Treating Horse Lice

I have undertaken LOTS of internet research yesterday and today on the subject of lice and have come up with a summary of what to do.

If your horse is itchy, has lots of scurf,has rubbed bare patches in his fur, suspect lice.

If you have a hairy monster, as a precautionary measure you can dose with louse powder at the beginning of winter and spring.  This may repel the lice, but not eradicate an infestation.

If you have a lice breeding programme happening on your much beloved ponio, it can take many months to sort, so the consensus is to hit it hard with something more potent and expensive, rather than fanny around with organic lotions and potions which end up costing you more than if you had gone in with the hard stuff first off!!

Sulphur powder (for preference Flowers of Sulphur) can be dusted into the fur and put in the food (2 table spoons a day for a week to 10 days, then drop to maintenance dose of 1 tablespoon a day) to sort out any skin problems and has been used for hundreds of years (hence the use of pig oil and sulphur on feathered horses legs to repel mites.  But I didn't find any convincing proof that it will kill off a current lice infestation.

The British agents most often in use seem to be Coopers Spot-on, only licensed for cattle and sheep, but seemingly recommended by many a vet for use on horses, under their supervision.  You need a herd number to buy it on the internet and more than likely at a farm supplies outlet, like Scats, but it will be cheaper than buying it from the vets. You just pour a small amount along the mane, back and top of tail area.  It lasts for a long time but can cause hairloss or bleaching, so possibly not the first choice for show animals.

Deosect, which is some sort of petrochemical related product by the smell of it (and by the instructions to don chemical warfare garb!) is what I used today on both Titch and Patches. Easily bought at Scats and possibly online, but I wanted it TODAY!  You make up a dilution of it. For my ponies it was 2.5ml in 125ml of water and either spray or sponge on. One bottle is going to last a very long time!  Apparently it takes minutes to work and you reapply in 14 days to catch any eggs that have since hatched.

If you have a really bad infestation you should chat to your vet as he may think it necessary to inject Ivermectin, but this carries risks.

There is advice to treat anything that has come into contact with your horse, rubbing posts, brushes, headcollars, rugs, etc, but I was not sure what to treat it with.  As a cattery I have and indoor flea killer that I happen to know kills all sorts of creepy crawlies in there, called Indorex also from Scats.  So I will be using that. One vet also recommended putting any items in a plastic bag and freezing it for a few days, then washing it on a boil wash.  I dusted Patches rug with lice powder as I have not seen any evidence on him, but thinking about it I will spray that with Indorex tomorrow when I get a moment.

Had this problem occurred in the warmer sunnier weather of summer (?!) Dermoline Insecticidal shampoo would have been my first port of call.  Funny how they suggest a shampoo for a problem that occurs on hairy monsters in the cold weather (well warmth, under said hairy winter coat or turnout rug)!

I also read about one lady that felt the only thing to do for her miniature hairy shitlands was to completely clip them out and then treat.  I think that would be very effective, but I'm not sure what my baby pony would think about that!

UPDATE: after 3 treatments of Deosect at 14 days apart, Titch is now not at all itchy, so it must have worked.