After this nasty "WINTER" this was not good news!

horseandgoatmom

Well-Known Member
Dec 3, 2014
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Rhode Island,New england
This is really the pitts!!!
All that horrible snow and then cold we had this winter- the worse in a long time
has" HELPED" the TICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::mad::mad::mad:

All that massive snow then the horrible nasty cold Insulated them rather than
have them have winter kill!!:(:(:(

This was not fun to hear on the news AND to make it EVEN WORSE.
There is another rare disease associated with them now- worse than Lyme disease.

Ugh it feels like a double whammy!!!:(:(:(:mad::mad::mad:
 
I saw something about that the other day, it doesn't sound good but did sound like it was only prevalent in certain quite specific locations, what do you use to prevent ticks there? we are over run by them living on the edge of a river and forest.
 
Geranium oil is meant to be really good a repelling deer flies and ticks, from memory you have to be a little careful using it a lot on mares, in rare cases it can make them super hormonal.
 
Eeeek. Vet suspected my girl had Lyme's disease two summers ago. She had a variety of symptoms and was terribly poorly for three months or more. Testing is not an exact science either because her bloods came back borderline. It was all very complex. We think she could have just been unlucky with a sheep tick as we do have deer but not many and our woodland is nowhere near their turnout area.

I hope the ticks don't give you problems. Nasty nasty!
 
There are two tests for Lyme's (in humans at least) the cheaper one the NHS likes to use is often very inconclusive and gives false-negatives, the other (western blot test) is very accurate and generally conclusive, so if you or the animals ever need testing be sure to ask what test they are doing :D
 
There are two tests for Lyme's (in humans at least) the cheaper one the NHS likes to use is often very inconclusive and gives false-negatives, the other (western blot test) is very accurate and generally conclusive, so if you or the animals ever need testing be sure to ask what test they are doing :D

I can't remember exactly what we had, there was a lot of blood testing going on - I had a whopping vet bill too as at first her symptoms were so odd it could have been several things. She had a belly tap and was scoped. The thing that worried me most was the lump on her belly. And the weight loss. I honestly think she baffled our vets at first as they drafted another vet in who was writing and has written several papers on Lyme's disease. I think Storm made an interesting case! It was the oddest of illnesses. It did not respond to anti biotics (I am sure she was given some in the early days) and we prepared ourselves for the worst. When you have a good doer that suddenly drops weight its the most worrying thing ever. Thankfully it just went on its own - it was a looooong summer that year, waiting and watching.
 
Gaw yeah very scary, they never concluded what it was?

Not really. He said it "could" have been Lymes but then again, not. He also said the treatment would have been the same, ie, rest, anti biotics etc. I will always remember having to get a wee sample from her - that was fun! I filled an empty bottle of Sainsburys water! Heheeeee. The scariest thing was the day it all started. I opened her box and she literally staggered out. Horrible. I thought no way could that just be her arthritic hocks flaring up!!! She was so dull eyed too. It got worse and worse. The weather got hotter and she got sicker:( It was almost like a miracle because I had honestly prepared myself for the worst. I had the local animal charity on speed dial to help me with finding another companion for Chloe should the worst have happened. It was just awful but then after about thirteen weeks she just came right again. I never ever thought I'd be sat on her back again but I did:)
 
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