# foot stomping hairy cob



## Erray (5 January 2010)

Can it be mites in this weather? She only ever gets bothered by it in the winter and with these frosts surely kills things off? The only thing I can think is that she is treated for ticks in the summer so could also work for mites. As far as I can see the skin is not sore, no scabs but she's really itchy, even started scratching with her teeth.
I've heard pig oil and sulpher is good to you think it will help?
Thanks for any advice!


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## Box_Of_Frogs (6 January 2010)

Feather mites hun. They are hardy little buggers! Hairy horses stamp to try to relieve the itching. My horse Sunny gets them and he has perfected the art of standing one front foot IN his (empty) feed bowl while he uses the rim to scratch the other foot. Sunny has the dectomax injection which works a treat. Whatever treatment you use has to be repeated after 10 days or the unharmed eggs will hatch and your horse will be infested all over again. Be aware that the little so and sos drop off into bedding so your horse may need the injection twice a year, each time with 2 injections 10 days apart. That makes 2 vet visits every time. You can also use Frontline spray rubbed well into the feathers but many people swear by pig oil and sulphur. There's a member who has a fact sheet about it but I can't remember who it is! You could also minimise the problem by fully clipping your horse's feathers out every year or there's a product called Footstamp but it sounds quite toxic so though I bought some, I haven't dared to use it yet! Good luck x


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## sjmcc (6 January 2010)

[ QUOTE ]
Feather mites hun. They are hardy little buggers! Hairy horses stamp to try to relieve the itching. My horse Sunny gets them and he has perfected the art of standing one front foot IN his (empty) feed bowl while he uses the rim to scratch the other foot. Sunny has the dectomax injection which works a treat. Whatever treatment you use has to be repeated after 10 days or the unharmed eggs will hatch and your horse will be infested all over again. Be aware that the little so and sos drop off into bedding so your horse may need the injection twice a year, each time with 2 injections 10 days apart. That makes 2 vet visits every time. You can also use Frontline spray rubbed well into the feathers but many people swear by pig oil and sulphur. There's a member who has a fact sheet about it but I can't remember who it is! You could also minimise the problem by fully clipping your horse's feathers out every year or there's a product called Footstamp but it sounds quite toxic so though I bought some, I haven't dared to use it yet! Good luck x 

[/ QUOTE ]well im glad someones just proved me right i had a young cob mare many years ago who like most heavy featherd .got mites vet came out and said feathers off and give her the injection and use vircon e. so that was end of that was going to hogg and take feathers off eney way to show her .she had no sores ect ect and the vet said the only way to say it was mites was to do a skin scrape .but he knew for a fact it was. a friend of myn has bought a very heavy cob and he bangs his feet none stop in the stable so i said hes got mites. she said no he hasnt and even bought lice powder  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 to put on. but shes going to need more than that to get ride of them theyr hard to get rid of .and she said i asked the vet and she had a look and could see no scabs so i thought what ever. so i said the other day hes banging his legs more and more and she said well the vets had a look and theres nothing there. so i said oh well it must just be a habbit he has knowing full well. its mites iv been there before .


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## Kallibear (6 January 2010)

Ditto mites. Almost definitely the cause.

The injections BOF's mentioned work well but are expensive as they required multiple vet visits.

Much cheaper is Frontline (fipronil) or it's alternative brand counterparts (virbac do one). Vets give you the frontline spray but it's hard to get into the feathers well, so I use the frontline spot-on. Does the trick with my featery cob - a medium dog sized pippete per leg spread over a coulpe of sites is so much easier than the pump spray! I treat him 4times a year and he's not itched once since.


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## Cahill (6 January 2010)

the mites burrow in the skin.
i used frontline pump spray(recomended by the vet but not licenced for horses)2 weeks apart years ago and have never had a problem since.i use pig oil to keep the feather comb-able also.


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## Lucy_Nottingham (6 January 2010)

Pig oil and sulpher is great (PM theresaF!!! she has a great message run through of how to!! i found it really helpful!)

Or frontline spray or spot on works a treat. but it HAS TO GET ON THE SKIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MITES ARE NOT THE SAME AS LICE (so the lice powder will do bugger all! 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 hehe) 

they are hardy little suckers and do require a strict hygiene and treatment regime to get rid, but if you stick to they will go and hopefully be unlikely to return, just got to keep eyes open and also maanagement alterations to avoid reintroducing them (as they can survive in the environment, so you may need to consider cleaning the horses stable too!)


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## Annie&Amy (6 January 2010)

Clip all hair off and then frontline spray, worked a treat when my cob had it. You have got to get it on skin though so you'll need to clip xx


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## Erray (6 January 2010)

Thanks everyone, but can they only get mites in the winter? She is never ever bothered in the summer? Or is it the spot on for ticks killing them? Will talk to vet about Dectomax, not a very horse friendly vet here but he should be able to get some I suppose. She lives out and is roughed off in winter so don't really want to clip legs unless I really have to.


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## Fantasy_World (6 January 2010)

QR it is certainly feather mites or also referred to as Chorioptic mange. I had a cob which had them when I bought him, treated him and he has never suffered since.
I did a lot of research at the time and it is during the colder winter months that the numbers of these mites can increase to huge numbers which then in turn cause great irritation to the horses legs.
Ditto about Frontline as I used it to treat my horse with effect.
I struggled do to his feathers so cut them off, hibiscrubbed area first, so clean and then dry. Treated all his legs up to and above the knee ( basically where I had seen blood specks from him biting himself) and then repeated it ten days later. In between though I removed all his stable bedding. Disinfected the stable with diluted Jeyes fluid and put louse powder in any cracks and crevices I could find. This I repeated after the second treatment. 
Never had a problem since and feather grew back lovely. 
Personally I would clip down feathers before treating if you are going to use Frontline if the feathers are particularly thick as Fipronil the active ingredient needs to reach the skin, and these mites live just under it ( well usually under the scabs their irritation causes), so you need to get the Frontline down deep under the fur to reach them.
From memory although Theresa will confirm this. Pig oil and sulphur which I have used in the past does not kill the mites if they are present but should prevent re-infestation.
It is mainly the oil that the mites do not like as they do not like the oily skin and fur. Flowers of Sulphur is used to treat skin conditions. It is anti-fungal and antiseptic according to online sources. It kills lice, not sure about mites though?
Pig oil and sulphur or pig oil on its own is very good to use to help keep feathers in tip top condition through the winter and to combat conditions like mud fever ( Theresa will tell you though if you pm her, she has the gorgeous Clydesdales in her signature and avatar).
Good luck to OP. Your horse will feel much better when they are gone, believe me, mine did


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## Theresa_F (6 January 2010)

If not scabbed up, no need to clip unless you want to use less Frontline - clipping does not get rid of them nor does it prevent them in heavy types.

Mites are at their most active in the autumn and spring - if you leave them, the legs will scab up and then develop thickened skin and folds which then are difficult to deal with.

To start, Frontline every ten days three times, then pig oil and sulphur in the wet months and sulphur in the dry months every few weeks - this must be done all year round and not stopped or they will be back.

If you want my very long PM on all you need to know about how to have a hairy horse in tip top condition, send me a PM and I will send it to you.

Hairy legs take 10 minutes work every few weeks but I personally love to see a cob in full glory.

Alternatively, hog, trim and clip out like a show cob and frontline once a month.


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## Fantasy_World (6 January 2010)

See my reply, chorioptes mite which I assume these are, are present all year round but their numbers increase during the winter which is why horses tend to show more signs of irritation then.
Personally I would clip out and use Frontline as it is cheaper than jab and I have heard mixed reports about the jab from people I know anyway who had to have more than one jab. 
A friend recommended Frontline to me as he had the vet out to his mare ( who has sadly passed away now due to old age), he had the mare jabbed but the vet told him next time use Frontline as it is cheaper. 
When I did research 3 years ago when my boy had it I found references on the internet about Frontline and mites and since then of course the label now states that it is suitable for other critters as well as fleas ( and this it did not use to say). Likewise there are many animals you can use it on ( rabbits an exception though as can be fatal) but the product is not licensed for use on them hence why vets don't tend to prescribe it for treatment unless on cats or dogs etc. 
Don't worry about the hairy bits they will grow back especially if you get some pig oil and sulphur to rub in afterwards which will give the legs protection while the fur grows back.
I ought to post some pics really so you can see that the legs do improve remarkably and grow back pretty quickly.


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## Fantasy_World (6 January 2010)

I agree entirely with you Theresa 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 was only suggesting clipping out if using Frontline as you need to get the spray on the skin and this can be difficult with horses that are very hairy or have scabs.
I have only had to use Frontline on those two occasions and have not used P &amp; S all the time since, but then again my lot are stabled at night during winter and the OP's horse lives out so would be better off keeping up to date with the P &amp; S.
I also think my boy got it from the stud he was bred at as well as there were a lot of cobs with feathers there. The stud was not aware he had mites until I told them so the herd was probably rife with them.
Have had several yard moves since and he has never shown any signs of irritation, biting or stamping since


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## Tharg (7 January 2010)

How long does the pig oil and sulphur stay on for?  Is it always frontline first?


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## Theresa_F (7 January 2010)

Frontline treatments first if they are itching and stamping, then the P&amp;S is a preventative - the oil creates conditions the mites hate to live in, plus keeping the hair in great condition and having mud slide off.  The sulphur kills mites, lice etc and is also very good for skin health.

If you are just wanting pest prevention, twice a month does the trick - P&amp;S in wet months, sulphur in dry months.

If wanting hair condition, MF prevention etc, then once a week on a hairy horse does the trick in the winter.  I may if the mud is very bad, top up with a little more oil midweek.


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## Tharg (7 January 2010)

Thank you for replying TF

    If the legs are white does the Sulphur stain it?


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## shezlz5 (8 January 2010)

The hair usually turns yellow but dissapears in a few days and usually looks cleaner too


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## Theresa_F (8 January 2010)

Would you like a copy of my long PM?  It should tell you everything you want to know and probably a lot you don't want to know.

The legs go yellow for a day or so.  The sulphur actually helps to keep the hair white. My P&amp;S looks like a bright custard when mixed up and has the consistency of a thick milk shake.


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## Scottish_Miss (8 January 2010)

Hi Theresa,

Can you PM me your help guide, please much appreciated.

Had the Dectomax last year to good effect - this year Ive had onngoing problems with the crusty scabs for about 2 months - think I am on top of it now but sure I seen a mite the other day - little white thing and stuck on skin and removed it to leave a little blood mark!

Reserved about getting vet again for another course of injections. 

Also if I use Front line how harmfull is it if he licks it!!!!
That is why I have not used before?





many thanks
Tia


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## Lucy_Nottingham (8 January 2010)

tia if you are concerned about him licking it, apply the frontline, ensure it is on the skin (and you must remove the scabs if possible!)then put leg bandages on! they hopefully wont absorb much of the frontline but will form a barrier between ur horses mouth and the leg. 
Id leave the horse tied up short for a few minutes after applying though to allow the majority of the frontline to adsorb to the skins grease layer (as this is where it works) so that the bandages effect it less.
Dont know if TF will agree...... but I think this is what I would do if I was concerned about them licking it off. (this is why on cats and dogs it is applied to the back of the neck to stop them licking it off!)


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## Theresa_F (8 January 2010)

Touch wood I haven't had a problem with horses licking, but as I use P&amp;S all year round mine have only needed the initial treatments and I made sure it was really rubbed into the skin and waited until the legs were dry before turning out.

One thing, you must do is not put it on broken skin as it will be very painful.  Luckily only Cairo ever had scabs out of my lot and I covered this is sudocream and was very careful to make sure the frontline did not go near that area.  I would not remove the scabs until the frontline was done and then soak with P&amp;S or sudocream mixed with sulphur and gently rub at them to remove them.

P&amp;S won't hurt them if they lick at the front legs.  Sulphur can be given internally and often is put in water and the oil in the small quantity that is applied will at most and they would have to lick off every little bit, give them a bit of a loose bum - again as if they had been given liquid parafin.

I have had a stupid lab, had a good scoff on my P&amp;S and she was ok apart from a slightly running bum that day, but she did get through half a pint before I saw what she was up to.


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## stormdancerlady (3 December 2011)

Hello ,, i have been reading ur post and if you wouldn`t mind could you send me a coppy about how to keep there legs mite free etc ,, many thanks x


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## Spirit Dream (2 July 2015)

I am new to this site, is it possible to send me the help guide also.  The farrier wants to tranquilizer the horse because of the stomping.  Plus would pig oil and the sulfur and Frontline spray be available in Canada?


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## Spirit Dream (2 July 2015)

Disregard this request.  Thank you


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## MutleyMinx (10 July 2015)

Hi I am also new to this site and believe that my cob colt has feather mites. Have used coopers fly repellent, mite and sweet itch lotion all over and in feathers but doesn't seem to do much apart from smell gross and repel flies for about 24 hours. Have used front line spray as highly recommended and due to re apply in a few days. Think its helped but he still seems to be rubbing back legs together. Please could I have a copy of your great info message too please. Thanks x


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## Yertis (10 July 2015)

Try getting a bottle of Cattle Spot On from agricultural merchants and part the feathers down the back of the leg knee to hoof, syringe 10ml down each leg (no need to clip feathers just make sure you apply to bare skin) repeat in 10 days  Clear out all bedding and clean your grooming kit and any horse boots used.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (10 July 2015)

Haven't read all posts on here: and suspect someone may have suggested it, but do beware of using Pig Oil and Sulphur if you've not used it before. I didn't know just how caustic it can be and my poor boy came up very red and sore from using it. I followed advice on here re using it.................  So am not criticising anyone's management, but just saying to be careful.

Since I started using Neem oil on my boy's legs, there's been no more stamping. I use it warm, and slap it on with a paintbrush (or a sponge). Easy, job done, no more foot-stamping. Keeps midges & crawlies away.


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