# Little bugs all over my horse?



## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

When I went to ride my horse today I noticed little bugs all over my horse's body. They looked like specks of dirt until you look closer and see that they are moving a little. They may have been there for a long time because I am recovering for an injury so my horses have been blanketed for almost 2 months without a whole lot of attention to grooming. He has 2 small bald spots (a little bigger then the size of a quarter) on each of his sides in the same place. At first I thought they were rain rot (which would have been weird cause hes been blanketed) but now I think they might be related to the bugs. He also seemed unusually sapped of energy when I rode him, although that may or may not be related to the bugs. They might be on my other horse but I'm not sure because she is rose grey and it would be nearly impossible to see them on her coloring.

Does anybody have a guess at what these might be? And if you do, how do you treat it?


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

It could be fleas or mites or some other kind of parasite. What color are they and if you don't mind me asking, what general area of the world are you located in?


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## Pidge (Sep 5, 2009)

could be fleas? in that case all you need is flea shampoo...alot of it...those are the only small dirt colored bugs i can think of.

Not to mention since they suck blood they can be related to energy loss and since they itch it might explain the bald spots?


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## qtrhrsecrazy (Aug 2, 2009)

Sounds like lice to me. Get good lice spray and wash the blanket well


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

They are dark brown or black. I am in the seattle area and it has been a very wet, rainy winter with tons of mud unfortunently.


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Sounds like lice to me! Just zap them with a lice treatment and ou should be good. Do they have contact with any livestock over fences, etc.?


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

They occassionally are around my chickens but other then that they are never around any other farm animals.


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## tealamutt (Aug 21, 2009)

This is the season for lice- and they are species specific so you don't need to worry about them getting on you, or your chickens or vice versa. Some lice powder will clear them up, and wash the blanket. The sores sound like blanket rubs with them being in the same place on both sides. It is likely that the lack of energy is more due to him being out of work for a couple of months than parasites. If you are still unsure, capture the little nasties and put some in a bag and take to the vet for positive ID.


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

I dont think the sores are blanket rubs because they are in the wrong spot for blanket rubs and I've never had a problem with this blanket giving him sores.
I will try to get some lice treatment for him. Should I put some on my other horse too even though I'm not sure if she has them or not?


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## Seahorseys (Nov 14, 2009)

all of a sudden my head itches. I'd vouch for the lice. does it look like this?










given the history you provided, I think the sores may be blanket rubs, or maybe the horse is attempting to rub/itch on account of the little ******s.


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## tealamutt (Aug 21, 2009)

baaaahhh! seahorseys, now you have me itching.... And I agree, maybe the blanket does not normally rub there, but the lice would be making him very itchy and it could be from trying to rub and scratch.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Fleas are highly unlikely parasites on horses, but lice would be a definite possibility. Many tick/flea shampoos and fly sprays are also effective against lice, however winter weather makes shampooing hard. You can also find powders that treat lice on animals. Call your vet and ask what products he would recommend that you use that can be found in your area. 

To treat lice you have to treat every 10 days for 3 treatments to break the life cycle. Be sure and clean the blanket too, though lice do not survive for long off of their host.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Ryle, I'm glad you're here. I have noticed that our horses don't get fleas even when they are in the barn and our dogs have them. Why do they not? Do fleas just not like them?


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

Yep, fleas don't like horses. Aren't horses lucky?


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

When our horses had lice we used a liquid treatment - you just dribble a line from their poll down the back to the rump. Only had to do it once and it worked a treat. not sure if you have something similar in the US?


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## tealamutt (Aug 21, 2009)

We don't have a lot of pour on options here, the shampoos and powders are much kinder on the horse and work quite effectively.


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## Ryle (Jul 13, 2007)

And even the pour ons won't generally clear up an infection in 1 treatment because you will have eggs attached to the hairs that will hatch out at a later date.


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## tealamutt (Aug 21, 2009)

Ryle, I want you to come and take my exams for me- you are so awesome and knowledgeable!!! Parasitology on friday, what do you say? =P


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

Fair enough - Seemed to work on our horses though. The bottle says it gets absorbed into the blood stream and lasts a certain while - Don't remember the whole lot as this was a few years ago.

Our horses got them from being in contact with bulls over the fence who had them.


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## Rowzy (Mar 1, 2010)

I was able to find a powder treatment and used that on both of my horses. I will have to remember to treat them again in 10 days . Thank you everybody for being so helpful.


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## MySTAR (Mar 4, 2010)

my horse has bugs too!!! she is white and black. I could see them well on the white color. I was wondering the same thing if it may be fleas or lice. mine are light brown. I got her from a dealer who has 50 or so horses. my vet will be here in a few weeks, I am going to save some before I shampoo her. When I find out I will let you know. I am in the northeast and someone said they maybe sand fleas. Not sure what those are, but we do have alot of sand and rocks here.


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## Cinnys Whinny (Apr 10, 2010)

Grrr, I think my new horse has them now. He was fine when I got him and took him to my trainers, then my trainer brought in a filly from auction that a few days later she confirmed had lice. She bathed it in dish detergent and considered her "treated" about a week ago but now (while I'm out of the state visiting relatives) I am being told my horse is itching so hard that he is busting the latches on his gate faster than she can replace them.

He WON'T bathe easily...tried once and it is something in the works of his training now ha ha. Are there any good brands of powder I should get him?


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## Britt (Apr 15, 2008)

Sounds like lice... I had to deal with them on my mare earlier this year.

There are two types of horse-lice... a biting type and a sucking type. I can't remember which is which, but one type is white with a brown stripe down their back and the other type is brown. I think the white are sucking luce and the brown are biting lice (I had to deal with sucking lice, ugh...).



The vet told me to buy any old regular dog/cat lice and tick shampoo. I did and it worked great... It was reccomended to bathe my mare in it, then wait about five days and do it again. Two baths later and a week and a half in 'quarantine' in a seperate pasture and my girl was lice-free.

Good luck!


The cool thing about horse lice is that they're different from cow-lice, dog/cat-lice, and people lice, so other animals can't get them and us people are safe too!


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## sssmith (Apr 11, 2010)

ummm.... well. My sister bought an appaloosa about 2 years ago and he supposedly had "beans"... well, when we went to clean him out (i know, yuck!) she had her head pressed against his body... well, it wasnt a bean, it was a UTA... anyway, about 5 minutes later she said, "look in my hair, somethings itching".... and there they were... LICE (i know thats what they were, Im a cosmetologist)... all on the side of her head where she'd been leaning up against the horse.... obviously we checked the horse, and there they were... ALL OVER HIM! We called the previous owner to let him know bc he had 3 other horses in the pasture with him, and he said, "huh, well that explains why my 6 DAUGHTERS kept getting lice... we didnt know where it was coming from"!!!! So, some lice, I think people CAN get!
We treated the horse with pour on (for cattle) ivermectin... and it got rid of all of them, with 1 treatment... I know the vets say not to, and I know theres probably a good reason, but we do it to all of ours, even my sisters pregnant mares, and have never had a problem... so there ya go.
Also, another "no-no", but we ALWAYS do it... if we have a horse with "shipping fever" or pnemonia, we always hit them with LA200 (cattle meds) in the vein (its really thick, so we mix it with B-12 to dilute it and you have to go VERY VERY slow when administering because its very easy to bust the vein)...
Im far from a vet... but these have just been a few of the things that we have dealt with and things that have worked for us...


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