Midlings in horses treatment. Midges in horses - signs, symptoms and treatment. Signs and symptoms

Often midges or drops cause lameness in the horse. To save your horse from unpleasant moments, it is worth understanding where this disease comes from and how to cope with it.

What it is

Midge in horses is popularly called a form of dermatitis caused by skin damage by the actinomycetes Dermatophilus congolensis. The natural habitat of bacteria is soil.

Signs and symptoms

The first symptoms appear in the area of ​​the pasterns and heel tubercles. If treatment is not started on time, the affected area may increase and spread over the entire surface of the legs.

You should be concerned if:

• Stubble falls out in the area of ​​the heel tubercles.
• The skin became red and swollen, and signs of inflammation appeared.
• At the site of the lesion, the skin began to crack and cracks formed.

If treatment is not started, the disease will progress: active inflammation will continue under the crust, sticky, pale yellow liquid or pus will begin to leak through the cracks, which can cause lameness in the pet.

Diagnosis of biting midges

Diagnosis of the disease is carried out by clinical signs, collection of anamnesis and examination of the living conditions of the animal. If symptoms of the disease occur, it is necessary to exclude infectious dermatitis, vascular inflammation, peeling and contact dermatitis. To do this, a specialist must take soil samples and bacterial plaque on the wounds for laboratory testing.

How to treat

Treatment of midges in horses should begin at the first signs of the disease. As soon as you notice the first foci of inflammation, then:

1. Pay attention to animal hygiene. Thoroughly clean and rinse the affected area, wipe with clean gauze. For washing, you can use shampoos with antiseptic properties, which are available in veterinary stores. When working, proceed carefully so as not to tear off scabs and crusts.
2. Cut the wool at the site of damage, since bacteria can live on individual hairs.
3. Disinfect the wound. Wash the affected areas with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
4. Dry the wound using zinc ointment or syntomycin liniment. Ointments will help steam and remove scabs from the skin. And very wet damage can be sprinkled with charcoal powder.
5. Apply ointment against biting midges in horses, for example, “Dermabion”, and apply a loose, dense bandage. It will protect the animal from re-infection and promote wound healing. The dressing should be changed regularly until the fluid secretion stops.
6. After recovery treat the stall and change the bedding. If hygiene is poor, re-infection is possible.
7. Use antibacterial agents when the infection spreads. For example, Penicillin, Norocillin. The type, dose and method of application of the antibiotic can be determined by a specialist depending on the breed, weight and age of the horse.

Is it dangerous

Midges are not a dangerous disease, but its spread throughout the pet's body, called “rain burn,” affects health. Self-medication will help relieve symptoms, but full treatment will require a specialist.

How and how to treat a horse is determined only by the owner of the animal.

Prevention

• Balanced diet. With proper nutrition, the animal's immunity is strong and can protect the pet from any misfortune.
• Active movement. An active lifestyle improves blood circulation in the extremities, eliminates stagnation and strengthens resistance to disease.
• Proper animal hygiene. Regular cleaning and care of the horse's skin is the best protection against biting midges.

It is worth remembering such important points as changing the bedding of infected individuals, destroying used dressings and gloves, as well as disinfecting individual cleaning brushes.

Veterinarians can vaccinate your horse against ringworm, which will protect your horse against some forms of dermatitis. Do not refuse such measures, they increase the chances of avoiding infection.

Proper hygiene, good nutrition and decent care will allow your horse to delight you with victories for a long time.

When pressing (wrinkling) the sole or frog in the form of bruises, you need to clean off the affected layer, wash the wound with diluted alcohol, lubricate it with birch tar for disinfection and bandage clean birch bark; wash the hoof with chamomile infusion and make lotions from it. If the arrow rots, clean it as deeply as possible using a bath of 3% solution of carbolic acid or creolin, or Lysol; Dry the arrow and pour alum powder, or oak bark, or copper sulfate into the groove. You can first pour in the tar, and then add copper sulfate, plug it with cotton wool or tow.

When shoeing - unshackle, clear the area, pour in iodine tincture, apply fresh or steamed dried plantain leaf and bandage the hoof, refreshing the bandage with plantain 3-4 times a day. The forging area can also be washed with table salt and salt, poured with linseed oil and melted wax and tarred on top, or boiled millet and applied hot.

To soften dry hoof horn, you can put the horse in a pit with cow manure covering the hooves for seven days in a row. Boiled turnip seed mixed with fresh lard or unsalted butter also helps; The warm mixture is applied to the hooves and tied with clean cloth. You can prepare a mixture of wood oil and melted wax and goat lard - rub the warm mixture into the hoof.

For cracks in the hooves, if they are from below, you need to remove as much of the horn as possible, mix sulfur with goat fat, heat it and pour this hot mixture into the crack. Shoe your foot by pouring hemp oil mixed with egg white under the shoe. The cracks running from the top of the rim are cauterized with hot water, poured with melted sulfur and covered with lard or resin. Crushed hemp or plantain seeds boiled in goat or lamb fat and applied warmly around the hoof help with cracks.

An ointment made from a mixture of old pork and goat lard, vegetable oil and wax helps to grow a hoof. If, when cleaning the sole of the hoof, a puncture or splinter (glass, piece of iron) is noticeable, then you should immediately pull out the foreign object, fill the area with lard, tincture of iodine, brilliant green and bandage the hoof.

In lactating mares, inflammation of the udder (mastitis) may occur, resulting in hardening, soreness, and heat. In this case, you need to make a warm poultice of chamomile flowers boiled in boiling water on the udder; Poultices are made 2-4 times a day, and in the intervals between them the udder is lubricated with camphor oil.

Some horses have a lot of hair loss from their tail and mane. For their growth, boil an ointment from juicy fir cones in butter (1:3) and thickly lubricate the roots of the hair along the ridge of the neck and on the tip of the tail.

To defeat this disease, you need to clearly understand what it is. Midges, or midges (in English – mud fever), are a form of dermatitis caused by the actinomycete microorganisms Dermatophilus congolensis. They can live in the ground and wait for an opportunity to penetrate damaged, chapped or softened skin. Infection by these organisms leads to redness of the skin, it becomes hot and painful, then bubbles with liquid appear on the damaged areas, then they burst, and the liquid forms dense crusts when it dries. The crusts fall off, leaving pink and moist skin underneath. The inflamed skin cracks when the horse moves, and in severe cases lameness may occur. Most often, midges appear in the lower part of the legs, under the brushes. Horses suffer from biting midges mainly in the fall and slushy winter when kept in fields, dirty levadas - or in any season if hygiene rules are not followed. Most often, horses with heavily overgrown or white legs with pink skin suffer from them. The infection is also transmitted by flies. In addition, heredity plays a large role in predisposition to this disease.

Midges appear most often in the area of ​​the heel tuberosities and pasterns, but in advanced cases spread higher up the leg and can even cover the stomach. They are easy to recognize: scabs, layered scales, irritation, redness and swelling of tissue, pain and honey-colored liquid under the scabs. Foul-smelling crusted pus (jelly-like consistency) occurs in horses with fluffy brushes.

If the scabs are carefully removed, then under them you can see hairs breaking through the inflamed skin. In short-haired horses, the scabs are smaller and look like small bumps on the fur, making the fur look like it is moth-eaten and there is less pus. As the disease progresses, the legs become swollen, hot and painful. However, symptoms are very individual.

What can biting midges be confused with when diagnosed? With other infectious skin diseases, with vascular inflammation, sarcoidosis, contact dermatitis, peeling and inflammation of the skin of the hind legs due to the ingestion of manure and urine during diarrhea.

Midlings most often appear when:

– the horse is weakened;

– her immunity is undermined by any previous disease;

– she sweats a lot;

– has abrasions, scratches and other injuries on the legs;

– stands in a stall where a horse with midges previously stood;

– she shares boots, bandages, etc. with sick horses;

– if the horse’s legs are often washed with strong water pressure from a hose (in this case, the skin dries out, creating ideal conditions for bacteria).

– Keep your horse on clean, dry bedding.

– Do not rinse off the dirt with a strong stream of water or wipe it off – let your feet dry, then brush off the dirt with a light brush. Or thoroughly wash the horse's legs with a sponge and a special product and wipe dry.

Treatment. Veterinarians believe that midge treatment can be divided into three equally important stages: cleansing, removing scabs and drying thoroughly.

1. Trim the fur in areas where biting midges are spread.

2. Wash these areas with a sponge or cotton wool with warm water.

3. Wash and soak the affected areas of the skin with antiseptic shampoos such as Pevidin or Hibiscrub, which kill bacteria and help remove scabs (never pick dry scabs!).

4. If they still do not go away, steam the sores with a warm, damp towel or apply warm, damp lotions to soften and remove infected tissue. The most effective is Animalintex, which is applied in a warm, damp form, squeezed out as much as possible. It will draw out dirt and infection, and the heat will encourage blood flow to the damaged skin.

Be prepared for the fact that sometimes scabs have to be removed in stages, applying Animalintex several times. You can’t keep it on for more than a day so as not to over-moisturize your skin.

Remove the lotion, gel and all scabs. When removing bacteria-containing scabs, wear disposable gloves and never throw them on the stable floor - Dermatophilus congolensis can survive in infected scabs for years.

When removing scabs, the horse feels severe pain. Sometimes this procedure requires sedation, anesthesia or twisting, you need to be very careful, but absolutely all the crusts must be removed.

Drying. After cleansing, you need to dry the horse’s legs with a soft towel, without rubbing the painful areas, but only applying a cloth to absorb moisture (under no circumstances should you leave the towel in the stable - put it in a bag and take it out).

Then, in mild cases, Vaseline or lanolin is applied to the dried feet, which acts as a barrier to protect against infection. In more serious cases, apply an antibiotic ointment such as Dermobion under a layer of Gamgee (non-stick bandage) or, at worst, under a regular sterile gauze bandage and bandage (not tightly!) from the coronet to the carpal or hock joint for preventing infection from entering from the outside. Change the bandage daily and carefully monitor the horse's general condition. When the exudate stops appearing, leave the horse without bandages in a clean stall without bedding (usually in such a situation the horse is put on rubber).

If the bedding is not removed, the feet will become dirty, secondary bacterial infection may occur. Treatment must be continued for a week or even two, removing newly formed scabs daily. The horse must be kept in a stable.

You can walk to relieve swelling. In unadvanced cases, light work can be continued if it does not cause discomfort to the horse. If the condition worsens (legs become swollen or lameness appears), you need to call a veterinarian who will prescribe a course of antibiotics. Corticosteroids will help relieve inflammation. Carefully inspect your horse's feet every day. Start treatment at the first signs of illness. Before working in mud, apply special zinc ointment, castor oil or paraffin to the heel area and puto. Feet should be clean and dry before applying these products. Trim long hair from pasterns. After work, wash off the dirt with a sponge with water and antiseptic, dry your feet and lubricate. Do not scrub wet dirt with a stiff brush or share hygiene items with other horses when grooming your horse.

There is another type of this disease - "rain burn"(English: “rain-scald”). Rain burn can spread Dermatophilus congolensis all over the horse's body, in particular - on the back. Characteristic bald spots appear, which can be mistaken for ringworm.

“Rain burn” is not a random name, since most often a horse with a weakened immune system “earns” this disease if it is kept outside and does not have the opportunity to take shelter under some kind of canopy on rainy days: water washes out the necessary fats from the skin, the skin dries out and becomes predisposed to the disease dermatophilosis. The remaining symptoms of this disease are similar to “ordinary” biting midges.

Wet biting (squats) on a horse. Treatment. How to avoid relapse? was last modified: September 22nd, 2014 by allpets1

Midges are a painful disease for horses and, unfortunately, very common. This disease is easy enough to treat, but to truly cure a horse, it will take a lot of work...

To defeat this disease, you need to clearly understand what it is. Midges, or midges (in English - mud fever) are caused by the actinomycete microorganisms Dermatophilus congolensis. They live in the ground, where they can wait for years for an opportunity to penetrate damaged, chapped or softened skin. Horses suffer from biting midges mainly in the fall and slushy winter when kept in fields, dirty levadas - or in any season if hygiene rules are not followed. Squats are very painful. Most often, horses with heavily overgrown or white legs with pink skin suffer from them.

The infection is also transmitted by flies. In addition, heredity plays a large role in predisposition to this disease.

Midges appear most often in the area of ​​the heel tubercles and pasterns, but in advanced cases they spread higher up the leg and can even cover the stomach. They are easy to recognize: scabs, layered scales, irritation, redness and swelling of tissue, pain and honey-colored liquid under the scabs.

Foul-smelling crusted pus (jelly-like consistency) occurs in horses with fluffy brushes.

If the scabs are carefully removed, then under them you can see hairs breaking through the inflamed skin. In short-haired horses, the scabs are smaller and look like small bumps on the fur, making the fur look like it is moth-eaten and there is less pus. As the disease progresses, the legs become swollen, hot and painful. However, symptoms are very individual.

What can biting midges be confused with when diagnosed? With other infectious skin diseases, with vascular inflammation, sarcoidosis, contact dermatitis, peeling and inflammation of the skin of the hind legs due to the ingestion of manure and urine during diarrhea.

Midges may appear if:

– the horse is weakened;

– her immunity is undermined by any previous disease;

– she sweats a lot;

– has abrasions, scratches and other injuries on the legs;

– stands in a stall where a horse with midges previously stood;

– she shares boots, bandages, etc. with sick horses;

– if the horse’s legs are often washed with strong water pressure from a hose (in this case, the skin dries out, creating ideal conditions for bacteria).

What to do if there are already biting midges?

– Keep your horse on clean, dry bedding.

– Do not rinse off the dirt with a strong stream of water or wipe it off – let your feet dry, then brush off the dirt with a light brush. Or thoroughly wash the horse's legs with a sponge and a special product and wipe dry.

Veterinarians believe that midge treatment can be divided into three equally important stages: cleansing, scab removal and thorough drying.

Cleansing

1. Trim the fur in areas where biting midges are spread.

2. Wash these areas with a sponge or cotton wool with warm water.

3. Wash and soak the affected areas of the skin with antiseptic shampoos such as Pevidin or Hibiscrub, which kill bacteria and help remove scabs (never pick dry scabs!).

4. If they still do not go away, steam the sores with a warm, damp towel or apply warm, damp lotions to soften and remove infected tissue. The most effective is Animalintex, which is applied in a warm, damp form, squeezed out as much as possible. It will draw out dirt and infection, and the heat will encourage blood flow to the damaged skin.

Be prepared for the fact that sometimes scabs have to be removed in stages, applying Animalintex several times. You can’t keep it on for more than a day so as not to over-moisturize your skin.

Removing scabs

Remove the lotion, gel and all scabs. When removing bacteria-containing scabs, wear disposable gloves and never throw them on the stable floor - Dermatophilus congolensis can survive in infected scabs for years.

When removing scabs, the horse feels severe pain. Sometimes this procedure requires sedation, anesthesia or twisting, you need to be very careful, but absolutely all the crusts must be removed.

Drying

After cleansing, you need to dry the horse’s legs with a soft towel, without rubbing the painful areas, but only applying a cloth to absorb moisture (under no circumstances should you leave the towel in the stable - put it in a bag and take it out).

In mild cases, Vaseline or lanolin is then applied to the dried feet to act as a barrier against infection. In more serious cases, apply an antibiotic ointment such as Dermobion under a layer of Gamgee (non-stick bandage) or, at worst, under a regular sterile gauze bandage and bandage (not tightly!) from the coronet to the carpal or hock joint for preventing infection from entering from the outside. Change the bandage daily and carefully monitor the horse's general condition. When the exudate stops appearing, leave the horse without bandages in a clean stall without bedding (usually in such a situation the horse is put on rubber).

If the bedding is not removed, the feet will become dirty and a secondary bacterial infection may occur. Treatment must be continued for a week or even two, removing newly formed scabs daily. The horse must be kept in a stable.

You can walk to relieve swelling. In unadvanced cases, light work can be continued if it does not cause discomfort to the horse.

If the condition worsens (legs become swollen or lameness appears), you need to call a veterinarian who will prescribe a course of antibiotics. Corticosteroids will help relieve inflammation.

Prevention

Carefully inspect your horse's feet every day. Start treatment at the first signs of illness. Before working in mud, apply special zinc ointment, castor oil or paraffin to the heel area and puto. Feet should be clean and dry before applying these products.

Trim long hair from pasterns. After work, wash off the dirt with a sponge with water and antiseptic, dry your feet and lubricate. Do not scrub wet dirt with a stiff brush or share hygiene items with other horses when grooming your horse.

Not just biting midges

There is another type of this disease - “rain-scald”. With rain burn, Dermatophilus congolensis can spread throughout the horse's body, particularly along the back. Characteristic bald spots appear, which can be mistaken for ringworm.

“Rain burn” is not a random name, since most often a horse with a weakened immune system “earns” this disease if it is kept outside and does not have the opportunity to take shelter under some kind of canopy on rainy days: water washes out the necessary fats from the skin, the skin dries out and becomes predisposed to the disease dermatophilosis. The remaining symptoms of this disease are similar to “ordinary” biting midges.

Blob, also called saddle, is a form of dermatitis that affects horses' legs in the brush area.

Midges are a painful disease for horses and, unfortunately, very common. This disease is easy enough to treat, but to truly cure a horse, it will take a lot of work...

To defeat this disease, you need to clearly understand what it is. Midges, or midges (in English - mud fever) are caused by the actinomycete microorganisms Dermatophilus congolensis. They live in the ground, where they can wait for years for an opportunity to penetrate damaged, chapped or softened skin. Horses suffer from biting midges mainly in the fall and slushy winter when kept in fields, dirty levadas - or in any season if hygiene rules are not followed. Squats are very painful. Most often, horses with heavily overgrown or white legs with pink skin suffer from them.

The infection is also transmitted by flies. In addition, heredity plays a large role in predisposition to this disease.

Midges appear most often in the area of ​​the heel tubercles and pasterns, but in advanced cases they spread higher up the leg and can even cover the stomach. They are easy to recognize: scabs, layered scales, irritation, redness and swelling of tissue, pain and honey-colored liquid under the scabs.

Foul-smelling crusted pus (jelly-like consistency) occurs in horses with fluffy brushes.

If the scabs are carefully removed, then under them you can see hairs breaking through the inflamed skin. In short-haired horses, the scabs are smaller and look like small bumps on the fur, making the fur look like it is moth-eaten and there is less pus. As the disease progresses, the legs become swollen, hot and painful. However, symptoms are very individual.

What can biting midges be confused with when diagnosed? With other infectious skin diseases, with vascular inflammation, sarcoidosis, contact dermatitis, peeling and inflammation of the skin of the hind legs due to the ingestion of manure and urine during diarrhea.

Midges may appear if:

The horse is weakened;
- her immunity is undermined by any previous disease;
- she sweats a lot;
- has abrasions, scratches and other injuries on the legs;
- stands in a stall where a horse with biting midges previously stood;
- she shares boots, bandages, etc. with sick horses;
- if the horse’s legs are often washed with strong water pressure from a hose (in this case, the skin dries out, creating ideal conditions for bacteria).

What to do if there are already biting midges?
- Keep your horse on clean, dry bedding.
- Do not rinse off the dirt with a strong stream of water or wipe it off - let your feet dry, then brush off the dirt with a light brush. Or thoroughly wash the horse's legs with a sponge and a special product and wipe dry.

Veterinarians believe that midge treatment can be divided into three equally important stages: cleansing, scab removal and thorough drying.

Cleansing

1. Trim the fur in areas where biting midges are spread.
2. Wash these areas with a sponge or cotton wool with warm water.
3. Wash and soak the affected areas of the skin with antiseptic shampoos such as Pevidin or Hibiscrub, which kill bacteria and help remove scabs (never pick dry scabs!).
4. If they still do not go away, steam the sores with a warm, damp towel or apply warm, damp lotions to soften and remove infected tissue. The most effective is Animalintex, which is applied in a warm, damp form, squeezed out as much as possible. It will draw out dirt and infection, and the heat will encourage blood flow to the damaged skin.
Be prepared for the fact that sometimes scabs have to be removed in stages, applying Animalintex several times. You can’t keep it on for more than a day so as not to over-moisturize your skin.

Removing scabs

Remove the lotion, gel and all scabs. When removing scabs containing bacteria, wear disposable gloves and never throw them on the stable floor - Dermatophilus congolensis can survive in infected scabs for years.
When removing scabs, the horse feels severe pain. Sometimes this procedure requires sedation, anesthesia or twisting, you need to be very careful, but absolutely all the crusts must be removed.

After cleansing, you need to dry the horse’s legs with a soft towel, without rubbing the painful areas, but only applying a cloth to absorb moisture (under no circumstances should you leave the towel in the stable - put it in a bag and take it out).

In mild cases, Vaseline or lanolin is then applied to the dried feet to act as a barrier against infection. In more serious cases, apply an antibiotic ointment such as Dermobion under a layer of Gamgee (non-stick bandage) or, at worst, under a regular sterile gauze bandage and bandage (not tightly!) from the coronet to the carpal or hock joint for preventing infection from entering from the outside. Change the bandage daily and carefully monitor the horse's general condition. When the exudate stops appearing, leave the horse without bandages in a clean stall without bedding (usually in such a situation the horse is put on rubber).

If the bedding is not removed, the feet will become dirty and a secondary bacterial infection may occur. Treatment must be continued for a week or even two, removing newly formed scabs daily. The horse must be kept in a stable.

You can walk to relieve swelling. In unadvanced cases, light work can be continued if it does not cause discomfort to the horse.

If the condition worsens (legs become swollen or lameness appears), you need to call a veterinarian who will prescribe a course of antibiotics. Corticosteroids will help relieve inflammation.

Prevention

Carefully inspect your horse's feet every day. Start treatment at the first signs of illness. Before working in mud, apply special zinc ointment, castor oil or paraffin to the heel area and puto. Feet should be clean and dry before applying these products.

Trim long hair from pasterns. After work, wash off the dirt with a sponge with water and antiseptic, dry your feet and lubricate. Do not scrub wet dirt with a stiff brush or share hygiene items with other horses when grooming your horse.

Not just biting midges

There is another type of this disease - “rain-scald”. With rain burn, Dermatophilus congolensis can spread throughout the horse's body, particularly along the back. Characteristic bald spots appear, which can be mistaken for ringworm.

“Rain burn” is not a random name, since most often a horse with a weakened immune system “earns” this disease if it is kept outside and does not have the opportunity to take shelter under some kind of canopy on rainy days: water washes out the necessary fats from the skin, the skin dries out and becomes predisposed to the disease dermatophilosis. The remaining symptoms of this disease are similar to “ordinary” biting midges.

Lidia Nevzorova