Insect-Borne Illnesses and Horses

Insect-Borne Diseases

  It's summer, and bugs, ranging from flies to mosquitoes, can be found everywhere. Besides being irritating for both you and your horse, they can carry all manners of diseases. Fortunately, horses are vaccinated against Equine encephalitis and West Nile Virus, two of the most common ones for mosquitoes to spread.

 Flies, too, can spread diseases. Among them are Equine infectious anemia(similar to HIV), which causes the body to waste away. Horses are vaccinated against EIA and are annually tested(Coggins test).

 Furthermore, flies can carry parasites. Bot flies lay their yellow eggs on a horse's leg, where he is most likely to lick them off, continuing their life cycle in the horse's stomach. Black flies spread onchocerca cervicals, a hair-loss causing parasite.If Onchocerca spreads to the eye, it can cause anterior uveitis, also known as moon blindness. Face flies are known to transmit thelazia and stable flies(habronema) lay larvae in the horse's eyes and mouth, causing ulcers. Another fly, the warble fly(hypoderma), cause swollen nodules. Warble flies usually go for cattle, so check horses that are pastured near cows often.

 Fortunately, if a horse gets any of these parasites, they can just be dewormed by your vet.

 Some biting flies can carry pigeon fever, a disease found in hot, dry climates. Pigeon fever causes swelling in the abdomen and chest. It comes from the bacteria Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Unfortunately, a vaccine is not yet available, but scientists are currently studying one.

 Another common disease-causing insect is the tick, which is known for causing ehrlichiosis, Lyme, and piroplasmosis. Deer ticks most commonly cause Lyme since the carry the organism know as Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme commonly causes shifting lameness, arthritis, stiffness, muscle pain, fever, behavioral changes, uveitis, weight loss, and neurological problems. Blood tests can identify what sort of treatment is necessary.

Fly sheets can minimize the number of flies that land
on your horse(credit).

 Insect Repellant

 There are many essential oils that can repel insects, including ticks, and boost the horse's immune system to decrease his chances of developing Lyme. Try anti-viral, anti-infectious, immune-system boosting oils. Many people recommend using pure, therapeutic grade essential oils. The more drops of oil you use, the better because you may need something stronger for horses, but keep in mind that some of these oils can burn if you use too much. I recommend putting several drops of the following into a spritz bottle filled with clean water(leave a little bit of room):

• Geranium has been to repel insects and help good for skin problems
• Palo Santo is said to be very effective in removing ticks.
• Rosewood oil is used for fungal skin conditions, infections, and works well against parasites.
• Thyme is anti-fungal, anti-infectious, and anti-viral. It is used to prevent infection and boost the immune system. be warned, though, that Thyme is strong, so be careful using it undiluted.
• Myrrh is said to be anti-infectious, anti-parasitic, and antiseptic. It is commonly used for ticks.
• Peppermint is also said to work well against ticks.

Directions: Spray on your horse at least once a day, especially before you let him out. The more often you spray, the better.

Tick Removal Regimen

Never pull a tick off the horse. A good tick-fighting oil is said to be Palo Santo, so put a drop of pure oil on a tick and wait for it to let go. Afterwards, spray the wound with the insect repellant I talked about earlier to prevent infection. Tea tree is known to work great to prevent infection.

Prevention is the Best 

  Grooming your horse daily is a good way to watch for ticks and keep insects away. Also, keeping the stable and paddock area clean can reduce the number of insects that pester you and your horse.

How to Treat Hoof Infections Naturally

Everyone knows how important a hoof is to a horse---no hoof, no horse. Horses have used hooves in self-defense and to protect the soft, frog inside of the wall. But what if a hoof becomes so infected that your veterinarian suggests amputation? What do you do then?

 This same exact thing happened to a show horse in 2000. Even though the pastern and coronet band were swollen to the size of a cantaloupe, the owner did not decide to amputate, as the vet had suggested. Instead, he used essentials oils to relieve the swelling. It worked miracles.

Day 1:
 According to the Essential Oils Desk Reference, you should cleanse the wound with Thieves oil blend and helichrysum(a type a plant belonging to the daisy family), then bandage it. When this had been done to the show horse I have previously mentioned, the pain was alleviated enough for the horse to stand on the foot.

Day 2:
 By the next day, the swelling in the show horse's hoof had gone down by 50%. They(the owners) once more cleansed the wound with Thieves and helichrysum before filling it with Animal Scents Ointment.

Day 3-14
 For the next twelve days, the wound was cleansed morning and night with Thieves, Melrose, and helichrysum, then filled with Animal Scents Ointment.

 Today, the horse walks as well as it used to, displaying no discomfort. At first, the pastern was still slightly swollen, but it was healed completely in within eight months, and only a small scar remains on the pastern.

Aromatherapy for Horses: Peace & Calming Essential Oil Blend

 Have you ever seen or ridden a very jittery horse that spooked at everything it saw? Maybe you have been trying to introduce your horse to a new environment or train it for something it has never done before. If you have ever been around horses, you know how hard this can be and probably ask yourself  if there is something you can do to ease this stress.

  The answer to that question is yes, something can be done.  You can use essential oils.
  

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 Essential oils are potent, concentrated oils made of plants, such as flowers or herbs. These may include lavender, calendula, chamomile, basil, oregano, and many others. The oils are far more potent than just plain herbs or flowers. As plants dry, they lose potency, but if they are distilled when fresh, the resulting oil is as potent as the day the plant was picked.

 For example, it takes about 28 cups of peppermint tea to equal the healing powers of one drop of peppermint oil. Also, it takes 5,000 pounds if rose petals to produce one pint of rose oil and 2-3 tons of melissa plant to make a pound of oil. As you can see, there is a lot of nutrients per drop.

 Not only do they improve health, but the also lighten mood and relieve stress. Studies have shown that the fragrances create strong effects on both the limbic (this controls the emotions) and the hypothalamus(controls hormones) systems.

  Now let's return to the original question. How can you make a jittery horse relax? Horses, too, can benefit from the oils I previously mentioned. A brilliant blend to use for this is Peace & Calming(an oil blend from Young Living), as the name suggests.

 Anytime something stresses your horse out, try letting it inhale the oil. You can even diffuse it in the horse trailer using Young Living's portable essential oil diffuser whenever you bring your horse to shows, competitions, or anywhere else.

 Horses can only learn when they are calm and actually focused on learning, not running. Because of this, Peace & Calming can also be used before your horses's training sessions to make sure he or she gets the most out the it.

 As you can see, Peace & Calming can be used anytime your horse is either stressed because exposure to something new, or frightened. Don't forgot, though, that essential oils work just as well for humans as it does for horses. You can use it to relieve your own stress and anxiety. Remember that if ever feel stressed about a

If you are interested in learning more about essential oils or want to buy some for yourself, hop over  Jo's Health Corner