# Ticks - spot-on treatment?



## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Ok, so I know that the recommendation is Frontline Spray for tick treatment on horses, but my issue is that the vets want to charge me over £40 for a 250ml bottle, which is daylight robbery when you consider you can buy it online for about £25. So I asked about a prescription and they said £15 please. Lovely. 

So does anyone know, could I use spot-on treatments on a horse, or does it have to be the spray? You can buy the spot-on stuff over the counter, though I am not sure why there is the difference! Can't find anything online and vet nurses did not know (no vet around). 

If not, I will wait until my cat and dog vet is open on Monday and find out if they will sell the spray to me for a more reasonable price. 

Please don't bother lecturing me about how vets need to earn a living too and these online pharmacies undercut them etc etc - I completely agree, and if we were talking a few £ I'd pay it gladly - I do for wormers. But that kind of difference is immense, and I'm not convinced that it isn't just a huge mark-up I'm afraid!


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## LEC (21 May 2011)

Do you want some Spot On? Have tonnes of the stuff


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Yes if it works on the equines! Actually, the grumpy bay one is the sufferer, the cute beige one is not affected at all. Typical. I will swap you the last 2 months of eventing magazine...


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## LEC (21 May 2011)

We use Spot On in the summer on horses (well my mother does) - you will need to patch test as funny stuff and pretty strong. You put it on the withers and it distributes round the skin as quite oily. You should have a quick look on USA sites as more of a problem over there.

BTW my vets let you haggle over prices! I negotiated an amazing price on Sedalin with them. Farm practices are the way forward over horse vets much more practical. I could always ring my vets on Monday and ask them about what they would suggest. I might be able to get it on the farm for you.


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Yes, I use it on the cat. We have a massive problem with deer ticks at the moment - and all I am finding is the horrible pussy scabs afterwards, otherwise I'd remove them. Even has them on his poll


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## ajf (21 May 2011)

Thanks you two.  One of mine is always getting ticks (but the other 4 don't!?) and I was really wondering if there was anything for them.  
Lec does the apot on work on yours (your mothers) horses? Thanks


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## LEC (21 May 2011)

The Mothership uses it for horse flies. We do not have a tick problem but have loads of Spot On for cows!


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## Gamebird (21 May 2011)

I think you're talking about two different products. The cattle product is Cooper's Spot On which is deltamethrin, the cat and dog one is Frontline Spot On which contains fipronil. There is some difference between Frontline Spray and Frontline Spot On as the spot on one definitely doesn't work for lice in dogs whereas the spray does . The fine details are lost on me however as I don't really 'do' cats and dogs! I think the problem with using Frontline Spot On in horses would be the volume. Each vial only has a couple of mls in so it would work out more expensive than the spray assuming it works the same.

In defence of the price, on-line pharmacies and farm supplies merchants can often retail products at a cheaper price than vets can get it from their wholesalers!!! It's ridiculous but economies of scale are mostly to blame. Some vets are collabarating and setting up buying groups, others are charging minimal mark-ups (<10%) on everything and upping the prices for their clinical work. Either way with the advent of on-line pharmacies vets are going to really have to re-think their income streams - revenue from drugs may be virtually non-existent in the next 10-15 years.


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Gamebird said:



			In defence of the price, on-line pharmacies and farm supplies merchants can often retail products at a cheaper price than vets can get it from their wholesalers!!! It's ridiculous but economies of scale are mostly to blame. Some vets are collabarating and setting up buying groups, others are charging minimal mark-ups (<10%) on everything and upping the prices for their clinical work. Either way with the advent of on-line pharmacies vets are going to really have to re-think their income streams - revenue from drugs may be virtually non-existent in the next 10-15 years.
		
Click to expand...

Which begs the question, why don't vets buy from the online places and markup a few £ from there?! If the vets bought frontline for £25 and sold it to me for £30 I'd be perfectly happy with that....but £25 to nearly £45 is just a step too far....


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Gamebird said:



			I think you're talking about two different products. The cattle product is Cooper's Spot On which is deltamethrin, the cat and dog one is Frontline Spot On which contains fipronil. There is some difference between Frontline Spray and Frontline Spot On as the spot on one definitely doesn't work for lice in dogs whereas the spray does . The fine details are lost on me however as I don't really 'do' cats and dogs! I think the problem with using Frontline Spot On in horses would be the volume. Each vial only has a couple of mls in so it would work out more expensive than the spray assuming it works the same.
		
Click to expand...

You're probably right - but my thinking was I only need to treat the legs and head, the rest of the horse doesn't have an issue! So one vial per leg and one for the head = 5 vials = £20 give or take....


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## star (21 May 2011)

yes, def some confusion above re products.  Frontline spot-on wont work if you just put it on the withers!

re: prices - we mark up almost all of our drugs by 100% which means most of our prices are double the internet pharmacies.  it's pretty common in small animal practice.  we underprice so many of our other procedures that we have to make up the money elsewhere.


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## Chloe_GHE (21 May 2011)

I might be barking up the wrong tree here, but are you looking for a product to prevent ticks from biting?.... I wasn't aware there was such a thing. Dustry had a tick on hsi leg the other day, and I used a little plastic thingy (looks like a tiny claw hammer) given to me by my vet (for FREE!!!! Yes a vet gave something away for free!!!) it just lifts the tick up and off intact, mega little tool I highly recommend

This is it - http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/o-tom-tick-remover_1_20339.html


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Chloe_GHE said:



			I might be barking up the wrong tree here, but are you looking for a product to prevent ticks from biting?.... I wasn't aware there was such a thing. Dustry had a tick on hsi leg the other day, and I used a little plastic thingy (looks like a tiny claw hammer) given to me by my vet (for FREE!!!! Yes a vet gave something away for free!!!) it just lifts the tick up and off intact, mega little tool I highly recommend

This is it - http://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/o-tom-tick-remover_1_20339.html

Click to expand...

Yep Chloe - Frontline Spray (for dogs and cats) will kill ticks on contact. The tick remover is no good to me - I'm not finding the ticks, I'm only finding the nasty scabby bits after they've gone. Never had such a problem before, but horses out 24/7 next to a wood full of deer, and the grumpy bay one is really suffering.


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## siennamum (21 May 2011)

I've just bought some frontline spray for Coco as he's a mangy teenager. It will treat him and Sienna and I can guarantee it is cheaper than you will pay at your vets. I've just been royally ripped off by them and will only use them if I have to now.
Try a different practice, it makes a huge difference.


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## SpottedCat (21 May 2011)

Cool, will try the cat's vet on Monday, and if not, the grumpy bay one is registered at another practice too anyway, so will call them. Thanks M.


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## Gamebird (22 May 2011)

SpottedCat said:



			Which begs the question, why don't vets buy from the online places and markup a few £ from there?! If the vets bought frontline for £25 and sold it to me for £30 I'd be perfectly happy with that....but £25 to nearly £45 is just a step too far....
		
Click to expand...

It's crazy, isn't it? I did ask my boss this as it virtually prevents us selling any horse wormers but there was a reason we couldn't, I just can't remember what it was. 

The other thing I would suggest is that it's negotiable with most vets - we will try to match internet prices if the client brings us proof of what they could get it for. Obviously we can't and won't sell at a loss but we can often move a fair way on price to keep a client happy and keep the goodwill. Plus they can have the drug straight away, not wait 2 days for it to arrive, pay postage, miss the postman coming, have to go to the Post Office parcel depot to pick it up.... 

Your cat and dog vet will probably get a better deal from Merial on the huge quantities of Frontline products they turn over than the equine practice sselling 4 or 5 bottles of spray a month. The more they purchase the cheaper they get it so you may well find them cheaper for non-equine products.


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## dieseldog (22 May 2011)

We are plagued by tics too, blooming Deer, which when you think where we are (a city centre) is stoopid.  It wouldn't bother me too much if it wasn't for the pus scabs they leave behind, maybe they are allergic to them.


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## atownsend (23 May 2011)

Hello,
A very newbie here.. just bought 2 shetlands, and in the last week they've gots hundreds of tiny ticks on the ears. This spot-on you are all talking about, do you mean the "normal" dog and cat variety or is there a horse version?

Thanks alot!
Andrew


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## LEC (23 May 2011)

Just spoken to my vet there are cattle products out there but not currently licensed for horses. She thought using frontline for cats and dogs would be ridiculous so is checking the cattle products for me.


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## atownsend (23 May 2011)

Just been told by a local horse breeder that they use cattle sheep spot-on all the time, something like:-
http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Coopers-Spot-On/productinfo/SPOTON/

Andrew


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## atownsend (24 May 2011)

hmmm, seems you can't buy the cattle / sheep spot-on stuff without a holding number and flock / herd number.


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