Please HELP ... I need advice

[Tee68]

I have a 3 yr old filly that appears to have lice. Poor little thing has rubbed ALL the hair off both sides of her neck and some on her barrel. She is so itchy. I have not been able to see lice but I am convinced this must be the cause. I have deloused her with powder but except where she has rubbed the hair out she still has a really thick winter coat so it doesn't seem to be helping her any. It is near impossible to get to her skin through her coat.

She is in with a little gelding and a mini donkey and neither of them are rubbing anywhere. I have had this filly for 3 yrs and she has never rubbed her hair out or been any where near this itchy in the past.

Here is my question:

Even though it still gets around -5 overnight should I just shave her so I can bathe her and delouse her properly ? I do have a blanket I can put on her at night or on cold days. I am in Alberta and we still have snow but it is warming up now. What is worse to shave her or leave her distressed and itchy like that til she sheds out ?

Please any advise is appreciated. This is not something I have had to deal with before.

 

[Marty]

There is absolutely no way at all I'd be shaving her in that kind of temperature. Please don't even attempt that now.

First be sure the de-lousing powder is properly suitable for horses in the first place. Consult your vet to be double sure. Also de-worming with Zimectrin Gold should kill lice and mites too.

If you still get no results you should have your vet come out and take a look. She may need a skin scrapping to see what the problem is.

Is there anything new you have been feeding her that she is not used to? Maybe your food or hay is too rich? Best wishes.

 

[Knottymare]

Ditto what she said

The dust that I've used on rescues in the past is the good old garden variety Poultry dust... labeled for horses. Use a curry to get it really down in that coat... and worm with Zimectrin.

I've had to deal with lice in the winter, too. What a pain in the butt!

Good luck!

 

[AnnaC]

Sorry but I thought that sometime last year we were warned against using Zimectrin Gold wormer as some horeses were having reactions to it - ulceration/burns to mouth/throat/stomach? I may be wrong, but I thought it was a no no, although I know a lot of folks have used it with no problems.

For your lice problem, I would just use a powder recommended for horses, rub it well into the coat round her neck/chest - dont forget to part the hairs of the mane and forelock (mind her eyes) to get the powder really deep down in these areas. Also rub in a line down the top of her back (spin area) and into her tail, as lice often journey up here to get the warmth of the early sun - if you have any at this time of year!

Dont forget to repeat as per the instructions given. If there is no improvement in a couple of weeks or so, then I would have a word with your vet. Oh and dont forget to dust your other animals too as a precaution.

Good luck!

Anna

 

[cretahillsgal]

Plain ivermectin will work too. And its cheaper!

My vet had me worm with ivermectim, then worm again with it 2 weeks later and again 2 weeks later. Took care of the problem nicely.

If you get warmer days and have a way to get your horse really dry, you can also bathe with a flea and tick shampoo (I use Adams). It will give immediate relief.

 

[Minimor]

I've got a couple that have rubbed out the hair on each side of their jaw/throat area; no lice, they're just itchy with the long, thick hair. I don't know what your mare like, of course--you say she's very itchy, but is she acting like she is excessively itchy, or are you just going by the fact that she's rubbed the hair off of some areas? My girls aren't excessively itchy--they've just found a good scratching surface & make use of it--the hair actually comes off pretty quick, especially now when they're shedding anyway. One mare--not one of the two that has a bald jaw now--did this same thing last year at this time. Once it was later spring/summer and all her winter hair was gone, she quit rubbing and the hair grew back in on her bald patches. I once had a foal that was so heavy coated when she was a month old (she was born late April) that she was always scratching--she'd fling herself against the page wire fence and walk along, scraping her side on the fence--no lice, just too much hair. I clipped some of the hair off & then she was much less itchy!

I wouldn't clip yet--not in western Canada in early April! If you really do think its lice do as the others have said.

 

[Mona]

Although deworming with Ivermectin is a good idea, it will only kill the one type of louse. There are 2 types...biting and sucking. You can also buy a pythrens based dog lice/flea spray and that will saturate her well and stay on. Just be sure it has that in it as the active ingerdient. I find I much prefer the liquid spray over the dust/powder. As for the itching, if it is lice, and because she's so bit up already, that will not go away immerdiately because her bites are still there.

I strongly suggest you treat all 3 in the pen at the same time, and then also retreat at intervals as per product recommendation.

 

[Tee68]

Thank you all for you replies. I will not shave her then. I am off to buy some wormer.

 

[Kendra]

I work for an equine vet clinic in Alberta and they have seen a LOT of lice this winter - often a couple cases a week!

I would suggest you use the dusting powder again on your whole herd (they could be reinfecting her from one of the others, even if they aren't showing symptoms), and then repeat it in 2 weeks. Repeating the treatment is important in order to kill the lice that hatch after the adults were killed by the first treatment. I think you should be able to get the powder in under her hair pretty well - put on a pair of gloves (because the dusting powder squicks me out) and rub it into the hair.

Good luck!

 

[Tee68]

Thank you Kendra. I have even taken the magnifying glass out there and I can not see any lice or nits but I am still convinced that is the problem. She has not just rubbed little patches. Over the last month and a half she has rubbed out ALL the hair on both sides of her neck, now she has a bald patch on either side of her tail and she is has almost bald patches on her barrel behind her front legs (where the girth would sit). The hair is all broken and you can see all her skin. Fortunately she has stopped short of rubbing it completely raw.

I am going to do the works now ... worming, delousing powder and the dog/cat lice killer and a flea/lice bath. Fortunately I have a heated barn to leave them in to til they are nice and dry but I don't like to leave them in too long as the barn i s pretty warm for hairy little minis. I only have 3 mini's but they are all together so I guess they are getting a day at the spa LOL.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice.

PS: the whole entire thing squicks me out, I am itchy just writing this post and must have a bath now LOL

 

[Lori W]

We had the same problem with two mares we recently purchased - lice, itching, hair loss, etc. After treating for the lice, we were able to do a partial clip (blanketing 24/7 here in MI right now) and have been using a product called M-T-G once a day. After just a couple of treatments, they started looking much better and were much more comfortable and a lot less itchy. It's been three weeks now and where they had bare patches, their hair has started growing in nicely. Both mares like the "rub down" they get with the M-T-G! It's a bit smelly (make sure you use rubber gloves to apply it), but it's great stuff!

 

[valshingle]

Shampoo with Adams Flea and Tick Shampoo, worm with ivermectin (monthly to every two weeks) AND treat the others she is living with! Donkeys get lice and don't always show symptoms. She may just be getting reinfected by her pasture mates.

Good luck.

 

[Itsy Bitsy Acres]

I agree the MTG is great stuff!! Also I would highly recommend the following spray, you can use it without bathing in the cold temps and without clipping, it is also best if at all possible to leave the blankets off as much as you can. Below is the link to the spray, I use this stuff very often and it has always worked very quickly!!! If the delousing is not working I would most definetly give this stuff a shot!! Hope this helps!! You can find both the Eqyss and MTG at tractor supply if you have one inyour area.

Eqyss Micro Tek Medicated Fungus Spray - 32 oz.

http://www.equusnow.com/prodview.asp?idproduct=597

 

[Matt73]

There is absolutely no way at all I'd be shaving her in that kind of temperature. Please don't even attempt that now.

First be sure the de-lousing powder is properly suitable for horses in the first place. Consult your vet to be double sure. Also de-worming with Zimectrin Gold should kill lice and mites too.

If you still get no results you should have your vet come out and take a look. She may need a skin scrapping to see what the problem is.

Is there anything new you have been feeding her that she is not used to? Maybe your food or hay is too rich? Best wishes.

Just an FYI, she's talking -5 celsius, not farenheit (big difference). At -5 (or 23F) at night, I would not have a problem shaving a horse and then sticking two blankets on at night (maybe one during the day).