Mites in feathers????

hadfos

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Posting for a friend,she has a shire and a cob that have alot of feather,problem is the scabbing and open sores???
She has had vet and currently clips out legs regularly,hibiscrubs them and uses a special stuff that costs £50(not sure what it is)!NOT getting any better,has anyone any experience of this and if so have you had any success in treatment and what was it you used??any info greatly appreciated as she at wits end with it!!
 
A friend of mine had the same problem with a big and hairy. She knew someone who worked for a natural company and they adapted a dog mite product for her. They are rebuilding the website at the moment and it's not on there, but if you email them they might have more info. Sorry to be vague the website is www.equiherbal.com
 
if they are mites they are common at harvesting times. They irritate the skin and let in the same bacteria that causes mud fever which is why the scabs etc.. look similer to that.

Use a plain mite powder for agriculture use, this suffocates the mites and it should go away.

If it's severe there is an injection the vet will give which will clear it up very quickly.

Hope this helps
 
Is it definatly mites - has a skin scrape been taken. I imagine the expensive stuff was front line spray. I used to have a cob with this problem - the vet injected him with cattle stuff eventually that helped - he needed doing regularly
 
We had a cob with this problem and the vet ended up injecting him cos we couldn't get rid of the buggers.

i've been told since that frontline spray does the job really well. Not had any personal experience with it though
 
By boy get's mites (and he's a reletavly clean legged arab!) when he get's them he finds it so itchy that he scratches all the fur and some of his skin off his legs! What works for him is an injection of Dectamax (it's a sheep wormer, not certified as safe on horses but our vets use it and it really works with no ill effects!) and then we just hibiscrub the raw area every day, dry his legs off and then but on Betnovate cream, seems to do the trick!
 
I used to loan a shire x that used to get really bad mites. I used to scrub his feathers with insectisidle (sp) dog shampoo twice every quarter and it worked really well. You have to wash them once then again two weeks later to kill off any that have hatched and repeat process every three months. Make sure you dry the legs well tho. I had him for 3 years and he never had a problem, then when he went back to his owners they didn't do it and he had the same problem again
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If you would like, send me a PM and I will return a very long and detailed answer about looking after heavy/gypsy horses legs that I have sent to a lot of people.

I can assure you I have a clydesdale and a gypsy cob with no scabs or problems and beautiful full feather and I spend a lot less than £50 on the remedy - pig oil and sulphur, used by people with heavies for years with great success.
 
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