Get Ticked Off At Ticks
GROOMING BOX
Get Ticked Off At Ticks Ticks may cause skin problems, diseases, even headshaking. Know how to find, remove and prevent them. body, sometimes in large numt least 13 different tick bers, and may cause itching, skin species feed on horses. damage, hair loss and anemia. They transmit disease Ticks often prefer to attach in organisms including Lyme, Basecluded areas, such as under besia and Ehrlichia. One tick the tail, in the mane and tail, may even carry more than one of these diseases. behind the elbow, under fetlock Tick-related skin irritations hair, even under saddles or girths and infections in the mane and if picked up when riding. One species prefers the ears tail can go unnoticed until they Studies in animals other than horses show ivermectin helps and may attach deeply in the reach the stage of oozing, mat- kill attached ticks. ear. Ear ticks can cause head ting and hair loss. shyness, bridling problems, touchy ears, secondary inSpring and summer are considered “tick season,” but fections, severe head rubbing, headshaking and a miserthere is also a winter tick in some areas. Once larvae are able attitude. Ear ticks are painful. Some horses may on the animal in the fall, it goes through its life stages on show head tilt and spasm that can be confused with a the host, dropping off in early spring, after the females neurological disease like EPM. feed and engorge. They can be found anywhere on the
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PREVENTION Checking your horses daily for ticks and removing them immediately reduces the chance of skin infections and disease transmission, but nymphs and larvae are almost microscopic. Even adult ticks are actually quite small when not engorged. You can work to reduce tick infestation if you: • Keep pastures mowed to encourage drying. • Remove areas of brush. • Use permethrin sprays, as they have the best repellent action. Saturate the hair of the lower legs, mane and tail down to the skin. Apply to face and ears with a rag. REMOVAL If you find an attached tick, use tweezers to grasp its head as close to the skin and pull it straight out. Pulling the tick by the body can squeeze the disease-carrying contents of the tick into the bite wound. Twisting may cause parts of the head or mouth to break off. Don’t smother the tick in irritant substances like nail polish, petroleum jelly or essential oils or try to burn him off. They won’t kill the tick or make him “let go.” However, they can cause the tick to regurgitate into the wound and increase the risk of disease transmission. Deep ear ticks that can’t be easily grasped can be treated by your veterinarian with Lindane or ivermectin solution into the ear and administration of ivermectin orally.
DEWORMERS FOR DETICKING Although studies haven’t been done specifically in horses, the oral administration of ivermectin at doses at or below those used for deworming have been shown to kill from 70 to 90% of attached ticks on dogs, cattle, goats and sheep. One treatment can also reduce the number of feeding ticks and make those that do attach drop off sooner. Whether this will work or not on your horses is not proven, but if you’re using ivermectin to deworm your horse, you may also be helping avoid ticks. H J
Building Immunity To Ticks Tick infestation may vary widely between animals under similar levels of exposure. This was originally believed due to some animals simply being more attractive to ticks, but recent research has documented that repeated low-level exposures can result in the development of antibodies to tick saliva. They don’t stop the ticks from attaching but do make them stop feeding and drop off after a short time. This is particularly important in terms of disease transmission, since it’s dependent upon both the amount of time the tick stays attached and the action of the tick’s saliva in the tissues. The ability to mount an immune response varies between individuals and the species of tick.
Get Ticked Off At Ticks Ticks may cause skin problems, diseases, even headshaking. Know how to find, remove and prevent them. body, sometimes in large numt least 13 different tick bers, and may cause itching, skin species feed on horses. damage, hair loss and anemia. They transmit disease Ticks often prefer to attach in organisms including Lyme, Basecluded areas, such as under besia and Ehrlichia. One tick the tail, in the mane and tail, may even carry more than one of these diseases. behind the elbow, under fetlock Tick-related skin irritations hair, even under saddles or girths and infections in the mane and if picked up when riding. One species prefers the ears tail can go unnoticed until they Studies in animals other than horses show ivermectin helps and may attach deeply in the reach the stage of oozing, mat- kill attached ticks. ear. Ear ticks can cause head ting and hair loss. shyness, bridling problems, touchy ears, secondary inSpring and summer are considered “tick season,” but fections, severe head rubbing, headshaking and a miserthere is also a winter tick in some areas. Once larvae are able attitude. Ear ticks are painful. Some horses may on the animal in the fall, it goes through its life stages on show head tilt and spasm that can be confused with a the host, dropping off in early spring, after the females neurological disease like EPM. feed and engorge. They can be found anywhere on the
A
PREVENTION Checking your horses daily for ticks and removing them immediately reduces the chance of skin infections and disease transmission, but nymphs and larvae are almost microscopic. Even adult ticks are actually quite small when not engorged. You can work to reduce tick infestation if you: • Keep pastures mowed to encourage drying. • Remove areas of brush. • Use permethrin sprays, as they have the best repellent action. Saturate the hair of the lower legs, mane and tail down to the skin. Apply to face and ears with a rag. REMOVAL If you find an attached tick, use tweezers to grasp its head as close to the skin and pull it straight out. Pulling the tick by the body can squeeze the disease-carrying contents of the tick into the bite wound. Twisting may cause parts of the head or mouth to break off. Don’t smother the tick in irritant substances like nail polish, petroleum jelly or essential oils or try to burn him off. They won’t kill the tick or make him “let go.” However, they can cause the tick to regurgitate into the wound and increase the risk of disease transmission. Deep ear ticks that can’t be easily grasped can be treated by your veterinarian with Lindane or ivermectin solution into the ear and administration of ivermectin orally.
DEWORMERS FOR DETICKING Although studies haven’t been done specifically in horses, the oral administration of ivermectin at doses at or below those used for deworming have been shown to kill from 70 to 90% of attached ticks on dogs, cattle, goats and sheep. One treatment can also reduce the number of feeding ticks and make those that do attach drop off sooner. Whether this will work or not on your horses is not proven, but if you’re using ivermectin to deworm your horse, you may also be helping avoid ticks. H J
Building Immunity To Ticks Tick infestation may vary widely between animals under similar levels of exposure. This was originally believed due to some animals simply being more attractive to ticks, but recent research has documented that repeated low-level exposures can result in the development of antibodies to tick saliva. They don’t stop the ticks from attaching but do make them stop feeding and drop off after a short time. This is particularly important in terms of disease transmission, since it’s dependent upon both the amount of time the tick stays attached and the action of the tick’s saliva in the tissues. The ability to mount an immune response varies between individuals and the species of tick.
