HappyNeds
Well-Known Member
Hi all hairy-cob owners, please can you share your feather mite solutions. Should I clip feathers off, will that help?
Here is the history...
Our wonderful Gypsy cob, bought (from the Gypsies) back in the spring, we had him vetted, and vet said he had clearly had very bad untreated feather mites in the past but it seemed to be now just scarring as he didn't seem in any discomfort. Vet now thinks they had never treated it, but they must have given him a small Dectomax injection just before selling him to stop him chewing and stamping.
However, within a week of having him he started to chew and stamp his feet, vet came out (end of April this year) and gave Dectomax injection, within a day or so all was fine, a happy horse.
By the end of May one unhappy horse, chewing and stamping again, vet out again early June, another Dectomax injection. This time (as I had since read somewhere about having 2 injections close together to kill the adults and the eggs) I had the vet back middle of June for another injection also.
Happy horse again for another couple of months, by end of August chewing again. Had vet out in September to give Dectomax injeciton, all fine again. Chewing started again last couple of weeks, vet booked to come out next week to give further Dectomax injection.
In between all this I have tried combing through pig oil (with sulphur powder), but it seems very hard to get this anywhere near his skin (I was using a spray bottle in the end), it takes ages becuase his feathers aren't easy to comb through and he's not hugly patient! I persisted over several weeks with this but it didn't seem to make much difference to be honest.
Not only are the vet's call-outs costing a lot, but we don't like the idea of constantly giving him chemicals if there's another way of solving this. We certainly plan to keep our boy for life (he's only 6 now), so would rather not have to pay call out and Dectomax injections every 2 months for the next 30 years!
We like our horses hairy and natural, so he's not clipped at all, but if clipping his feather off once to get on top of this problem means the mites won't come back when his feather grows back, then I am happy to do this. But I'd rather not clip it off if it will make no difference. He lives out 24/7.
If you've found a way to beat these mites, Please can you share this with me! Thank you
A photo below just to you can see how hairy his feet are, so you can see how difficult it is to apply pig oil/treatment that consistantly reaches his skin.
(hope this pic works, it's the first time I've added a photo)
Here is the history...
Our wonderful Gypsy cob, bought (from the Gypsies) back in the spring, we had him vetted, and vet said he had clearly had very bad untreated feather mites in the past but it seemed to be now just scarring as he didn't seem in any discomfort. Vet now thinks they had never treated it, but they must have given him a small Dectomax injection just before selling him to stop him chewing and stamping.
However, within a week of having him he started to chew and stamp his feet, vet came out (end of April this year) and gave Dectomax injection, within a day or so all was fine, a happy horse.
By the end of May one unhappy horse, chewing and stamping again, vet out again early June, another Dectomax injection. This time (as I had since read somewhere about having 2 injections close together to kill the adults and the eggs) I had the vet back middle of June for another injection also.
Happy horse again for another couple of months, by end of August chewing again. Had vet out in September to give Dectomax injeciton, all fine again. Chewing started again last couple of weeks, vet booked to come out next week to give further Dectomax injection.
In between all this I have tried combing through pig oil (with sulphur powder), but it seems very hard to get this anywhere near his skin (I was using a spray bottle in the end), it takes ages becuase his feathers aren't easy to comb through and he's not hugly patient! I persisted over several weeks with this but it didn't seem to make much difference to be honest.
Not only are the vet's call-outs costing a lot, but we don't like the idea of constantly giving him chemicals if there's another way of solving this. We certainly plan to keep our boy for life (he's only 6 now), so would rather not have to pay call out and Dectomax injections every 2 months for the next 30 years!
We like our horses hairy and natural, so he's not clipped at all, but if clipping his feather off once to get on top of this problem means the mites won't come back when his feather grows back, then I am happy to do this. But I'd rather not clip it off if it will make no difference. He lives out 24/7.
If you've found a way to beat these mites, Please can you share this with me! Thank you
A photo below just to you can see how hairy his feet are, so you can see how difficult it is to apply pig oil/treatment that consistantly reaches his skin.
(hope this pic works, it's the first time I've added a photo)
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