Ticks

[poiuytrewq]

My horse was having physio last week and the physio noticed a tick in his armpit. It was skin coloured not dark as I’d expect but she said they got dark over time and that it had probably not been there long at all.
So I went out and bought a tick remover, when I went to use it the tick was gone.
He still has a hard raised lump where it was attached. Maybe similar to a £2 coin. I can poke and squeeze it so it’s not painful.
Is this normal? I’ve never had a tick on a horse before!

 

[twiggy2]

Its normal for a lump to be the ayer a tick, I would just keep an eye on it

 

[HashRouge]

Yes I think so. We had an absolute nightmare with ticks earlier in the year, using a field we'd never used before. One day the ponies were fine, the next day they all had ticks all over their faces! We do get a lot of deer but I think maybe they'd come across a tick nest/ nests. It took ages to remove all the ticks and they did have a few lumps afterwards. All healed up with time though.

 

[Casey76]

They tend to start of grey-ish and small/flat and then they get rounder and darker as they feed.

As there is already a local reaction, it might be worth keeping a check over the next few days for any lethargy/inappetence general NQRness, and if there are any symptoms get a Lyme titre.

 

[Cortez]

Ticks get darker as they feed because they're filling up with blood. I have lived and had horses in places where ticks are an absolute plague, we used to spend hours pulling them off the dogs every night, and some horses had their docks completely covered in them - ticks crawl upwards from long grass and climb up the tail hairs. Disgusting things. I've always just yanked them off (they used to bite us too - don't go out in long grass with shorts on!), and I've never had an infected bite, although they can swell a bit if they're sensitive.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I feel quite blessed I’ve gone this long without experiencing them!
He seems absolutely fine in himself. I’ll keep an eye on it.
Thanks

 

[PurBee]

I’d put iodine on the raised lump to help kill any bacteria possibly at bite site. Unless its a grey and youre showing imminently, then use a clear anti-bac cream!
The lump should go down within days. Lumps normally appear if horse hasnt been exposed to ticks before.
There’s several varieties of ticks - most common are teeny black ones that when swollen resemble a kale seed and fall off easily when swollen.
Larger ones, with black legs and heads but with a pink abdomen, which swell up size of sweetcorn kernel and fall off easily when swollen.
Theyre hard to get off before theyre bloated with blood. The teeny ones are very difficult to remove before bloating due to their size.

Most tick removal tools grasp the tick too tightly and they then spew their disgusting bacteria into the bite, and the user pulls with the tool, normally just pulling head off the body.
Its easier to gently hold the ticks body with thumb and forefinger - and gently pull. Never twist. Twisting will cause decapitation of tick and head left in the wound buried deep.
Remove tick by just gentle pulling pressure - they soon realise something is pulling them and even they have the sense to figure out they either let go of the skin they’re biting into or be decapitated. They normally choose the former!

On very rare occasions they bury their heads deep into the skin, and if the above gentle removal method doesnt work - its best left to bloat and then be more easily removed, as theyre hardest to pull off without decapitating them.
The reason why we dont want to destroy the tick while removing it is because its mouth/body contents can end up in the bite wound, causing infections more likely. Its far less likely to occur if the tick is hard to be removed, allow it to bloat after a few hours and try again.

Here’s a pic of a pink bellied one….a young one. Theyre normally larger than this. The teeny black ones are this size and smaller. See how small they are…hardly perceptible!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’d put iodine on the raised lump to help kill any bacteria possibly at bite site. Unless its a grey and youre showing imminently, then use a clear anti-bac cream!
The lump should go down within days. Lumps normally appear if horse hasnt been exposed to ticks before.
There’s several varieties of ticks - most common are teeny black ones that when swollen resemble a kale seed and fall off easily when swollen.
Larger ones, with black legs and heads but with a pink abdomen, which swell up size of sweetcorn kernel and fall off easily when swollen.
Theyre hard to get off before theyre bloated with blood. The teeny ones are very difficult to remove before bloating due to their size.

Most tick removal tools grasp the tick too tightly and they then spew their disgusting bacteria into the bite, and the user pulls with the tool, normally just pulling head off the body.
Its easier to gently hold the ticks body with thumb and forefinger - and gently pull. Never twist. Twisting will cause decapitation of tick and head left in the wound buried deep.
Remove tick by just gentle pulling pressure - they soon realise something is pulling them and even they have the sense to figure out they either let go of the skin they’re biting into or be decapitated. They normally choose the former!

On very rare occasions they bury their heads deep into the skin, and if the above gentle removal method doesnt work - its best left to bloat and then be more easily removed, as theyre hardest to pull off without decapitating them.
The reason why we dont want to destroy the tick while removing it is because its mouth/body contents can end up in the bite wound, causing infections more likely. Its far less likely to occur if the tick is hard to be removed, allow it to bloat after a few hours and try again.

Here’s a pic of a pink bellied one….a young one. Theyre normally larger than this. The teeny black ones are this size and smaller. See how small they are…hardly perceptible!

View attachment 75270View attachment 75271

Oh wow! You surely wouldn’t even see that in a furry coat. This one was maybe like a small Sweetcorn kernel.
I was relieved to see it had fallen off tbh, the tool I bought says to twist which I was sure I’d heard not to do because of the regurgitation so good job I didn’t use it maybe.
He’s not even in work currently and it’s deep in the folds of his leg so it would be fine to use iodine, if I had any! I’ll find something!
Thanks for the info

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Ticks abound here so it’s hard to keep on top of. I don’t bother treating any bites unless they look a bit infected as they just have too many. I picked off several this morning as I changed their rugs over in the field.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ticks abound here so it’s hard to keep on top of. I don’t bother treating any bites unless they look a bit infected as they just have too many. I picked off several this morning as I changed their rugs over in the field.

Off yourself or horses?
I’m horrified either way ?

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Off yourself or horses?
I’m horrified either way ?

I do check myself after I’ve been out there ? but luckily I’ve not found any attached or otherwise. In my university days though I did find one in my cleavage when living in a caravan on a farm whilst doing my geological mapping project. I think one of the farm cats brought it in ?

 

[PapaverFollis]

When I was in Belize myself and my fellow female botanist bonded over pulling ticks off each other's backs every evening... Good Times. ? At least I never got a bot fly.

I spray the horses with Biff from Biteback Products which seems to do a good job of keeping the ticks off them.