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  Discussion on Lice
Author Message
Member:
Neezie

Posted on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 8:02 pm:

I am having real problems with lice on my 24 year old mare. Her coat is very long maybe three inches and she doesnt shed it out as she gets older. I still havent ridded her of lice since October last year. I have tried the following remedies:

Organophosphate powder every ten days

Over the counter lice treatment shampoos

Oral Ivermectin weekly for a month

Vet gave intravenous ivermectin injection

Scissored two lines of short hair either side of backbone withers to tail (Cannot clip this horse without sedation and vet reluctant to sedate her as her condition is very poor at the moment despite endless hours of the best of geriatric care, high quality feed, regular vet, farrier and dentist checks).

It has been the same with mud fever absolutely every possible remedy and care programme and still it is not improving.

Obviously I am upset that nothing seems to get her right and I am wondering if her age is now making her less resistant to fighting off things. She is still bright and lively, only a little stiff when she moves, enjoys and eats up her food and still chews perfectly fine but the nutrition just doesnt seem to stop her losing condition or help her immune system.

Sorry this has turned into a geriatric horse thread.

I have owned her for 20 years so want to give her every chance. At the moment she looks like a welfare case although she is picking up a bit on the spring grass. I stopped riding her when she began to lose her top line last autumn and developed the lice infection. None of the other horses caught lice or showed any signs of infection although I shampooed them as a precaution.

Any advice please, alternative remedies I would be very grateful or do I have to accept that old age has just caught up with her.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 8:15 am:

Lice are not hard to treat normally so I think there may be two problems. One is as you allude to, she has an impaired immune system, most likely secondart to Cushings disease. The other is there must be an ongoing source of reinfection. Are there other horses on the property and have you treated them concurrently?

I think at this point treating the Cushings agressively is your best hope, see Equine Diseases » Endocrine Disorders » Cushing's SynDrOme and Pituitary Tumors. In the meantime I would continue the ivermectin every couple of weeks on all horses on the property.
DrO
Member:
Neezie

Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 6:05 pm:

Dr O
Thank you for your response. I have rotated her through several different pastures she is only turned out with one other horse who does not have lice and has not caught it from my mare either. I have treated them both at the same time to try and cure the mare and as a preventative measure for the gelding. He has been on box rest this last six weeks so she is pastured alone just now.

Yes, Cushings is my theory too although my vet did ask me what made me think she had it!! Apart from not shedding her coat, its three inch length, seemingly low immunity, thick brown urine, changing hoof shape (now tending toward boxy though she has never foundered),fat pads above the eyes and raised neck glands I dont know what more evidence he needs.

Unfortunately where I am located cattle are the more urgent patients and it is hard to find a vet who is willing to do more than hand you a few needles, syringes and bottle of penicillin and leave you to get on with it. I am trying to locate a horse vet who will help. Sadly the attitude here is why would you even bother with an old mare. However I live in hope and will do all I can for her. Thanks
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 7:29 am:

The fact that you do not see lice on your healthy horses does not mean they do not have them and if they are in close contact with a infected horse they almost certainly do have them. It is just their general good health have prevented clinical signs or easily detected populations. They are the likely focus of reinfection of your horse. See the article on lice for more on the life cycle.
DrO
Member:
Imogen

Posted on Monday, Sep 18, 2006 - 3:14 pm:

I read the article but I am still confused.

I attended a lecture last week where the vet said that lice are becoming more prevalent again in our area. He said it is fine to use the treatments normally used for cattle (pour-on treatments - I believe they are ivermectin) - these are simply not licensed for horses because of the licensing costs.

I just wondered if anyone has tried using pour-on ivermectins, whether there is any added benefit for getting rid of lice if you are already worming with ivermectin, and what brand names/ingredients other Horse Advice people might have tried with regard to cattle pour-ons?

Most of the anti-lice shampoos have been withdrawn from the market in recent years and they were never that effective anyway.

Thanks for any further advice (other than to check under a microscope... I don't have a microscope unfortunately... I just have an itchy horse with no particularly sweet-itch type symptoms plus we have strange horses arriving on to the farm every few months)

Imogen
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 8:18 am:

When they are plentiful you should be able to see the creatures with the naked eye, or at least with a magnifying glass (size is given in the article) if your eyes have gotten as bad as mine.

I would suspect pour on ivermectin would provide a more prolonged exposure Imogen and maybe even a higher concentration at the skin, so may be more effective that oral ivermectin. We only have lice very rarely locally but when I have seen cases, oral ivermectin was always very effective.
DrO
Member:
Kstud

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 6:13 pm:

Hi Imogen, I know you are here in Ireland so you can use Spot On at the lower strength (there are 2 strengths but you can get it from any farm supply shop and just ask for the lower strength for horses as both boxes are identical!) That is what we use and it is very effective and safe. We often get visiting mares with lice but Spot On stops it in its tracks. Just pour it behind the withers and it will also keep flies away. We also use pour on Ivomec but it is much dearer and unless there is a concurrent worm problem as well, too expensive just for lice.
Catherine
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 6:55 pm:

Catherine my thoughts are that Spot On is both more toxic (we have had reports of problems on this site and by the company) and more expensive if we are talking about the same product. What does a dose of Spot On cost you? A dose of generic pour on ivermectin (or Ivomec on sale) for a 450 kg (1000 lb) animal should be about about 5 dollars US if you have 4 horses to treat. But the minimum amount you can buy is about 4 doses (250 ml) so that should be taken into account, maybe that is what Cynthia means. I would use it up deworming my horse probably if I had it but I am cheap.
DrO
Member:
Kstud

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 7:38 pm:

Ho Dr O, Ivomec is way way cheaper in the states than it is here by the figures that you are quoting, a bottle here would cost about 14 euros and would treat 5 x 450kg horses whereas Spot on costs approx 11 euro and will treat 25 horses. There were problems with Spot On here until about a year ago when they introduced the new lower dose formulation which had a different base and so it is not an irritant in horses. Previously the occasional horse would lose its hair on the treatment site but that is not a problem now. It was actually off the market here for quite a while. It is called Coopers Spot On and they market it in a 250ml pack for horses now. Is this the same product that you have over there? We have had generic Ivomec now for a while but the prices are still quite steep.
Catherine
Member:
Kstud

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 19, 2006 - 8:03 pm:

Hi again Dr O, another thought about the Ivomec, here in Ireland they only market the oral form for horses in the guise of Oramec, a sheep drench. I usually use the injectable iv though I know that there is a risk with this, though touch wood I have had no adverse reactions so far. The Pour On Ivomec is not recommended here at all for horses but I do not know why not. I am hazarding a guess here but the EU regulations are really tight here about any pour-ons and organophoshates because of the damage they cause to the environment so maybe we have a different base here than you do in the States. Possibly it can be used and I am not aware of it though, cost could be a factor there as pour-ons are prohibitively more expensive here than injectables or drenches and I tend to go for the cheaoest effective option! Must buy some when I come to the states next month, much handier than injecting. Did you see my question about Baytril at the bottom of my cut foal post?
Thanks Catherine
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006 - 9:25 am:

Thanks for the info Catherine, not having shopped the Spot On product for some time here I went and looked and found the prices have greatly reduced here and have DrOpped to 5 dollars US a dose and on sale 3 to 4 dollars US. So I have to eat my words above about the relative cost and thanks for the correction. What are the ingredients and concentration of your "Spot On" products?
DrO
Member:
Imogen

Posted on Wednesday, Sep 20, 2006 - 12:59 pm:

Catherine thanks a million for the brilliant useful advice! This is a wonderful website. I checked your profile but wasn't sure where you're located...? I'm in South Cork about 10 miles east of Kinsale.

I will now persecute my local Dairygold Coop until they get the Spot On...

All the best

Imogen
Member:
npo33901

Posted on Monday, Dec 13, 2010 - 4:12 am:

My horse has lice. In the Discussions of 2006 , Imogen is writing about SPOT ON .
Can you please tell me how and how much have you been using ?
Thank you, AM.
Member:
paul303

Posted on Monday, Dec 13, 2010 - 7:10 pm:

There is a lice control shampoo and spray called NIX. You should be able to find it in your drug store. It comes in a spray on treatment also. The active ingredient is permethrin.

I can also see where the Spot On or the Equi-Spot would help.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Monday, Dec 13, 2010 - 8:58 pm:

Scabies treatments of all kinds:

https://www.dermisil.com/categories/Skin-Care/Scabies/?gclid=CNuMh5DS6qUCFY9x5Qod 7zpQng
New Member:
realtree

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 8, 2015 - 1:01 pm:

Hello Everyone, I have just signed up here and have been reading tons of great information. At this time I have 5 horses, ages 4 months to 26 years old. 4 are spotted saddle horses and the 5th is the oldest, a cob-sized appaloosa. I have a outbreak of lice right now that is affecting the app more than the others. I do believe his age and the possibility of cushions dieasese has lowered his immunity. I have treated before with seven dust with excellent results. I plan to worm him today with ivermectin paste 1.87%.I am not sure if this will work for the lice.I have Eprinex* cattle pour on and would like to use it to pour down his top line for faster results if it is possible. I am sure my 4 year stallion could use the same treatment. The others seem to be ok but will need treatment also as they have some contact over fences.I would like to mix the Eprinex with water so as to have enough to treat one horse at a time as needed. Also I need to know the safety of this for my 4 month old filly.I believe that I read that 2 oz would treat a 450k horse but didn't see the application instructions. I know this is off label for this product but have used others off label for my goats and understand about using products this way.I haven't called my vet as he works with cows and spends most of his time at the local sale barn.I am sure he would help it's just that it could take days for a return phone call and he knows I can handle most issues with my horses on my own. Thanks in advance for any and all information, Lisa
New Member:
realtree

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 8, 2015 - 3:57 pm:

Ok,I went and collected some of the lice to determine which kind I have. They are the Damalina.Which appears not to be affected by the ivermectin. I don't know what a organphosphate bath is but it's too cold to bathe this old horse anyway. I could not find any on my 18 year old mare.She is clean,no danduff or anything. So,I will wait and see what you think and go from there. Thanks, Lisa
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Dec 10, 2015 - 10:24 am:

Welcome Lisa,
I have edited the article on Mites and Lice for clearer instructions on treating Lice including some information about Eprinex (eprinomectin). When it comes to using off-label treatments, these should be approved by your veterinarian.

You will get more responses if you start your own discussion rather than post at the bottom on another member's discussion. Each discussion is "owned" by the original poster and all replies in that discussion should either directly or indirectly address the concerns of the original poster.

To start your own discussion start on a Article Page on your topic. Below the article you will find a list of already existing discussions on this topic. Under this list you will find the "Start New Discussion" button. This is a good topic on your subject so you should first review the article as it will have important information on your subject. Next check the titles of the already existing discussions to see if your question has already been answered.

If your question remains unanswered, now is the time to Start a New Discussion. Select a short title that describes your specific concern. A title like "Help!!!" does not help others find your specific topic. Instead something like "Ace for Colic?" allows others to rapidly find and understand what your topic is about just by viewing the title. This is likely to bring more responses from those with some experience with your topic and allows members to find answers to their questions quicker.
DrO
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