I hate nasty ticks and bugs :(

[heddylamar]

The swelling from Anzia's nasty tick bite has deflated ... but the bite itself resembles a volcano of oozing blood and puss (I have pics). Overall, it looks better ... but it's really gross. I'm washing and re-applying biozide daily.

Meanwhile, some other nasty critters have feasted on her belly. She has a huge raised welt that's about 12" long x 9" wide, and raised 1–1.5". There's a bite mark ... but the whole thing is just huge. And she has more patches all over her belly

I scrubbed and applied Epsom Salt Poultice gel to the obvious marks, then gave her zyrtec. I try not to give antihistamines regularly, but poor girly is just miserable

Other than wrapping her in a bubble, I just don't know what to do long-term. She has allergic reactions to most topical stuff, and fly sheets don't last long. (Does anyone offer a bulk discount on fly sheets? Lol) We're using one of the garlicky feed-thru fly control systems, and it works well for the majority of the bugs. But, ticks, and whatever feasts on Anzia's belly, just don't care.

[blob]

MM is crazy sensitive to all kinds of bugs. She gets big hives and itches and itches and then makes herself raw and bloody. It's awful.

And I also found that that fly sheets didn't work or last long. So, for a long time I was reluctant to try the Boett sweet itch blanket people kept recommending. If other fly sheets made no real difference, why should this? Well, I finally bought the bullet this year and i can't tell you how big of a difference it's made. She is not raw or full of hives (except on the only exposed spot, her udders). But the sheet wraps around the whole belly and covers everythign up really snuggly. It can be a pain to get on, but MM figured out quickly that it helps her feel better so, she puts her head down for me to get it on and off of her.

[Tanga]

Try neem oil. I buy 100% neem and add it to my water where I put the permethrin I buy straight. Since I've started using it I basically see no ticks on the horses. One or two of them also used to have their midline eaten raw every summer. That is not happening at at, either. When they were raw I would put straight neem on it. Now I just use the spray and have no issues with ticks or whatever was eating their midlines raw.

We don't have nearly the bugs you do in other places, but it's worth a try. It's not expensive.

[goldhorse]

Owner of a sweet itch horse here with a multitude of skin and other issues. He's palomino and I say I got a lemon. Now granted, I'm in N. California so I'm not dealing with east coast humidity but here's a few things that I've learned over the years.

For ticks, get some Frontline Spray. Do a skin test first, obviously. If it's ok, spray it on the last 12 inches of the tail and on the lower legs.

For bug bites, wash your horse every time you see her. Even if it's just a water only bath, do it. The head of dermatology at UC Davis told me that was the most helpful thing you could do-wash away the insect saliva. This is the single thing that has helped me the most.

Invest in good fly boots and fly sheets. Keep a spare set so you can rotate. I have the brick sh*thouse of a QH so it's been extremely difficult to find a fly sheet that covers his belly and doesn't bind at the shoulders so I've given up. Hopefully, you can find one with a belly cover.

Liberal use of fly spray. My favorite is Tri-Tec followed by some Eco-Vet. Getting my horse sprayed daily this summer has made a world of difference.

Get some hydrocortisone cream. I put that on the bad itchy areas. Or I use Equishield IR spray.

Then, my delicate flower gets skin issues in his armpits and between his hind legs. I don't know if it's from sweat or bugs. This year, I switched from creams to Coat Defense Powder to try to keep the area dry and it's been our best year yet. I think Gold Bond powder would work as well. I don't know if this would work in east coast humidity. But it's working here and he hasn't gotten his usual yeast/bacteria infections in those areas.

I hope that some of this is helpful to somebody.

[Hayburner]

Is she destroying the blankets by biting and tearing them?

If so, put some chew stop on the fly sheets

[heddylamar]

Thank you for all the ideas!

This round of inflammation is somewhat under control. Finally. I've been giving her zyrtec once a day all week, plus a full body rinse and spot bath with nolvasan scrub, and re-applying Biozide to the (still pussy!!) tick bite and Epsom Salt poultice gel to the rest.

The belly stuff was all scabbed over today, so I scrubbed again and applied AluShield. She's got silver a racing stripe on her belly

Anz gets a shower every time I'm at the barn. I have a fly sheet with belly band for her, but it's a concern. They're out overnight, and she rubs on the trees. Any other horse, no big deal. But, Anz rubs herself hairless. I can't apply fly spray, micro-tek fungal spray, or show sheen on her ... she rubs herself bloody. A fly sheet is a safety problem I envision her caught in a tree all night.

[blob]

Invest in good fly boots and fly sheets. Keep a spare set so you can rotate. I have the brick sh*thouse of a QH so it's been extremely difficult to find a fly sheet that covers his belly and doesn't bind at the shoulders so I've given up. Hopefully, you can find one with a belly cover.

The boett sweet itch blanket has a sizes specifically designed for QHs and others with big shoulders. Have you tried that?

[heddylamar]

Well, that escalated fast

Things were finally looking up — tick bite and bug bites were finally decent, and Anz wasn't an itchy, sweaty, miserable mess.

Enter today. BO called me this morning, and, for lack of a better description, Anz was waddling. I took one look at her undercarriage (bites were fine; teats were swollen and HOT), actually took her temperature with no theatrics (girly double barrel kicks at thermometers), and called the vet. Over the phone, vet was guessing an infected lymph node, but when she got there she concluded the same thing I did: mastitis.

Anz now has banamine and antibiotics on board, and the vet took a bunch of blood to test for hormone imbalance and check if she's IR (particularly concerned about both considering age, plus past 4 weeks of overreaction to conjunctivitis, tick, and bug bites). Wheee. We caught it really early. She's barely feverish, the over-reaction to the uncomfortably swollen mammary glands was the biggest clue.

[Chisamba]

I was one of the people who nagged, I mean recommended, Boett to blob. its expensive but very durable and really is better than any other fly sheet I have tried.

[blob]

Yes, Chisamba was definitely one of the recommenders! And I'm so glad I finally listened!

Yikes, Heddylamar! That sounds like a nasty mess. How is she doing now?? Any updates?

[heddylamar]

Yikes, Heddylamar! That sounds like a nasty mess. How is she doing now?? Any updates?

Ms A is doing *much* better. Bug bite insanity is under control, and I seem to have caught the mastitis at the perfect moment — no crazy fevers, or additional antibiotics required.

She does have a huge knot on her neck, still, from where the vet administered Banamine and antibiotics Girly was not happy, and attempted to rear (I'm surprised she didn't break the needle). We've been cold hosing, massaging, etc. But, if that's the only downside? I'll take it.

As of last week, we only had Serum Amyloid A and CBC results — both within normal range. I pestered the vet Thursday and again today for the ACTH results (sent those out).

All in all, to look at her, you wouldn't know that 10 days ago Anz was a complete mess of allergies and infection.

[heddylamar]

Finally heard back from the vet — ACTH values were normal too.