Where do feather mites come from

[Penny Less]

My horse suffers from mites. All summer I haven't seen him itch or stamp his feet while hes been out on grass. He came in last week at night to a newly disinfected new shavings bed and as soon as I turn him out he starts stamping. Do you think the warmth of the bedding on his legs has reactivated the mites, where do they come from ?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I conclude it must be the grass - my mare gets em - pig oil and sulphur all year round for her..its a proper pain.

 

[mjcssjw2]

i wish i knew and i would send the ******* back - i had vet on tuesday for a lameness issue - first thing he said is you had better get on top of mites again!

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

At a guess, I would say ****! Parasitical insects tend to breed in ****. Oh, & long grass. Fockers.

 

[MochaDun]

One thing I was told the mites start feeding after dark which is why you see more stamping, rubbing etc sometimes in the evening though I think when the infestation is prolific it obviously irritates the horses the whole day! I think there's probably a difference between feather mites though and what I think of as harvest mites as I think the harvest mites are just more seasonal and related to a time of year/grass and the others aren't but I stand to be corrected. I've only had them once one winter and them nuked with the Dectomax jabs which worked wonders and thankfully I'm no longer on the yard with the pony that was harbouring them in quantity so never had them since.

 

[Palindrome]

I have read that other animals like fox and cow can carry them, don't know if it is true.