The dreaded feather mites! Help!

[ItsJzo]

Right okay I know this has been asked a few times but I thought a fresh thread may come up with new ideas....

I have only had this cob mate for around 2 weeks now, and before I had her the lady owned her just a week but I believe in that time she had a vet out to seek some advice with feather mites. There were a few option but I know the vet said do not use pig oil or sulphar because people believe it suffocates the mites when Infact it doesn't, and also that it's not good to leave these 2 things on a horse, it was the whole " you wouldn't use it in your baby so why on your horse " situation...
She also said do not use frontline (which is obvious) because she is bleeding and spraying this or applying it via pipette will 1)be very sore and sting and 2) irritate the mites even more thus making them want to burrow further...

So as you can all see I am really stuck! All the ideas I would have originally tried, I have now thrown out the window as I have to admit, everything vet said made sense and this was a big yard where the owner always called the same vet and trusted them implicitly.


It's all good suggesting I wash her down, use insecticidal shampoos etc but she WILL NOT let me anywhere near her Back feet which are the only ones with mites. As soon as I touch her leg as if to pickup her feet she pretty much falls over herself in a desperate attempt to get away. This is totally understandable as the poor girl is probably very sore. I was only once able to look and that's when I noticed how bad they were as how much they were bleeding, but now I cannot get near her back feet do any form of scrubbing etc is a no-go.

I know there is a decto injection but I think I was either told that they had tried this for her with no effect or that it wouldn't have an effect. And calling a vet out to inject her with something that isn't likely to work seems a pointless task...

I just want her to be comfortable, she is the most wonderful genuine horse I have ever owned.

Any help with other options greatly appreciated, or even opinions on the vets opinions. Please keep it nice as I am only repeating what I have been told.

 

[Shysmum]

if you use the search button, there are a few recent threads about this, lots of infor on them

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would get your own vet out to look at her. If she is so bad, she will probably need to have the feather clipped off,he will be able to sedate her to do that and then get a good look. He may decide to take skin scrapings to check what it is that is going on, or he may decide to inject with Dectomax.
If the previous owner had only had her a week, I'm not sure how she would know that the injection would not work for this mare. An alternative vet treatment could be ivermectin

 

[ItsJzo]

Someone else suggested ivermectin, I will get a vet out if that proves necessary but obviously if atall possible would like to see if there is anything else I can try first

 

[hayinamanger]

If I were you I would try the Dectomax first, 1ml per 50kg, 3 injections into the chest, 10 days apart. It doesn't work for every horse, but it may work for her. You can buy a 50ml bottle from your local farm/agri store (say you want it for sheep as it's not licensed for horses) If you cannot touch her back legs, you don't have any other options without calling the vet to sedate her.

 

[ItsJzo]

Elderly - am I right in saying you can buy decto max from an agricultural store? Is that what you mean? So then I would just need vet to inject? I may ring the vets later to find out a rough cost for them to come out and do it all x

 

[hayinamanger]

Yes, you can buy it over the counter, it's not licensed for horses, but I have used it for years and never had one drop off the needle. At Mole Valley Farmers, a 50ml bottle costs less than £24. If you are not happy to inject her yourself, do you have an experienced friend who could do it for you? You may not see any improvement until after the 3rd injection. Hopefully it will work and then you will be able to gradually gain her confidence in gently handling her legs. Dectomax will also worm her, so that is a bonus.

 

[Taisypops]

I had a wee mare that used to suffer from mites, I found the best thing for her was the injections.......but she had to get a course of three usually once every six months. I was also told by the vet that all horses in the same field were meant to get it at the same time to make it most effective but no one else was every willing to do this (which I understand as its not cheap).

 

[**Vanner**]

Don't inject her yourself unless you are experienced at that sort of thing!!!!!!!!!!

You could try giving her an ivermectin wormer such as equi max tabs. This will help to kill any current live mites. You repeat again in two week to catch any new hatchlings.

You need to get at her legs though. My boy was originally über sensitive as he too had bleeding sores on all four legs under his feather when I bought him. I used a soothing shampoo and warm water and began with hi front leg that was the least sensitive. When he realised It was quite nice he accepted it. Once you have washed you need to condition and brush out any scabs. The mites live under the scabs so you need to get them off. Plus you need to look at the damage she has. You can use hibiscus scrub for the wash stage but if you can get hold of micro tek it soothes and has anti everything properties.

You need to dry thoroughly too, ideally with a towel then wood flour or hair dryer.

She will not just have mites in her back legs, they will be everywhere, she is just showing more symptoms. You need to treat all of her.

I have been doing a bit of an experiment, see my recent thread, and so far he has shown huge improvement. I'll go bump it.

 

[Quantock-cob]

Feather mites are infuriating...I've had them on my cob. We used the dectomax injection, but only after having a skin scrape checked by a vet to confirm mites were present. That was 2 years ago and the mites have not returned.

Please don't just buy a bottle of this stuff over the counter and inject the horse yourself. That is just utter madness and asking for trouble. If you had a child that was ill would you take advice from a forum and buy some medication to give the baby rather than take her to the doctor?

Please get the vet out to see your horse first. I know it is expensive, but you have to do what is right for the horse. Take his advice - and follow it. So many vet treatments are dismissed as not working as the owners don't follow them through or give up half way and resort to "quack" treatments.

With feather mites you will find that everyone has their idea of the best treatment. I think it all depends on the horse and the severity of the infestation. I had to close my ears to many people on my yard who had their own theories on how to cure it, and went instead with the vet treatment, which worked.

ETA - I agree with Vanner above, you need to clip the legs out to wash and see what damage has been done. You may need sedation for this. After 2 years my cob still needs to be sedated to have his legs clipped.

 

[hayinamanger]

Dectomax is not a 'quack' method of treating chorioptic mange mites. It was recommended to me many years ago by a senior equine vet and is routinely used by the practice to treat this condition.