I grabbed her flymask and threw it on her. Whistler did not seem to be bothered, but she seemed itchy. River kept her mask on for about 1.5 hours and then she takes it off. This trend went on for the next 4 weeks.
Then, I am busy doing my snuggling with Whistler and I looked at the skin on her neck. There was a very small orange wiggly insect on her neck. The insect was smaller than a grain of rice with a big head, flat striped body and it ran away when I tried to pick it off of her. It clung to the hair all the way into the house where I placed it on white paper and checked Dr Google.
Dr Google was not super helpful. I tried botflies, I tried pests on horses.... it was feeling hopeless.
I just went into the kitchen and decided to treat the horses naturally for bugs and dry skin. Whistler got vegetable oil mixed with garlic powder (bugs don't like garlic and some bugs will die when coated with oil). River got just straight oil.
That evening, I was consulting with Dr Google again and thought about lice. Lice had not come up on any of my searches before, but it would make sense. Dr Google confirmed lice. Flat bodies, stripes, very small, orange color and clinging to hair.... yep. my little girl has lice. *shivers* Can horses get lice from chickens? from goats? humans? pigs? I checked the whole farm. Lice seems to be species specific. Chicken lice like to catch a ride on a horse periodically, but it isn't their primary source of transportation.
After a triple tequila and a scalding hot shower, I went to bed.
The next morning, we went to Coastal Farm Supply. I had a list. Not all of it was related to the lice. This was my grocery list:
- equine coat supplement
- any equine immune system booster
- two equine dewormers
- one equine 4 way vaccine
- CDT goat vaccine
- brushes and equine bathing accessories
- equine fly spray
- equine pesticide for treating lice
Over $200 later, sheep vaccine instead of goat, a cashier that counted every item 6 times and ended up not charging for Sheep CDT, an "exchange" for goat CDT, we were on our way home.
Whistler has never had a bath. She was cool until I got the hose going. Oh goodness, her person was straight up trying to murder her! It took 5 minutes of squirting her with the hose on a low spray and standing there talking to her before she calmed down. I wish I had gotten her on video when she tried to drink the water. She would put her nose near the stream of water, get wet and pull away. Then she would do it again. The last time, she tasted it. So cute.
That was one seriously dirty horse. Whistler got adopted in the winter and we don't have a warm hose or wash rack. This was the first time we had a chance to bathe her. Once I soaped up her body and scrubbed dirt off of her, little orange rice looking things were visible on her pink skin in her white coat. The longer I washed her, the more bugs I found. The more bugs I found, the worse I felt.
I realize that I have fairly good vision up close and identifying those things as bugs to someone with less than perfect close vision would be impossible. It makes me think the bugs have been hibernating on her since her time in the kill pen and once the weather got better, they came out. Apparently lice get bigger with age. If these are as big as they get then I am not sure how an older person would ever see them!
After the bath, I mixed the pesticide formula in a bucket and saturated her fur with it. Meri cleaned both stalls out so they looked pristine. I went in with the pesticide and sprayed down the floor and walls. It seemed to do a good job on the flies.
Now for River. That silly mare thought every time I sprayed her I was the boogeyman. I have never seen River act so Arab. If you had any doubt River is an Arab, get a spray bottle.
Both horses have clean and pesticide sprayed stalls. They are not allowed to turnout for 10 days. all blankets, halters, brushes etc are being bleached. I have electrolyte paste for their immune systems and dewormer when they feel better.
Battle of the bugs continues!
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