How to remove ticks from horses

Ticks transmit diseases that can cause death in horses.

Did you know that there are different types of ticks that can bite your horse, and depending on which ticks you could get an infection? If you want to know how to protect your horse, below we explain the types of ticks that can attack it, the diseases they transmit and how to eliminate them.

Types of ticks that attack horses:

Horses can be attacked by “hard” and “soft” ticks. They are called “hard” because they have a rigid shield and the hypostome in a terminal position, which makes it perfectly visible in dorsal view.

Within this classification, those that affect horses are:

• amblyomma: They prefer to feed on blood inside the ears, along the mane and tail. The bite is quite painful for horses.
• Boophilus: Found in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
• dermacentor: irritate soft skin areas in the groin, under the tail, around the anus and vulva, under the throat and abdomen. The saliva of this type of tick has neurotoxins that can cause paralysis, particularly in younger or smaller horses.
• Haemaphysalis: Found worldwide.
• hyaloma: It is more common in Europe and Asia.
• ixodes: often found in deer and some rodents, they are transmitters of Lyme disease.
• Rhipicephalus: It is found all over the world, with the exception of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Y Rhipicephalus evertsi in Africa.

illnesses transmitted by hard ticks:

• theileriosis or piroplasmosis: infection caused by protozoa babesia caballi any Theileria equi🇧🇷 These protozoa are transmitted by ticks that become infected by ingesting parasites found in the blood of infected horses. Approximately 14 species of ticks in the genus dermacentor🇧🇷 hyaloma Y Rhipicephalus can transmit this disease. The symptoms of this disease are variable, among which are acute fever, loss of appetite, anemia, sudden death, chronic weight loss and low exercise tolerance.
• Borreliosis or spirocotosis: caused by bacteria Borrelia theileri transmitted by ticks of the genus Boophilus y Rhipicephalus🇧🇷 It causes weight loss, weakness and anemia.
• lyme disease: caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burdgorferitransmitted by ticks of the genus ixodes🇧🇷 The symptoms of the infection are variable, but joint pain, lameness or stiffness in more than one extremity, fever and decreased appetite stand out.

“Soft” ticks, on the other hand, do not have this shield and have the hypostome in a ventral position, which is why it is not appreciable in dorsal view. O otobius megnini It is the one that usually affects horses.

Within the genre of otobius, there are “ear ticks” that remain attached for up to 7 months, feeding on lymphatic secretions and causing irritation and head tremors. The intense inflammation caused by these ticks makes their bites susceptible to bacterial infections. They also produce a toxin that causes severe muscle spasms.

How to remove ticks from horses?

1. Grasp the tick with tweezers as close to its point of insertion into the skin as possible.
2. Pull gently but firmly to remove the tick. Do not use heat, alcohol or chemicals to facilitate removal.
3. Once removed, destroy the tick and burn it. Avoid squeezing or crushing the tick with your bare fingers.
4. Wash your hands and wash the tick bite site.

We recommend that you also use subject, an effective tick killer with which you can even bathe your pet without endangering its health. despite that subject It stays fixed on the skin and hair, it is not absorbed.

after applying subject, bloodless ticks are killed within 24 hours. Half-full and blood-filled ticks take 2 to 3 days to die, but stop sucking blood after bathing. In addition, it prevents female ticks from continuing to lay eggs.