Lice - also in NL

[Stinkbomb]

Well my two minis have been wintered out this year. No rugs. brought them in so i could clip Inky to check his condition and start to get him ready for the shows. I got the first few strokes off and was horrified. His skin was a complete mess, full of scabs and he looked moth eaten. I wasnt sure what it was so thought id better clip Ty too. Well its definatley lice. hundreds of them . I feel so bad ive never had a horse with lice but there coats have been so thick you just couldnt tell. I swear it was 2 inches in some places.

So.... wasnt intending on a full clip but Inkys all off and clippers gave way half way through Ty so going to finish him off tomorrow. Ive some medicated shampoo and louse powder, so baths tomorrow and im to pick some spray thingy from the vets too.

So is there anything else i can do to get rid of the frecking buggers?? ive two really nice deep shavings bed i presume ill have to empty tomorrow. I was going to just put a couple of slices of straw down for each of them and totally clear the beds every day till they have gone. Ive also had to rug them tonight but after the bath and powder ill replace those with clean ones. Any other suggestions?? Im totally gutted. inkys coat is ruined, no shows for several months now and i feel ive let them down

Also they havent been in contact with any other horses so where would they have come from??

 

[_HP_]

The lice could have come from the straw/hay/foxes/etc...

I would get some lice powder and powder the beds/shelters/ anywhere they rub such as fence posts etc.

I used Coopers Plus this year plus the above and for the first time in years my shettie is completely itch free this winter.

 

[DuckToller]

I had a cream pony that got lice virtually every year - think they liked his pink skin! I used to blame the deer, as we have quite a few round here, but could have been fox etc.

I used to bath then use the organic powder. When I read the ingredients, the powder seemed to be just ground up maize so I am assuming it choked the little horrors (lice I mean not ponios!). I think it's a two week cycle so you have to repeat. I used to tip some powder all round the stable edges as well - no idea if it helped, but it made me feel less itchy

I was too mean to burn the bedding and worked on the basis that any little blighters in the bed would die quicker if they jumped back on pony as the powder would kill them off. Not sure of the logic of this but I rarely had to repeat the powder/bath more than twice.

Don't feel too bad - it's hard to know they have lice if they are not rubbing madly - shame about the coats though.

 

[Enfys]

Ivermectin wormer helps, from the inside.

Charley was exactly the same when I got him last year, although, unlike your chaps, he was starving and dehydrated too. I clipped, de-wormed, medicated shampoo'd, powdered and rugged. The scabs etc cleared up very quickly as soon as the little blighters weren't chewing on him. No reflection on your management whatsoever.

Hope they are lice and scab free very soon.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Frontline spray actually works but don't forget, whatever treatment you use, repeat after 10 - 14 days to zap any eggs as they hatch.

 

[Faithkat]

As Enfys says, ivermectin wormer works well. I used Derbac M (around £9 from Superdrug/Boots)on a lousy NF yearling. Spray?pour it on, works brilliantly and smells lovely! Works on sarcoptic mange too.

 

[PennyJ]

I use ant powder (contains the permethrins that are now forbidden in horsey louse powder) on my forest run mare who is suffering from them. Together with the Ivermectin, it does the job and I can't complain at £3.99 a bottle.

I would have thought that you don't really need to change the bedding as Its the pony they are interested in, they can't survive for long in the bedding without feeding off the pony surely?

 

[Dolcé]

deosect, brilliant stuff and also doubles up as a long lasting fly repellent (which is good as it is expensive)we sprayed all the rugs too but they probably should have been washed.