Can horses get chiggers?

[tuffsmom]

He started out with just his legs irritating him..he'll kick at himself and rub his legs together (to the point he's knocking off hair on the inside of his legs), but now he's itchy all over. He doesn't have any visible bugs on him (such as lice).

My husband has chiggers really bad, too...so I'm wondering if Big Man has them? It's just been within the last week that this has started. I've bathed him with betadine, sprayed Avon Skin So Soft on him daily, and even got "Chiga-Rid" cream from WalMart and rubbed into his legs....but he's still really itchy? He's rubbing himself on trees and biting himself, I'm worried about him.

Any suggestions?

 

[kaykay]

he could be having an allergic reation to various bug bites. we had a mare like that. the vet told us to give benadryl but please consult your own vet first

 

[Miniv]

Guess I'm a bit ignorant here......What ARE chiggers???

:

MA

 

[tuffsmom]

Thank you, KayKay..I never thought of that!

Chiggers are a tiny bug/insect thing that live in the grass & weeds down south....I don't think they're in the northern states. You can't see them, but you can sure feel them!

You can (and WILL) get them by just setting foot in grass...they burrow into your skin and itch like CRAZY. The only way that I know of to kill them is to cover the bites with clear fingernail polish or spray them with heavy-duty hairspray....it suffocates the bug in your skin.

Wearing long pants & socks helps keep them off your skin, but it's still possible to get them. We just have them really bad around here for some reason, even though we keep the grass cut really short.

 

[Irish Hills Farm]

I was at TSC the other day and Absorbine has a fly spray out, it's called Bug Block (purple bottle) and it says it repels/kills chiggers. Actually it claims to kill/repel 70 bugs; different kinds of flies, ticks, mosquitos, chiggers, etc.

Needless to say, I bought a bottle.

 

[kaykay]

we had chiggers in both kansas and illinois and they are horrible!! one time at the lake i got them so bad i was going nuts. my mother in law put turpentine on my ankles. smelled horrible but the itching stopped and no more chiggers!

 

[jdhand]

Do you have sand where you live? If you do, it could be a skin parasite we call sand worms here. They actually bore under the skin and crawl under the skin and reproduce. The parasite comes from feline feces. If it has been wet and humid that is when it happens. If this is what it is you will be able to tell because the skin will feel like hives, but it will all run together with trails. Just some thing to consider.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Chiggers are mites. I think my horse had them too and I rubbed Permectrin (sp) that I got from the vet along his mane, top of tail, and forelock. My horse had it worst under his mane. Chiggers climb till they can't go higher--that's why you get them in waist bands and tops of socks. I guess they got under his mane. We spray our shoes with OFF before we go into tall grass and that helps alot, so maybe you could try that with him. I had "mite rash" one time and the doctor told me to wash in Quell--you can buy it at pharmacies. Don't see why it wouldn't work on a horse, too. Mites burrow under the skin in tunnels. It is MISERABLE, so help him if you can!