Lice - how do horses catch them?

[MiniMilton]

Are lice species specific? Or could horses catch them from deer or goats? I have just discovered that one of my healthy thriving horses has lice. They have not been in contact with any new horses. I don't understand how he has them. And I havent used grooming brushes, tack etc on any new horses.
I assume I will need to treat all the horses in the herd just in case? And treat their rugs too? They are all living out. I feel itchy just talking about it

 

[dianchi]

My foally got them by having doves/pigeons roosting in the eaves above her stable
Neither of the other two caught them tho.

 

[LauraWheeler]

Poor you. Merryn gets them every year, yuck. I think he gets them from the deer.
you will need to treat all rugs, grooming kit and any specific areas they have been using to scratch.
I don't normaly bother to treat the others as they never seem to get them, just Merryn I think he must have sweet blood or something.

 

[MiniMilton]

Thanks a mil for the replies. Everything i've googled seem to say that they are species specific, but that doesn't make sense to me. How does a horse just suddenly pick them up if they haven't been around other horses?

I bought a pony last year that had them (my first encounter with them) so I clipped the pony out and treated him. This pony doesn't have them now. I assume that the lice couldn't have been living somewhere over the past year?

I'm blaming the deer

 

[xTrooperx]

I once got told they are mainly from birds, but guessing deer would spread them too.

 

[honetpot]

You only need a couple of eggs wedged in some wood where they lean or scratch waiting to hatch in the right conditions they have a new home. Most louse treatment only kill live lice not the eggs so unless you have killed the eggs there will always be more.

 

[HappyHooves]

and maybe rabbits?

 

[Magicmillbrook]

No idea, one of ours got them last summer, we treated everyone with deosect. The lousy one had hundred come up to the surface, gross, but didn't find a single one on the others. No one had been out, my new lad had come onto the yard 6 months previous but didn't have any - weird.

Remember to treat again in two seeks time, then possibly again in another 2 weeks to ensure you totally break the cycle.

 

[cambrica]

Have you seen them? Only asking as mites can be transferred and live in straw and even hay whereas lice need a host to live on. Lice can generally be seen by the naked eye, mites are more microscopic.

Edited to say I am now itching!!

 

[noodle_]

this happened to mine;;;(this was just over 12 months ago)

turns out it was some rare mite that cost me a fortune to treat (as i chose bloods/bath stuff etc) some stinky lime stuff sorted it after a few washes

I dont know how she got them but she was on a huge yard at the time living out! very weird!

shes been fine since

 

[holeymoley]

Is it definitely lice? I made the mistake once of putting a damp rug over a rotten bale of hay to dry ..... Was crawling with mites the next day. I nearly had a heart attack! Luckily it hadn't been near the horses but I learnt my lesson, and the farmer came to pick up the bale ASAP! Rug got washed and scrubbed with medicated shampoo as well as the usual wash, and then sprayed liberally with a really good fly /mite/ insect repellent.

 

[MiniMilton]

Definitely lice. Light ish brown and easy to see on white hair! Don't know how I didn't spot them before. After working the horse for the first time in ages they all came up to the surface. Then gradually wiggled back down. Maybe the heat made them uncomfortable.

I'm itching again thinking about it. Then to make matters worse half an hour later i was told there's a big lice outbreak in my sons crèche. They are coming to get me one way or another

 

[MiniMilton]

I think they are in my eyebrows :eek3:

 

[holeymoley]

:eek3:

:frown3: *scratches*

 

[Bennions Field]

My lot got them a couple of years ago , im on my own yard, have been for 10 years, and no one had been away anywhere, and there are no horses for about a mile or so in any direction. Only thing could think of was i had sparrow nesting in the roof of the stable of the first one to get them. Treated them all every two weeks forwhat seemed ages, they kept comming back, eventually resorted to using cattle repellant, on vet recommendation, and thankfully they went. They really draged my old boys condition down,there were so many! They got them back again the following winter, but i treated them hard quickly and havnt had them back again, however the sparrows moved that summer - perhaps they'd had enough too! Keep on top of treatments and you should get rid of them quickly, but definately do them all together and all your rugs and stables

 

[wench]

I've been on large yards before and occasionally one has picked them up. Doesn't seem to spread to other horses, and have just treated the horse that has them, rather than all horses.

 

[MiniMilton]

Thanks for the replies. I got the cattle spot on treatment off my vet. Supposedly its the mist effective treatment. He said that if one has it you can be sure they all have it. They are a close group grooming each other every day.
There are sparrows that nest in the stables every summer but my horses spend so little time in the stable. There is a sparrows nest in my tack room above where I keep my numnahs so I'm guessing that's the source. The one who has it (that I can see) is the one I ride so I'm thinking the numnahs need to be zapped