|
|
Post by J and I on May 27, 2008 20:38:12 GMT -5
I got Cosmo home today and my fear of lice is true. I pulled out a tuff of hair by his mane and it had tons of either dandruff or hatched eggs, and one nasty little reddish brown lice  And I can see unhatched eggs all over his coat, there are soo many of them. So, my questions are, 1) How do I keep this from going thru the barn? He is turned out alone, has all his own brushes and there is an empty stall between him and the other horses. Is there anything else I can do to keep the other horses safe? 2) I was told that I could bath him in flea shampoo for dogs, so I bought a bottle of "Rid Flea" (it kills fleas, ticks and lice). Is there any way to get rid of the remaining eggs before they hatch? I've never dealt with this before, poor little Cosmo. |
|
|
|
Post by BoyleHeightsKid on May 27, 2008 23:13:44 GMT -5
I've never had hands on experience with lice but I've read that Ivermectin dewormer and a pyrethrine shampoo (Vet Kem Flea and Tick Shampoo is labelled for use in horses) can be used for your lice problem. Sevin Dust can also be used in the environment to help kill any lice that may get down into the bedding and other areas. This should help protect the other horses. Hope this helps!
Good luck with him and bless you for taking him on.
edited for spelling
|
|
|
|
Post by Big Tee© on May 28, 2008 9:02:47 GMT -5
Get some louse powder. It's cheap and readily available at most tack shops and farm stores. Apply according to directions and keep him away from other horses as per directions. They will get on you too, so transference is a concern. Deal with him last or only.
|
|
|
|
Post by TeachU2Ride on May 28, 2008 10:07:19 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by J and I on May 28, 2008 21:14:22 GMT -5
Thank you! I bathed him in flea shampoo today, a friend of mine told me it would kill the live ones but it didn't. I bought dry kil and powdered him up. Poor guy looks like a skunk! He was so good about it, what a champ! My fingers are crossed. I took some pics when he was wet, it shows how many he has. Teach, thanks for the link! ;D This is his left side, the little dots are the lice and eggs.  And here is his right, it doesn't seem to be as bad.  Body shot, he really didn't like the bath.  |
|
|
|
Post by jenarby on May 28, 2008 21:57:04 GMT -5
I know it supposedly ruins their coat (but I know "A" hunters that do this for showing all year 'round).....can you body clip him? That wouldn't solve your problem real quickly. Bag up the hair and toss it with the garbage. Then you'd only have to deal with his mane and tail....
|
|
|
|
Post by TeachU2Ride on May 29, 2008 7:01:25 GMT -5
I know it supposedly ruins their coat (but I know "A" hunters that do this for showing all year 'round).....can you body clip him? That wouldn't solve your problem real quickly. Bag up the hair and toss it with the garbage. Then you'd only have to deal with his mane and tail.... I was thinking the same thing... but what about all the hair that inevitably blows around when you clip? I'd be afraid of contaminating the whole barn. Even paddocks get contaminated by lice and have to be de-loused! Ugh! I think I would have had him shipped to a clinic for clean up before I brought him home. *shudders* |
|
|
|
Post by Smay on May 29, 2008 8:39:01 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure that worming them helps immensely, and that keeping him separated from the herd and brushes, etc. separate will help the rest of the horses NOT become contaminated. And ALSO, I'm PRETTY sure I've read that humans will not "catch it" from horses... The louse powder is also a great start. Bathing alone, even with "flea shampoo" doesn't work too well I've heard... they can hold their breath! I think you will be able to de-louse this horse very quickly using the right methods. Good luck - he's cute!
|
|
|
|
Post by J and I on May 29, 2008 9:17:25 GMT -5
This morning he was a little better. The powder stayed on well and I pulled out 3 tuffs before I found a bug, and the one I found seemed to be dead or dieing. I squished it and it was very dry if not totally died out ;D I think we are on the way. I did have one set back tho. Even tho I told everyone he needed to be quarantined one lady decided she would put her 3 horses out in the paddock next to him. He only touched noses with them so hopefully everything will be OK (I put up a temporary fence so they can no longer touch).
I would love to clip him but I don't think it would be possible. I can't even get a fly mask near him yet and it 2 hours to bath him. I think a clipping would send the poor guy right over the edge. But the idea of clipping made me think of trying a bot knife and trying to get some of the eggs off.
I wish I had looked closer when he was at the other farm. I was so concerned about getting his feet better that I didn't really think of starting treatment when he was there.
|
|
And I can see unhatched eggs all over his coat, there are soo many of them.
