Managing Biting Insects

Ticks

Cattle Tick (Rhipicephalus australis): This is the most economically significant tick affecting livestock in Australia. It primarily affects cattle but can also infest sheep, goats, and horses. Cattle ticks are vectors for tick fever, a disease caused by blood parasites.

Paralysis Tick (Ixodes holocyclus): Found along the eastern coast of Australia, this tick can cause paralysis in livestock, particularly young animals and dogs. The paralysis tick injects a neurotoxin that affects the nervous system.

Bush Tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis): This tick is common in coastal areas of eastern Australia and can transmit the blood parasite Theileria, which causes anaemia and sometimes death in young animals.

Wallaby Tick (Haemaphysalis bancrofti): While primarily found on marsupials, this tick can also infest livestock and transmit diseases.

Tick Prevention Begins with Regular Checks

Inspect your horse daily, especially in areas where ticks are commonly found, such as the mane, tail, and underbelly. Promptly remove any ticks you find to reduce the risk of disease transmission.

A systematic examination of the places where ticks are most commonly found is the best way to find ticks on a horse:

Inside the ears

Inside the false nostrils

Under the forelock and in the mane

Under the jaw

In the armpits and flank regions

Underneath the fetlocks

In the udder/sheath region

Under the tail

Pasture Management Plays a Key Role

Mowing grass, and even temporarily fencing off scrubby or wooded areas, or dense vegetation.

Tickicides

Common tick treatments available on the market are usually permethrin-based, such as Shield, which is a pour-on, or Permoxin, or Permetrol which are sprays. Permethrin is usually sold as a concentrate which you dilute into a spray bottle. These are widely available at your produce store or saddlery. If you have ticks in your area you need to be vigilant with this.

Maldison is a general insecticide you can use - not directly on the horse, but in your horse's surroundings - stable or shelter. We have use it in our chicken coop to prevent lice. 

Lice

The two lice common in Australia: Haematopinus asini (Sucking lice) and Damalinia equi (Biting lice).

Lice infestations in horses are more common in the winter and spring. Also, longer hair during the cold weather gives lice an excellent place to hide, allowing them to thrive and sometimes go undetected. They are species-specific and spread from horse-to-horse (not horse-to-human), often from close contact or shared equipment such as saddle pads or brushes.

Females glue their eggs, known as nits, to the hairs of the host near the skin. Ordinary shampooing and washing will not dislodge the nits. You will need to use a nit shampoo. Lice'N'Simple is a pour-on specific to biting lice on horses. Pestene is a sulfur-based powder for all kinds of lice on livestock/poultry.

Flies

There are a bunch of different biting flies. Most are just annoying. Two of the most important to manage are bots and culicoides midges. 

Bots - Ideally you will physically remove botfly eggs, which are normally stuck to the inside of the horse's legs. Bot knives are available at most saddleries and produce store, but you can use a disposable razor. Dewormers containing ivermectin or moxidectin will generally manage bots in the gut. 

Midges are the catalyst for Itch. We've got a bunch of articles on managing Itch.

5 Bogus Treatments for Itch

Can We Treat Itch? Yes! 

Let's Get Real About Itch

Itch starts with midges, so the more you can protect them from getting bitten in the first place, the easier it will be to manage. Rugs and fly masks will help, as well as any of the permethrin-based sprays and pour-ons mentioned above. If you are looking for something natural, calafea oil is lemon myrtle, coconut oil, neem oil and black cumin seed oil.

Calafea is widely available online or at your local produce store or saddlery.

Itch Bundle

Buy Now

While our preference is always for using something natural, if your horse has any infestation of biting insects they are going to be miserable and potentially suffer from severe illness like anaemia, or tick-borne diseases. 

I'm not going to put a picture of bot fly larvae in the gut here, but if you have bot-fly eggs on your horse's legs, go google it. I would definitely encourage you to be proactive in protecting your equine companion from that.