Bites on my horse??

Question

my horse has been getting abnormaly large bug bites on his neck and throat.

alot of the other horses have gotten them too.

do you know insiect this might be??

we have alot of mosquitos at our barn.

if you came up with a picture that would be great.

sorry i don't have a picture

Answer 1

Like so many others have said if it is a bug bite the best you can do is upgrade your fly spray. The best I've found over the years is "Fly - Wipe" which is oil based and is usually wiped onto the horses hair coating it and because it is oil based it does not dilute when they sweat with the heat. Scrub and cover the bites with "Swat" so they do not get infected and maybe give your horse some oral antihistamine if you have some or can get some from your vet. Antihistamine will also help if it is allergies or an allergic reaction. Now, has your stable recently switched the type of hay or grain your horse is getting? With it being hay season has your stable switched from last years hay to fresh cut hay? Hay looses its protein value with age. Fresh cut hay (depending on the type) has a much higher protein content. When I switch from last years hay to this years fresh cut I always find that there are a couple of horses that break out with "protein bumps". These bumps usually cover the neck and can spread down the horses sides. They are caused by the horse receiving more protein than they are used to and the body reacts. If these bumps are protein bumps (which strongly resemble and are often mistaken for bug bites) then just adjust your horses diet and lower his protein intake. The bumps should recede within a week or so. I hope this info helps!

Answer 2

it could be flies. get fly repelent.

Answer 3

bugs are like worms and germs...they can become resistent to fly sprays, and the chemicals they secrete can become more allergenic or toxic.  In this case, the reaction causes a larger bump from the increased allergic response.  It could be that your horse is more allergic to the current batch of the same old biting bugs, and that the repellent you use is not as effective as it once was. If it is particularly uncomfortable for the horse, your vet can prepare a prescription strength antihistamine and antiinflammatory medication for you.

Answer 4

Most often these are tick bites.  They often become infected and swell.  No mosquitoes, deer flies, and horse flies do not leave those large bumps.

I have started using CDS Permectrin as a pour on insecticide this year.  I have found it works great to kill ticks and flies.  I improve the effectiveness by using a brush (I keep one hard brush set aside for this use) and brushing the permectrin over the hair and onto the legs and belly.  Remember to write down the date of application because you are not supposed to apply it more often than once every two weeks.

Answer 5

It sounds like horse fly.  You should bathe your horse so its clean bathe all of your horses to

Answer 6

We've got a few types of flies around my barn, the horse flies leave slightly bloody sizable bites. I put swat on those, and clean them out if necessary. Those can be sensitive though, so it's best to go very gently when brushing over those. Flyspray, unfortunately, hasn't proved helpful for these.

Then, we have these flies that leave .. I don't want to say crusty, but that's the best description I can think of. They're not flat either, but for those... we scrub, until the crusty bits come off, since it's not a scab. Unfortunately, for the life of me, I can't remember what these flies are called. But I know that fly spray is powerless against them.

And lastly, during the winter and autumn, we get bot flys. They leave their eggs on the fetlocks, and chest, or wherever they can reach. Those need to be scrubbed, and it takes a lot of elbow grease to loosen them up.

Answer 7

it could most definatley be a horsefly. use insect control and double dose if you already do. spray the perimeter and the stalls of the barn and  clean everything. sooth the bites and dont let them irritate them. the vet might be able to help.