Mites! Your remedies and potions please

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NooNoo59

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Following on from greasy feathers I now have an incident of mites, I thought I was on top of it with Farriers Mite spray but she is kicking again. I have the Selsun shampoo so giving that a go. Has anyone tried Old Horse Remedies mitey feathers or Farriers mite shampoo? Where she is kicking its spoiling her back feathers so want it stopped. She seems fine on her fronts but should I treat them as well? Never had a hairy before and mindful of spending a fortune on many potions which then sit in the cupboard! I do not want to clip them off as I want to try showing as a traditional. Thanks all!
 
Dectomax injection from the vet. Or they can prescribe an ivermectin wash. I sorted my cob with Dectomax and neem oil washes. I did have to clip her feather to get to the skin. This was seven years ago, and she hasn't itched since.

If you are going to use topical treatment, do the whole legs and under the belly, as mites can be transferred.

I would call the vet and ask their advice though. It must be thoroughly miserable to be so itchy all the time.
 
Yes, you should treat the front legs too. Selsun does nothing for mites. It's more for mallenders/sallenders. Dectomax injections or if that doesn't work, get the stuff for cattle. It's not licensed for horses, so you have to tell a white lie when ordering but it works on mine (nothing else does).
 
I've been looking into this as Ozzy almost certainly has mites and probably CPL.

The CPL CIC website, which is a mine of information, suggests that topical moxidectin is the best thing (available as a cattle treatment called Cydectin). It's not licensed for horses but by all accounts it works extremely well. The downside is that you have to buy it in huge quantities and it's not cheap.
Frontline spray is reputed to work OK.
The interesting thing is the claim that systemic treatments and things like Deosect are often not effective because they are intended for biting insects, which feather mites are not - they are surface feeders, living off skin debris (common in feathered horses).

Other people have said that the Equimins mite and lice lotion has worked for them where other things have failed.

I have to say that I have not yet tried any of these things so I can't recommend them (or otherwise) - just thought that the research was quite interesting!
However, I can't say I'm keen to part with £100 or so for industrial quantities of Cydectin!
 
I’m currently in the process of trying to evict the buggers from my lovely cob! I also haven’t clipped the feathers but I’m still getting somewhere with it 🫣

I’ve been using farrier’s formula spray (daily for the first few days then weekly). Which definitely had a massive effect, she immediately stopped itching. You have to really get down to the skin, it took well over an hour to do all four feet.

Even though the spray seems to be doing an excellent job, l’ve also decided to use the ivermectin drip-on to really knock them back. I just did the first dose today so I’ll let you know how it goes!

Once they seem to be gone I think I’ll continue to do weekly farrier’s spray treatments for a few months. I may also continue with monthly treatments with the spray to prevent return because mites seem to live in hay/bedding/everywhere!

The only things my vet recommend are ivermectin, farrier’s and possibly sulphur. Apparently they’ve developed resistance to frontline. I’d have a chat with your vet about it if you can, we found it really eye-opening and useful.

I wish you luck with your battle against the annoying buggers!
 
HaplessHorse said:
I’m currently in the process of trying to evict the buggers from my lovely cob! I also haven’t clipped the feathers but I’m still getting somewhere with it 🫣

I’ve been using farrier’s formula spray (daily for the first few days then weekly). Which definitely had a massive effect, she immediately stopped itching. You have to really get down to the skin, it took well over an hour to do all four feet.

Even though the spray seems to be doing an excellent job, l’ve also decided to use the ivermectin drip-on to really knock them back. I just did the first dose today so I’ll let you know how it goes!

Once they seem to be gone I think I’ll continue to do weekly farrier’s spray treatments for a few months. I may also continue with monthly treatments with the spray to prevent return because mites seem to live in hay/bedding/everywhere!

The only things my vet recommend are ivermectin, farrier’s and possibly sulphur. Apparently they’ve developed resistance to frontline. I’d have a chat with your vet about it if you can, we found it really eye-opening and useful.

I wish you luck with your battle against the annoying buggers!
Click to expand...
So that's the farriers formula mites spray?
 
Echo a pipette of frontline massaged in well so it goes down to the skin. Dectomax worked for a couple of months but even with cleaning and disinfecting the stable they still came back. The frontline seems to have done the trick though! I had a happier horse within a couple of days! Another thing we are trialling on the friesian for his unknown skin condition is scalibor dog collars (he has one around each fetlock) to see if it is some sort of parasite and whether these will get it under control. There has been a slight improvement in his legs but I do think he has multiple issues going on with them.
 
My vet prescribed the cattle stuff (Ivermectin) off licence for my little rescue cob. He'd had Dectomax injections which hadn't worked. I seem to have to re treat about every 3 months, but in between times no itching.
 
HaplessHorse said:
The only things my vet recommend are ivermectin, farrier’s and possibly sulphur. Apparently they’ve developed resistance to frontline.
Click to expand...
My vet said the same, because people use a single dose of frontline, the horse stops itching and they don't do the repeat treatments! Proper frontline dosing sorted my friend's gelding, but it was a pain in the bum!
 
Selsun 2.5% has kept my old cob clear for years. You are correct in saying that mites are debris feeders, not blood feeders, and removing the food source will clear the mites. Yes, it's labour intensive, akin to scrubbing a carpet, but the intense itching stops within 24 hours. It might be worth checking for thrush too, as this will also cause itching and stamping.
 
Large Dog sized Fipronil pipettes, one on each leg behind the heel, works grand.
However, I'd have a good rummage/look in there to check for any signs of CPL, or any other signs of wounds or damage from stamping/chewing/kicking.
 
I've used the Farriers Mite shampoo after a recommendation on here- it worked really well for T. Didn't bother with the spray as he can be a bit funny with sprays sometimes, and thought by the time I'd mucked around trying to use it I may as well have just washed his legs 😅

I really rubbed in the shampoo (used a generous amout to get a really good lather) and sort of gently scratched with my nails as well to try to help lift off dead skin and he seemed to quite enjoy it (he wasn't sore, just really itchy), and did his fronts as well. Noticable improvement after the first wash, and after the second no itching/ stamping at all.
 
X2 dectomax and some steroids sorted mine. I also switched from straw to wood pellets which I'm convinced helped although she lives out now. No topical lotions seemed to make much difference but I do comb through pigoil regularly in the winter. I managed to get away without clipping.
 
Cut off feather and then clip legs to the knees and hocks. Wash with head and shoulders shampoo. Repeat after three weeks. Remove all bedding and disinfect the stable. Do not use straw bedding.
 
The cpl page lists every possible treatment.

I personally am not convinced by the injections, they make your horse itch less but don't kill the mites because they don't suck blood. So treating the symptom.

If you clip the feather the dog pipettes are good. Tritec 14 also works well, a £50 bottle should do 2 treatments on well clipped legs.

The only thing that worked on my unclipped was the cydectin. It's about £100 for 1 litre which will do 5-6 treatments on a 500kg horse. You need to do 2 anyway.
 
I clip mine now (scissors mainly as she hates clippers) after a bad episode of keratosis earlier this year and it’s been a revelation. You just can’t beat seeing what’s going on under the feather and being able to get treatment to the skin. I wash with selenium sulfide shampoo, treat with cydectin and manage sores with honey heel (if an episode and some obvious sores) and maintain with e45 (almost daily). With the cydectin you need to treat all the horses - I also did her twice (10 days in between). Once you’re on top of it it’s much easier to manage.
 
When I bought my mare last year in May she had a nasty mite infestation with lots of scabs on her legs. I haven't clipped her feathers but have struggled for months with various treatments. She doesn't like her legs being washed so that wasn't an option as without another person to hold her it was nigh on impossible. I persevered with pig oil and sulphur which does work, but I struggled to find the time to keep reapplying and it was super messy. The only thing that has worked successfully for us is Fiprotec pipettes - one applied to each leg (part the feathers and get it right down to the skin) - and repeated after a fortnight. I think I read that being recommended on here somewhere and it has been brilliant. We haven't seen her stamp or rub her legs on her water trough for months now. I can brush her feathers out and never see any scabs or rubs. Oh and I always keep a separate brush for her feathers and wash/disinfect it regularly. Good luck. It was really getting me down last year as I hated seeing her uncomfortable, but we're both a lot happier now. 😁
 
There are a few things I will say about Mites:

Firstly are you sure it actually IS mites. I had a lovely mare a few years back, she was giving out the classic signs of mites infestation i.e. stamping, showing discomfort about her hind-legs, trying to rub them etc. The vet was here anyway so I mentioned it; he had a good look and even took a sellotape sample - and guess what, no mites at all! He diagnosed CPL, which is a completely different ball-game. We needed to clip her feathers off totally, under sedation, to have a good look. And yes, it was CPL. (There is a very helpful FB group btw for this). IF your horse has CPL, then you really need to exercise great care with what topical applications you use; I always cringe when someone says they've probably got a mites problem - as everyone then goes and recommends really very caustic stuff like limewash, pig oil & sulphur, etc etc. All of which have very real capacity to set up an allergic reaction, and at the very least - particularly in the scorching sun we've got at the moment - cause burning!

So I'd hold-off applying anything remotely caustic at the moment and ask your vet to take a look; ours will prescribe an Ivermectin wash. OR they may say use an internal dosing which basically kills off from the inside-out rather than the outside-in, as it were.
 
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I was shot down by the woman who runs the CPL facebook group a few weeks ago for saying that i had good results using the Frontline dog flea spray (which is now not available in the UK) so i was looking for an alternative on there. Apparently the sprays aren't concentrated enough to be effective, though I always had good results with it. I have since used Beaphar FIPROtec Spot On Solution which I got online, XL pipits, use 1 on each leg. Repeat in 2 weeks time to make sure that any mites that have hatched are also killed.

I would also clip the legs off and not bed on straw in future.
 
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