Oh no! It’s that ‘lice’ time of year again…

It’s spring, and the sun is out, (sometimes!). The birds are chirping, the lambs are frolicking and we have horse hair in our noses, on our clothes, all though the washing machine and somehow we end up with it at work in our lunches! Yes, we love the sun warming the days and brightening the long days of winter. But as we go out to give our faithful steed a good brushing to remove that winter coat - it rains. It’s still nice and warm… but he’s now too wet to brush. You think to yourself “next time” and you go and clean his saddle instead.

But as with Murphy’s Law, every time you have half an hour to spare, it rains.

Finally you have a sunny day, and you race like the wind to give your mighty steed a great big hug. Cuddling into him and submerging your face in his mane. You inhale his horsey smell and you finally feel at peace with the world again.

As he shifts his feet to look at you like you’re an idiot, you feel it…

A slight tickling at the back of your neck, with the sensation migrating to your scalp. You take a step back to give an involuntary scratch. You give your mate a good scratch on the wither, but he seems to be overly enthusiastic today, nearly knocking you off your feet. “That’s strange” you think. As you look closer at his mane you notice The Dandruff!!! Oh no…you have realise what that means. Then you look at your arm and see THEM…crawling. LICE! Your horse has LICE!

The scream that erupts from your lips would be loud enough to shatter a wine glass!

As you read this I am certain that you are now involuntarily scratching and imagining that you too have lice. It’s an awful feeling. Now you know what your fabulous steed is feeling!

Towards the end of winter and during spring is the time of year that lice tend to be most prolific. During this time, horses have a wonderful thick coat to hide the little critters in. As happens during this time of year, we don’t always have time to brush him as often as we would like and this creates an ideal environment for the multiplication of these evil creepy crawlies. Sometimes the first signs that we see is the scruffy skin and dandruff. Older horses and those in poor condition are more prone to getting lice. Horses with lice can also drop in condition, and they can become restless and agitated. Wouldn’t you if you had these nasty critters crawling all over you!

When they first appear it may be hard to find the adults. But if you move the mane or part the hair and look closely then you will see the lice moving away from the exposed skin.

As they multiply, the horses will rub on anything that is available. Be it a fence post, tree or side of the feed shed. Which can cause other problems in the way of cuts from sharp objects or they can become obsessed with scratching, which causes then to take the skin off and this can lead to weeping and infected sores.

There are two types of lice. The sucking lice are the most common. They are found mostly in the forelock, mane, tail and even the coronary band. They are just less than 3mm long and are grey in colour with broad abdomens and a narrow head. When there is a heavy infestation of lice then the horse can become anaemic. This can sometimes detected by looking at the gums of the horse. If they are pale and white instead of deep pink it is a good indicator that the horse is anaemic.

The other type of lice is the biting lice, they are found mostly on the body, over the backline, head, neck and flanks. They are about 3mm long, reddish brown in colour with a yellow and brown stripped abdomen.

When treating lice on your horse it is helpful to know its lifecycle. The adult lice lay their eggs close to the skin of the horse on the hair shaft. These eggs will hatch into nymphs in about 1 week; they are smaller versions of the adults and feed in the same manner. They will mature into adults in about three weeks. When using a product such as PESTENE, which comes in an easy to use shaker container, it is advisable to dust your horse thoroughly, making sure that you massage it well into its’ mane and tail and then repeat about a week later. Always check the horses a few weeks after treating to make sure you have broken the life cycle of the lice. If you find any more lice then dust your horse again. If in doubt, it can be better to do it again sooner, rather than leaving it too long, and having to start all over again in a months time. Pestene works as an insect powder and it kills the adult and nymph stage of lice. This is why you need to reapply after about a week. This way you kill the eggs that hatch out a week later. Pestene also works on mites and fleas on dogs, cats, fowls, calves and goats.

When treating one horse it is advisable to treat all horses in the same paddock at the same time. Lice are spread directly from horse to horse or indirect contact from brushes, blankets and from its environment. The horses equipment should also be treated, and if they are kept in a stable the bedding should be removed and the area sprayed with an insecticide.

As lice need to feed regularly, they can only survive a few days when separated from the horse. So spelling paddocks and hanging rugs and equipment in the sunshine will help to get rid of the little critters.

Another way to treat biting lice is using a product called LICE 'N' SIMPLE. This is a simple pour on product. It is applied in a continuous line from the poll to the dock. This doesn’t kill the lice like Pestene but it controls biting lice by preventing the development of immature lice in the coat; therefore it is an insect growth regulator. This is a fancy way of saying that it stops the nymphs from becoming breeding adults. Lice only live for about 35 days. So it stops the breeding cycle of biting lice.

Whenever you use any type of treatment on your animals, make sure that you read the safety precautions and follow their recommendations.

So next time you discover these critters that make your scalp itch just thinking about them, you will know what to do. It’s not the end of the world, but it does take a bit of observation and good management. So follow the correct treatment procedures and the lice should be gone before you know it!

Oh and one last thing… horse lice only survive on horses. Lice tends to be species-specific. So your dogs are safe from infestation. And so are you!