Tick Bites

Lucy J

Lucy J

Weaver's Tale aka Ciara!!
Dec 5, 2001
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Renfrewshire, Scotland
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Help,

I noticed my mare had a tick on her on Saturday. I hauled it off, but she has a big hot lump where it bit her. I am worried about the tick having spread disease. Should I get some antibiotics for her, or am I being paranoid?

I've never had a horse bitten by a tick before, is it a common thing?
 
You may have left the tick's head in her skin - it's very easy to do! This can the start an abscess so you need to keep an eye on it. Call a vet if it doesn't settle down quite quickly.
They're most commonly found where sheep graze, although they can survive for quite a long time on empty pasture. They climb up the grass and jump onto passing hosts, and although the horse is probably not their first choice of meal if they're hungry they'll hop onto anything - people included!
If you remove them, it's best to soak them in a tick-killing lotion first (flea spray or such like) as it is really easy to leave the head behind. It's unlikely that the tick will have given your mare a disease, the lump is either a reaction to the bite or the start of an abscess. Don't worry too much, if an abscess has started your vet should be able to treat it quickly and easily.
 
ticks should never be pulled off.
there are 2 ways to remove them

1- you buy a little plastic tweezer like thing from a pet shop that is specially designed for ticks. With this you clamp the tick and then you twist the tweezers until the little tick comes away from the animal. You dont pull just twist. then once its out you check that its legs and everything are still attached to the body and dispose of it!

2- you put oil (cooking oil) on some cotton wool and hold it over the tick to suffocate it then you grab hold of it in the cotton wool and twist until it comes free.

i think ther eis a specific direction you have to twist the tick adn its either clockwise or anitclockwise but i can never remeber as i have the instructions with my tweezers at the stables.

I would also like to point out that you get ticks absolutely everywhere regardless whether there are sheep around or not!

Ticks are usually found in long grass and can also be found dropping from trees. Here in germany we even have a set of 5 vaccinations for humans to help prevent getting brain damage if bitten by a tick.
 
Brain damage?!! I didn't know they could do that!! I just took about a dozen off my dog!! (She stuck her head in a dead thing, ticks all left dead thing and moved onto her... ugh!)
 
in horses too. Ticks cause lyme disease. It is a multisystemic disease, affecting primarily the joints, the musculoskeletal system and the neurological system. This soon you probably won't be able to tell if your horse has lyme disease, but keep an eye on him. The lump probably comes from you leaving the head of the tick in your horse, but if you can't get it out you should definately call the vet. The most common symptoms are lameness and behavioral changes. The lameness is usually associated with larger joints (not the foot), and frequently shifts from limb to limb. The horse may appear to have a generalized stiffness. Fever may or may not be present. Occasionally, laminitis (an inflammation of the tissues inside the hoof wall) has been associated with Lyme disease. Behavioral changes associated with Lyme disease are difficult to categorize. As well as an unwillingness to work (which may be associated with musculoskeletal pain), owners frequently observe increased irritability and a changed attitude in these horses, which quickly return to normal following treatment. If your horse does have lyme disease treatment with antibiotics could take several weeks.
 
the lump was there before I took the tick off, it was because of the lump I noticed it, how many legs should the tick have? I counted 6, it looked as if it still had a head, it was still alive too. I'm really worried now. I've left a message for the vet to call, but he hasn't yet.
 
Theres a way that my dad has always used on us, and my dog to remove ticks. You light a match, blow it out, and then put the hot match on the tick. As long as you do it carefully, the animal (or the people, thank goodness! :D ) don't feel a thing!

Theres also another way which we've done it. Get a credit card or something similar (make sure its stiff like one), slide it under the belly of the tick, and pull up.
 
oops again, I think I pulled its head off going by the tick removal picture. I didn't think, I just thought I better get it off her. I am useless. I am probably best to get her some antibiotics from the vet. I'm all worried now, I have done everything wrong. Still at least I will know if it happens again. that web link was informative (and disgusting!)

thank you
 
No worries. You're not useless - your first instinct when you see something gross attached to your horse is to pull it off! I've done that so many times with my dogs, even though I know you shouldn't - my brain just shouts 'get rid of it!'.
 
A friend has a horse who regularly gets covered in ticks, the deer spread them. I too was concerned about tick pyemia. I spoke to the vet about it and he reckons in GB it is not a problem in horses.

The little tool is called a tick picker.
 
i would really recommend twisting the tick instead of pulling it upwards like the link that chantal gave because we used to do that too but sometiems the head still got left behind. Nothing has ever been left behind when twisting - a proved sucess because we have been removing ticks off our dogs for the past 8yrs :D
 
Ticks

Like floppy said, another way to remove a tick is pour hydrogen peroxide solution on it, and it kills it or something. But, when you get the tick off, don't just throw it out (I like to make sure it's dead). If anyone's ever killed a tick before, you know it's SUPER hard to because they have a hard shell or something. I recommend smashing it between two rocks (then throw it out)! :D Seriously!

Maci :)
 
My horses in the Lakes used to get them fairly often around the muzzle. I never worried too much about them (though I really do NOT like them) and I never had a problem either. I used to get them myself from time to time.

The dogs get them from walking on the moors. If you don't mess about with them too much (they tend to grip tighter!) wait till they're big enough to get hold of, then twist anti-clockwise, they're quite easy to get off without leaving the heads behind. The head is also quite easy to see - it's usually waving about wondering where the dog went! I always take a quick peek before I dispose (like you, Floppy, down the loo).
 
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