Rescue Mare Itchy Itchy Itchy

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Indy's mom

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Hi Everyone

My rescue mare, Freedom, has been itchy since she arrived out of the New Holland Auction about 6 weeks ago! I noticed right away that her mane was a bit rubbed and her tail. She also had very small patches of fur missing on her neck under her mane. I immediately suspected lice and treated her for them with Ivermectin. I did the same thing I was told to do a couple of years ago when my gelding had them (I actually saw them on him), which was 3 doses of Ivermectin each given 2 weeks apart (which would also cover worms which I'm sure she must have had too). Worked like a charm on my gelding! The only difference is that for my gelding I used Ivercare and with this mare I used a generic that the rescue supplied. Anyone feel that that would make a difference?

Her bare patches under her mane are getting worse! She's scratching quite frequently! I dusted her with lice powder two days ago to see if that would help.

Could she be allergic to something? She is pregnant and I think due soon so I'd like to get this under control before the baby comes, especially if it is a parasite! Any ideas? Where would you start?

I do plan to call the vet on Monday if things don't improve by then!

Thanks as always for your input!

~Tammy
 
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The Ivermectin only kills one type of lice...I can't remember if it is the sucking or the biting, but it doesn't kill both. You need to get a Pyretyhins based lice spray, such as that used for dogs. Just read the lable to make sure it has the pyrethins.(not sure of that spelling!) You can also ue the dust, but I find the spray to be more effective. Then you should redo it again in 7-10 days. If she has been in contact with other horses, and/or shared quarters they would need to be done as well.

Another thing I like to use can be bought at Jerrers is Permectrin CDS. It is a heavy oil based liquid that you can use to treat between the shoulder blades and at the tailhead, much like useing that on dogs. It can be used full strength in that way, and can also be diluted with water for fly sprays etc.
 
One of my guys has a fungus that's driving him crazy. I had to clip head, neck, check and stomach and treat with

anti-fungal cream. Seems to be helping.

You can also try Shapleys MTG. It's a liquid you can put on the spots that will deal with lice and fungus.
 
Anytime we bring a new horse onto the property they get a bath (We do have hot water and a heater in the area of the barn where they are bathed) with an iodine based shampoo. We have also been advised by our vet to do the 5 day safeguard regimen. We are in Florida so we can also clip to discover anything hiding underneath most of the year (except for this last week when we had lows in the teens, eeek!!) MTG is great stuff although it stinks and calm coat is worth its weight in gold. The melalueca based products seemed to work very well in our horses and dogs as well.
 
Itching is one of the worst things I've had to deal with. There is a ton of speculative information about its cause. I just went through (and am continuing) a whole regimen of skin biopsy, daily washing, and assorted treatments for one of my horses. Fungus is usually not so bad in the winter, I've read, as it needs heat to grow. But another problem could be a skin infection, caused by parasites. Even if the parasite is gone, the infection could be the problem. Perhaps your vet could do blood work and check for infection. My hrose showed a raging bacterial infection in the skin biopsy. The vet could also do a little scrape and check for mites or other critters.

Using lime sulphur spray appears to be working as well. It is in the garden section, and used to treat scale insects and fungus on plants. Mix 1 oz with 1 gallon of water and spray on daily. It smells terrible, but worth a try.

It is a heartbreak to see them so miserable.
 
Where are you located? Could she have started shedding? Several of my horses have started to shed and are rubbing their shoulders enough to make bald spots. I did powder them just to make sure, but have had this happen in the past. It seems that this time of year they start to itch and those areas get hit the hardest. It is still very cold here at 11 below this morning, but yes they have started to shed.

I would check into things, but not sure if I would get really worried. Also you mentioned she is pregnant and due soon? Some mares get itchy then.
 
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Thanks Renee, I thought I was nuts, my ponies started shedding a couple weeks ago - Does that mean we might get a real spring this year?

Also if the horse is a mare and is near due date - they will 'blow' some of their coat, rubbing and itching spots off.

After you have had your vet do a work up and you still dont' have a calm coat on your horse - you could try some of the derma calm products out. Your vet should have some, or you can get dermacalm from a local feed or tack store. MTG works great on mane and tails - after washing and/or brushing as much junk out as you can. Also on the Best of forum there are recipes for listerine/babyoil mixes.

And lastly, tea tree oil helps, but be careful, it doesn't take much to burn.
 
My soon to be yearling filly was itching a lot too. She is one of those, always grubby, types so I finally took the opportunity (on a day that reached 0C which is the freezing point ;) ) to give her a bath and really SCRUB out the grime on her little body. Fortunately I have warm water to bathe and an unfinished basement to keep her warm until all that wool dries. After her bath, which she seemed to really enjoy, I used original Listerine and soaked down all the rubbed areas with that. A blow drier helped ensure she was completely dry afterward too. I also treated her with Ivermectin to cover my bases and I guess one of those things worked because she has stopped itching at least for now.
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Good luck, it is awful to watch them scratch so much and we still have LOTS of cold weather to look forward to and bald spots are in danger of frost bite.

Oh and I have seen some shedding beginning on my horses too. Only the stallions so far and not lots yet but it does give me hope (and dread lol since I hate eating hair and slapping mosquitoes)
 
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My guy just went through some awful itching - he had rubbed the hair off of two areas on his butt and under his mane.

I did a skin scraping and took it to the vet and, luckily, no buggies.

The vet said probably just very dry skin or maybe the early morning midges.

She gave him some kind of steroid cream to put on it and it eventually did make him stop itching!

I also used some omega-fortified shampoo the vet gave me and just washed/rinse those areas before putting the ointment on it.

Between the two, Thank God, he seems to be much better!

oh, and he's also on his 2nd month of flax oil capsules which I'm sure is helping also.

Good Luck!! I know how bad both of you feel with this going on!!
 
I think I remember saying she was pregnant. So I would be sure to treat her with a lice powder that was safe for pregnant mares. I'm sure that's what she has is you saw them on your gelding. Auction blocks aren't known for cleanliness.
 
Fungus is usually not so bad in the winter, I've read, as it needs heat to grow
This statement is so untrue when it comes to mini's. The worst case of fungus we had here was in the middle of winter, vet told me that the mini's have such thick hair that the warmth down next to the skin is enough to set it off all over. Our poor little guy had to be shaved in the winter and given baths every other day. Nothing worked until we used the sulphur stuff called Lmye dip on him. Smelled horrible but worked great.
 
Try a stronger fly spray (read label) and that may do it thats what my vet said to do in thevent my horses ever had lice... perhaps endure it works great but I would ask a vet first about that if you havent already hope this helps
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Hi Keri, nope she didn't catch anything from any of my horses! She has been in my backyard under quarantine for 6 weeks now! No contact with anyone and I've never had horses here (We are actually sneaking her here as I'm not even zoned for horses!
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)! I haven't had a problem with my gelding since I bought him almost 3 years ago. If she has anything I'm sure she got it at the disgusting auction, she was filthy when she arrived here!

~Tammy
 

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