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Post by plainbrownwrapper on Sept 15, 2009 18:48:30 GMT -5
I brought my sweet boy in for a good grooming and lo and behold his legs had BOT EGGS!! I just rode Sunday and no eggs not one . I bathed him and groomed him and today...ugh  Tis the season |
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Post by mes on Sept 15, 2009 19:21:28 GMT -5
I never had Bots until my one horse was at the trainer's barn. Six or seven years with no Bots. Now I watch for them.
Yucky things.
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Post by plainbrownwrapper on Sept 16, 2009 6:13:53 GMT -5
Needless to say I will be picking and clipping them off.
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Post by guiltygirl on Sept 18, 2009 17:09:23 GMT -5
I haven't seen bots on a horse since I was 12 years old-and I am 47  |
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Post by Deb on Sept 19, 2009 9:31:32 GMT -5
I have been thinking on your Bot Egg problem ever since you posted it, 'cause I've kept on trying to remember what it was that I used to remove them along with a Bot Egg Comb. It was straight Avon's Skin-So-Soft. I applied the S-S-S with a rag then the eggs slid right off. Since my Candy and Cody are "Senior Citizens" now and kept up in drylot they don't get the Bot Eggs like they did when pastured 24/7.
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Post by filly on Sept 20, 2009 0:52:49 GMT -5
I have to kind of laugh at this because I moved to Southern California and I was stuck with all these bot knives and I threw them out because they were rusty and there ARE no bots out here, thank goodness! I remember those little yellow flecks all over the legs and the flies were gross!  Not only could you use the knife, I think there used to be some pumice stone that you could also use but I like Deb's idea of skin so soft. Not only would it pull off the bots, but it's a great fly repellent for some horses (I say some, because sometimes it doesn't seem to work) |
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Post by Rusty on Sept 20, 2009 13:46:53 GMT -5
We had bots eggs on 3 horses this year --- first time I've ever seen them and I've been frequenting the same barn for over 12 years. I used the 'grooming block', kind of like the pumice mentioned by filly. Works great. I don't think it is made of pumice, but it is a bit crumbly and they sell them in tack shops and (in different packaging) in hardware stores for cleaning BBQ grills and as sanding blocks.
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Post by fancyhorse on Sept 23, 2009 13:42:06 GMT -5
Filly - You sure no bot egg can be here in CA. A fellow boarding mentioned she saw some on her horse the other day!
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Post by elizabethann on Sept 25, 2009 22:51:04 GMT -5
Uh oh...I have never had a horse with bot eggs. I think I've seen pictures though. Living in the SF bay area I can't recall anyone every having them. But now I'm in Missouri, and my horse is in pasture 24/7, what are they? What do I do?
I swear there should be a horse manual for every state! Everything I fed or do with my horse is completely different here! I had a horse for 15 years out there and just about everything is different here. And everyone wants to tell me what to do......
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Post by Rusty on Sept 26, 2009 7:46:48 GMT -5
Lots of info on equine bot flies, equine bot eggs if you google it. The short answer about what they do is "nothing nice", but not the end of the world. A manageable issue. The flies look like bees, but don't sting/bite. They leave irritating/itchy eggs in late summer/early fall on body parts horses can reach with their mouths (think front legs, shoulders/flanks). They look like little yellow seeds or splinters (tiny, but visible) and are sticky (don't brush off easily). Some are layed under chin (close to mouth). The egg hatching is triggered by the horses' saliva and the larvae travel from horse's mouth to their stomach where they are 'worms' for the winter and the larvae then get pooped out in the spring to start the whole cycle again. If you scrape off the eggs the parasite burden is lessened for your horse. The larvae can be killed with ivermectin administered after what we would refer to here as a 'killing frost' or 'hard frost' (not the occasional light frosts). You can deworm before that according to your usual schedule, but until the flies are finished laying, your horses would keep ingesting more eggs. I'm sure others have more detailed info or experience. One web-site stated that equine bot flies are very fast and can maintain sufficient speed to lay eggs on a trotting horse.
I'm glad to hear the folks in Missouri are stepping up to share their knowledge of local conditions and practices to help you and your horse safely transition to the new environment, though I'm sure it can be frustrating to be given an overload of new do's and don'ts. Sometimes too much help is no help at all. Maybe you could consider the advice from one or two who's horses strike you as happy and healthy and politely thank the rest for caring. It's hard to hear when everyone is talking at you. Once you're feeling more comfortable, I'm sure you'll have some SF style horse care tips that can work well in your new home.
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Post by horsepix on Sept 30, 2009 11:36:06 GMT -5
In my experience, if you're in a fairly isolated area (regarding population of horses) bots can be controlled by worming at the correct times of the year (based on the frosts as mentioned above).
I currently board at a fairly isolated facility (there aren't other horses around for at least a mile in any given direction), so its easy to remain fairly bot-free. However at other facilities I've boarded at, which were in the midst of a large general horse population, it was much harder to control bots because not all the horses in the surrounding areas were on the same worming schedule.
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Post by Deb on Oct 4, 2009 11:50:10 GMT -5
I echo Rusty's comments. I am a SW Missourian transplanted from NE Oklahoma. Bot flies are very common as are their eggs on the bodies of the horse, as already mentioned. The eggs occur on the lower legs, chest and the mane sometimes. They are tiny yellow specks in these areas.
I have been trying to remember the exact name of the "black pumice block" already mentioned. It is a Farnum Brand product and works very well along with a serrated Bot Knife blade and Avon Skin-So-Soft.
Even though I have kept up a steady every 8 week worming schedule on my Candy and Cody and using a rotation of wormer's I still see telltale signs of occasional Bot larvae and Bot eggs.
It is a constant that needs to be kept on "top of".
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Post by plainbrownwrapper on Oct 6, 2009 18:51:07 GMT -5
I was and am diligent about the removal of the bot eggs. I do keep a regular worming schedule. However I have noticed that it wa a short lived episode so I am inclined to think that even though there are numerous horses around me my worming program is curbing the"invasion"[for lack of a better word]. They are just aggrivating and when you think of the nastiness of them ...ick
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Tis the season
