Pony going bald - questions about mites!

alwaysfallingof

alwaysfallingof

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Jul 17, 2004
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Since Max has been going out into the field he has gained a few bald patches, mostly on his neck and sides. Some of them are slightly scabby looking.
To begin with I assumed that the bald ones which weren't sore were due to uneven loss of winter coat, and the ones that were sore were either fly bites, or bites from other ponies (just introduced into new herd).
However, the patches are multiplying!
How can I check for mites, and are there any treatments that I can get without getting the vet out (Derbac M equivalent or something?) ?
 
sounds more likely to be lice than mites - you can get treatment from your vet, and i think there are powders you can buy over the counter. make sure to follow the directions to the letter though - you have to treat them a few times to break the breeding cycle.
 
Thanks :)
The YO thinks that the sore patches are just due to him scratching himself very hard. So...how can I tell if he has lice? Go through his coat with a comb like you do to children with nits?!!
 
Sometimes you can see them (especially around the ears) if you look hard enough - but some horses react that way to just a minor infestation, and you never see the critters themselves.
 
they're difficult to spot. he *is* scratching himself - but the question is why? they don't normally rub themselves bald just for fun.

we tend to just treat for lice and see if it makes it better - what you depscribe is typical lice signs.
 
lice

Yes I agree after my filly suffering from a LICE ATTACK! few months ago.I noticed a bald patch on her stifle and after investigated further and saw the blighters!.. She had a VERY thick winter coat at the time so was hard to treat.. luckily a warmer day came upon us.. so I took advantage and bathed her in some lice Shampoo.. as I lathered it I could see them on my hands.. they are pretty small, but you can see them and they have a stripey body..

After she had totally dried out I treated her in a Lice powder from the local tack shop was called 'Gold Label' and cost £6.50 and did the job well.

Now she has lost 99% of her winter coat I can check her everytime I groom but no reinfestations yet!..

I dont think it helps she is kept on a sheep farm, but We seem to keep ontop of it.. I just give her a dusting every so often now..
dont worry about the bald patches they grow back really quickly once treatment done
Dont forget to treat all her rugs..stable..and brushes ect.. Darned nusicence it is!
 
I meant to add may be an idea to get other people to check there horses also.... On my yard there are only 3 horses.. but the other 2 got away with it!.. apparntley I was told that Hairy horses more suspectable and Youngsters not sure why!

Saying that my friends horse in Cheshire has just had Lice, and she is a fine haired WB! Then her hairy Cob doesnt!??
 
Thanks for the replies
I agree, there is some reason why he's scratching himself, he's not usually that itchy - he even began to try and groom me when I brushed his belly quite hard, that would usually be the cue for a nip!
Lice treatment it is then :)
 
my donkey fergus always gets scratchy at this time of the year, i usually bath him in Maleseb as it sooths, and if necessary clip him out, so tht the air can get to his skin,

in his case i think it is jsut that his winter coat is coming out and he is feeling a bit itchy - you could shampoo and perhaps clip out.
 
surely you can't clip this late into the shed as it will ruin the summer coat?

I think Bramble may have the same thing she has been going mad the last few days itching and has come in with a lot of hair loss although not scabby bits, I have a powder to use just needed to know if the other owners in the field needed to know she was suspected of having the little visitors, can they jump like kiddies head lice?
 
Yep, Shandy, they can...they'll go from horse to horse, and the others on the yard can get it if she does have it (though it doesn't necessarily mean they WILL get it)
 
I suppose with Ferguson I was more concerned with making him comfortable than worrying about what his summer coat was giong to be.

Most years, shampooing him did the trick but one year it didn't - when we first got him (in the spring 5 years ago) he had huge bare patches where he had rubbed himself raw) so it is obviously something that irritates him every year.

He had a reverse trace clip in that I took off all his back, quarters and neck and let his legs and tummy on. then I shampooed him and powdered him - it also meant that I could shampoo him more often as he would dry quicker and I was concerned that he got chilled, as donkeys are sensitive to being cold and wet.

He looked a bit like a tonsured monk but it did mean that we could get to his skin, as he had quite a long thick coat, and we could either apply powders or cream to sooth him.

His summer coat came in fine. Most donkeys tend to shed later than horses i.e. one of ours doesn't shed till July! It isn't cushings, she is just always the last one.
 
Urgh! Can't shift the b***ers

Ok...5 days on and pony, bedding, numnah have all been coated in louse powder...and he is still getting new bald and sore patches. :(
At the moment I've been treating them by giving them a thorough hibiscrubbing, picking off the scabby bits, then covering the places with greenoils gel. If it's just bald skin I'm ignoring it. Is there anything else I could do?
Vet is coming up soon if it doesn't start going away - I'm so annoyed - why isn't he getting better? :(
 
The cycle of lice is 3 weeks, so if they laid eggs the day you started treatment he can still get new ones hatching for 3 weeks, If you have a major infestation you may find that the normal tack shop powder is just not strong enough, we had this problem, someone here recomended 'spot-on' which is not licenced for horses (but is OK to use on lamb's under 1 month old :confused: ) we ended up using it on our old boy and within a couple of days he stopped scratching so bad and a month on his hair was growing back and no more scratching (if you go that route I was warned it can bleach coats although mine were fine) or your vet should be able to give you something stronger.
Lice can survive on wood so you really have to douse your stables, gates or anything else your horse is likely to be rubbing against, plus all your tack, rugs, brushes etc etc as you well know :p
I also used green oils gel on our boys sores and it seemed to do the trick.

J
 
Sounds like lice to me. A month ago, I rescued a mini that turned out to have the same problem, she was very itchy and started to pull her hair out, I was grooming daily to help shed out the winter hair. Then one day while grooming I found hundreds of little bugs, barely visible to the naked eye. Turned out to be lice, I sprayed her with fly spray that day and it seemed to kill the little buggers. The next day I bathed her and couldn't find any bugs but lots of the little nits or eggs. Since the I have been grooming daily, spraying with fly spray( any fly spray with .1% pyrtherins will do) every other day and the premises also. I also was burning the hair that was shed off just to be sure I got rid of them. It's been 3 weeks now and it seems to be working.
 
Hi,
I had exactly the same thing with my TB Perrie last month.
I started getting freaked out as it came on all of a sudden, bald patches & scabs.
I got in touch with my equine vet & he said it was lice. He gave me a bottle of "RIDECT 1 PER CENT" & told me to dab it on all the infected bits once weekly for a few weeks with a small sponge. It cost £12.00 but it was well worth it.
Perrie hasn't had any trouble since. Her baldy patches are growing back nicely & all the scabs has disappeared.
Go to your local vets a get a bottle i would certainly recommend it !!!!!! :) ;)
 
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