Bot flies...

I was wondering if anyone has anything they use to rid their horses of bot flies. I am almost positive that is what it is. I have wormed with an Ivermectin paste this time and it seems to not be helping. Any ideas?

You need to get them off their legs or body. There are several items for sale to remove them, such as bot blocks or scrapers. You can also clip them off. You need to be able to dispose of what you have scraped off so that they don't become re-infected.

Worming will not get them off the body but it will stop the cycle inside the horse.

Here in Canada once we get hit with a hard frost we worm with Ivermectin and then again in the spring to ensure you break the cycle.

Have you considered doing a fecal count? What is making you believe there's a problem?

We have 4 horses. They get brushed down at least every other day. I use a bot knife on them when I brush them to make sure they don't have any eggs. I previously owned two mini horses and they got down in weight. I was told by the vet that it was bot flies. My fillie is losing weight. She is 8 months old and on grain and hay. Same as my other horses. I know she eats good, but you can barley see her ribs. So that is the only thing I can come up with.

Get a fecal count done. It's cheap insurance, there about 15-35 dollars depending where your located.

When you say the 8 month old is on the same food as the other horse's are they young ones as well? Young horse's have different nutritional needs. What type of grain and how much? How may pounds of hay per day.

Another thing to keep in mind is that they go through growth spurts and that can make them look ungainly. Can you post a picture?

I am feeding Strategy, which is the best feed they offer here in east texas. She is being fed 2 pounds of that a day and free choice tipton hay. She is my youngest horse, however she is taken out of the pasture to feed, so that my older ones don't run her off. I will take a picture of her this evening and upload it tomorrow. I don't have any of her as she looks right now.

Have you had her teeth checked?

No, our vet told us we didn't have to worry about it until about 1 1/2 to 2 years old.

It's never too early to have a dental exam. You would want to make sure the teeth are coming in properly and aligned.

Yep, it's not really likely that bot fly larva are causing weight loss. A fecal exam would be a very good idea, though getting one done right after using ivermectin is likely to just give you a negative result because of the dewormer and not tell you what kind of parasites your horse is picking up from the pasture.

How old is this horse and what breed? Is the hay you are feeding really good quality? And you say it's free-choice--available 24/7?

Besides the last deworming with ivermectin, what is her deworming history like? What kind of pasture situation is there---other horses, feces picked up, etc? Being that you are in Texas, you are seeing the time of year with the highest parasite reinfection rates. Depending on your pasture maintenance, that could be really high or it could be pretty low for your specific situation, but you need to assess the risk factors and get some basic info on the kind of parasite loads your horses typically carry by having fecal egg counts done on them at least 9-10 weeks after dosing with ivermectin.

If you do want to do a fecal count, check with your state vet/agg department. Here in NC, you can send them to the state lab and have it done for free.