[sandy2u1]

We have a horse that has lice. I have read that the lice on the horse can be treated with fly spray. I was wondering what measures we need to take to clean his stall of them. Do we need to spray it down too, or is spraying the horse enough? The horse that has them is now being kept in his stall to try and avoid an outbreak in the other horses. Is that enough or do I need to spray my horse as a preventive measure? They have been pastured together, but the horse that has the lice is sort of unfriendly, so he doesn't get to close to the other horses. My horse doesn't seem to be itching abnormally.

 

[Ryle]

Lice only survive for a couple of days off of the animal and there is really no effective way to treat a stall, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just remember that you need to treat the horse every 10 days for 3 treatments to break the lifecycle of the parasite.

 

[tealamutt]

Also, make sure that the product is indicated for lice as not all fly sprays are!

 

[sandy2u1]

Thank you both very much.

 

[sandy2u1]

Do you guys think I should treat my own horse???

 

[Ryle]

If you are seeing signs of lice on him. But you can have a horse pastured with another horse with lice and never see them spread.

 

[sandy2u1]

Thanks Ryle. My horse doesn't act itchy at all, so I don't think he has them.

 

[loosie]

Hi,

I'm sure it's different in different areas, but from what I've been told by vets & the likes, and from what I've experienced, it seems that *generally* only unhealthy individuals &/or with poor nutrition are really susceptible to lice.... & donkeys! My donk used to get lice from birds every year at the beginning of spring, so that if he was left untreated, he'd rub his whole coat off on his sides & shoulders! This is apparently common in donks. Not that I can say for certain he was in good shape & nutrition either, as this was years ago when I wasn't very knowlegable about all that & he did have a heart prob.

I've also kept my horses in paddocks with licey horses & never had a prob with mine. I wouldn't personally worry about this horse being with the others, so long as they were well looked after & in good shape. I certainly wouldn't like to keep the horse locked up permanently, as this is not good for him at all.

I use a powder called 'Pestene'(sp?) which you just sprinkle along the effected animal's topline - or over chickens or other animals who are affected by lice. You can actually sprinkle this around bedding too, and if you suspect your own horses may be susceptible to lice, you can always give them a treatment too. As previously mentioned, it's a good idea to do a couple of follow up treatments a week or so apart, to catch any beasties which may not have been in the active phase to get got the first time.

 

[sandy2u1]

Our horse that has lice came to us pretty under weight, but we've had him a few months now. Even though he is still under weight, I think we are feeding him good. We can't figure out for the life of us how he got it though. We didn't realize at first that he had it though, we just thought he was itchy because of the shedding, so I can't be sure how long he's had it. By the time we found it, he was covered in them. His pasture mates are the same (my horse who I've had two years, and my sisters horse who she had a year), the horses next to ours are the same, too. We did buy a used saddle and put it right on him...could that have caused it?