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  Discussion on Weanlings with many ticks
Author Message
New Member:
Christel

Posted on Saturday, Nov 26, 2005 - 12:11 pm:

Hi Dr O,love this site, and thanks to all in advance for your advice.
I am helping a friend halter break 3 foals. They are approximately 7 months old and have been out in pasture (southwest Oklahoma) with their dams and not touched by humans. We weaned them last week and quickly noticed they are covered in ticks.
What is the best and safest way to rid these babies from those ticks?
We wormed them yesterday w/ Anthelcide, they had never been wormed and figured for the first time it should be a mild dewormer. We are planning on worming them again in 2 weeks w/ an ivermecticin product. Will the ivermectin kill the ticks?
Thanks so much for the convenient and knowledgeable site and thanks for the replies.
Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Saturday, Nov 26, 2005 - 1:01 pm:

Christella,
I have had to deal with thousands of ticks on pasture horses since moving here to CA about two years ago. I have been told that the only sure way to rid the horses is to give them IV Ivermectin, but as I understand, it hasn't been approved for use in horses. I wormed all the ranch horses with Ivermectin paste, and bought a flea comb and spent hours going over each horse from tip to tail . . . (good bonding time, since the horses REALLY appreciated the scratching on all those itchy spots and would even start to sidle up to me when they saw me coming with the flea comb). Once I got rid of the ticks, if the horses were kept in paddocks or in the barn the ticks didn't come back. Just make sure you have someone check you over after you de-tick the horses (if you decide to do it by hand). I was always finding the little critters in my hair or on my clothing. It really was a good time for me to get to know the individual horses' personalities and was a trust-building time.
New Member:
Christel

Posted on Saturday, Nov 26, 2005 - 1:24 pm:

Thanks Holly, I live in the Texas panhandle and while my dogs get ticks, I have never seen any on my horses and was quite surprized to see these weanlings with them.
I have always said the best way to a horses heart is grooming and food-lol. We are spending lots of time hand rubbing and scratching these foals and you can imagine the grossness of this with the ticks being there- yuck!!!
We are planning on moving the foals to the tx panhandle and it would be nice to move them minus all those ticks. Will get the 'flea comb' and try that. Didn't know there was such a thing, I am assuming it is like a lice comb with fine teeth.
Thanks Holly for the quick response, this is an awesome site.
Chris
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Saturday, Nov 26, 2005 - 2:24 pm:

Yep, it's like a lice comb, only the good ones have metal teeth and ergonomic handles ;) . . . There are some places that the flea/tick comb just doesn't work, and the metal teeth can dig into soft flaps of skin, so you have to be careful, and lots of the ticks can only be picked off by hand. Oh . . . I forgot the nastiest part . . . killing the ticks . . . it gets kinda messy. I don't know if a bottle of water and detergent will kill ticks, but I always had a hard time keeping track of more things than I can hold in my hands, so I would kill the ticks by squishing them against the comb with the back of my thumbnail. It's gross and messy . . . but it worked for me, and the horses definitely appreciated it. The flea/tick comb was from the dog/cat department at the pet store. I never saw one made specifically for horses. Oh . . . some of the ticks are so tiny, they will slip right through the teeth of the comb. I did so much de-ticking that my fingers got ultra-sensitive to finding the ticks whether they were on the tail bone, under the flanks, inside the back legs, under the jaw, on the forehead, around the ears, on the poll, in the mane, on the chest or behind the elbows . . . Those were the worst spots, but if a horse is badly infested, the ticks will be on the exposed parts of its back and rump, too, and with the winter hair length, the ticks will be harder to find. Have fun . . . lol . . . I know the youngsters will learn to appreciate your efforts.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Saturday, Nov 26, 2005 - 2:27 pm:

Maybe Dr. O. or other members will tell you that it is okay to use the IV Ivermectin. I have been told that the ticks will fall right off after the horses get the injections . . . I don't like to give injections, so I chose the paste, and . . . as I said, I think both the horses and I benefitted from the extra time spent together, so I don't regret doing it the hard way.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Nov 28, 2005 - 7:27 am:

I am not sure the injectable form is needed instead I would use a double dose of oral ivermectin on a empty stomach. If that did not do the trick get a pyrethrin based dog tick product (dip, shampoo, spray) from the veterinarian and apply it. If you are adverse to toxins you could use Frontline spray but it is expensive.
DrO
New Member:
Christel

Posted on Monday, Nov 28, 2005 - 9:47 am:

Thank you Dr O.
Will try the ivermectin, the weanlings are still quite skittish and I think spraying them w/ the pyretherin would be futile and dangerous at this point.
We gave them a 800 lb dose of anthelcide last Friday. How soon can we use the ivermectin and be safe? I was thinking we should wait 2 weeks, which seems along time to leave those nasty critters there.
Thanks again for this site, it is awesome.
Holly thanks to you also, we are going to try the flea comb too, wouldn't it be nice if they were already dead when we comb them out-lol.
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