sulphur in the pig oil which is supposed to make it work even better, and has the bonus of giving really white feathers in the end, but's also really stinky and makes the feathers yellow for a couple of days so I don't tend to bother.

Best thing is this is cheap and is also great for mud fever in winter. Although it takes a while I've only had to do it twice this summer, so it lasts ages.

Google "Pig Oil and Sulphur" and you should get plenty more info, there is a lady on HHO that does a really good, detailed PM with stockists etc (I get my Pig Oil from Countrywide Farmers).

(p.s. Just noticed Box_Of_Frogs mentioned Pig Oil and Sulphur too - just to confirm Pig Oil has no scent and is great for your hands!)
 
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My Section D gets them and he has the Dectomax injection from the vet.

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Yep .. also covers them for lice and acts as a wormer for everything apart from tapeworm (i think - but check with vet)
 
If you want a copy of the very very long PM I do on keeping hairy horses mite free with show condition feather, send me a PM and I will send it to you. It should cover everything you want (and probably a lot you don't) to know about how to deal with hairy horses.
 
yep, frontline worked for us too. read about from this forum and it did work. had to get it from vets as prescription only med. but prob cheaper that gettting vet out! plus can use remainder on cat!
 
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