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Equine
Equine Extension Program
External Parasites
The external parasites of horses of significant importance
are bot flies, biting flies, mosquitoes, lice, horse
mange and ticks.
Bot flies
Bot flies have four life stages as referred to in the
section in internal parasites. The main problem of bot
flies is the annoyance factor. On warm sunny days when
bot flies are active, horses will fight the flies from
morning until late afternoon. When the bot flies are
present, horses will walk, run, bob their heads and
seek shelter in shaded areas. As referred to earlier,
the larvae stages of the bot can do extensive damage
to the horse system.
Biting flies
There are several kinds of flies that suck blood from
horses. These may include: horn flies, horse flies and
deer flies, stable flies and in some eases, black flies.
The main damage that these flies do is annoyance to
the horse.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes breed in water and become a pest in any
area during rainy seasons or in areas where water is
prevalent. Some species breed in pot holes and become
a pest in dry seasons. Females of all species suck blood.
They will converge on horses in large numbers during
periods of abundance.
Lice
Two types of lice are carried in our area. Biting louse
and the blood sucking louse are the two. The blood sucking
lice are more injurious because heavy infections mean
a heavy loss of blood that may seriously weaken animals.
Lice occur in largest numbers in the winter months
when the hair is long. Infections spread from animal
to animal In adjacent stalls around managers.
Sucking lice are usually found on the head, neck, back
and inner surface of the thighs. Biting lice may be
found any where on the body, although they seem to occur
in greatest numbers around the withers and the base
of the tail. The biting lice feed on the hair and scales
from the skin.
Horse Mange
Mites cause skin diseases known as mange, barn itch,
scab and scabies. Transmission is by direct contact
between healthy and infested animals, or by means of
contaminated equipment.
Horses seek relief by rubbing affected areas of the
body against any available object. The constant rubbing
will cause skin to become swollen and enflamed and sometimes
cause skin to rupture.
Ticks
In some areas ticks are also a problem. Ticks feed
on horses by sucking blood. Ticks are only of minor
importance in Montana.
For current control measures of these external parasites
contact your local veterinarian or extension entomologist.
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