01/10/2026
*** Lice 😳***
It’s that time of year where conditions are perfect for horses to have lice, weather conditions and those winter coats still shedding out create the perfect environment for the little critters.
If you have a service provider (farrier, body worker, vet, dentist) coming to your horse please do them a favour and check your horse for lice. If you find that your horse does have lice or you know of any horse on the property that does PLEASE give your service provider a heads up. By checking your horse and communicating any issues this gives your service provider the opportunity to plan accordingly. Maybe that’s a reschedule to allow you time to treat your horse, or a change of clothes for them or your horse gets scheduled in at the end of the day so that tools and clothes can be thoroughly cleaned. While lice cannot live on humans they can hop on to clothing and be carried to the next property so we collectively need to work together to ensure that lice aren’t accidentally spread.
You will likely see me checking horses before starting work. There is no judgement from me if your horse has lice and I would hope no offence taken from my clients that I am checking but I don’t wish to be that person who inadvertently delivered lice to a property and it’s come up a couple of times recently.
For those that are unsure here are a few things to look for:
- Itching and Restlessness: Constant scratching, biting at the skin, and general irritability.
- Coat and Hair Changes: A dull, rough, or "moth-eaten" appearance, often with patchy hair loss. The coat can become matted or scaly, particularly under the mane, along the back, and around the tail base.
- Eggs or lice in manes, forelocks and tails.
There are plenty of treatments available for lice so if checked regularly through winter and spring and treated where required we can all get through the season without drama.
