These signs indicate that your horse has a mite infection
Some horses display clear symptoms of a mite infection, but there are also many horses that don’t display symptoms. Regardless of whether your horse is displaying symptoms, treatment is always necessary. That’s why it is important to know what the symptoms of a mite infection are, because the sooner you can commence treatment, the better.
Signs that could point towards horses being infected by mite
The following symptoms occur when horses are infected with mites:
- Itchiness, particularly around the legs
- Leg pounding
- Horse rubs its legs together
- Horse bites its legs
- Crustiness and flakiness on the legs
- Cracked legs
- Wounds on the legs
- Greasy Heel (Mud Fever)
- Swollen legs (in the case of more serious infections)
These symptoms are often first visible on the hind legs among cold-blooded horses. When brushing, always check the pastern cavities for crustiness, flakiness and wounds. Concerning mite infections, the more eggs there are in the horse’s coat, the longer it will take for the infection to clear. This is because the eggs continue to hatch. This makes it important to start their treatment as quickly as possible to prevent more mites from laying eggs in the horse’s coat. You can read what the best way to treat mite is here.
Note: some symptoms could have multiple causes
The symptoms above do not apply exclusively to mite infections. There are other causes that could lead to one or more of the abovementioned symptoms. Itchiness and pounding could also be caused by dietary changes or bacterial infections. Do you suspect your horse might have a mite infection? A vet can easily find out whether your horse has a mite infection via a microscopic investigation to be certain.
