Chorioptic Mange Mites, more commonly known as feather mites live on the surface of the skin and at less than half a millimetre they are not easy to spot! Your horse will show signs of these little critters when they start stamping, chewing and rubbing the lower legs. Although these mites don’t burry into the skin they can cause havoc and considerable irritation. No breed is safe from feather mites but they are much more prevalent in feathered breeds. It’s also important to know that mites can live anywhere on the horse, in the stable, grooming equipment and rugs, basically anywhere they can find dead skin debris to feed on!
Symptoms if left untreated include, reddening of the skin, crusty scabs – often mistaken for mud fever. Hair loss, skin thickening and lower limb swelling, open wounds and secondary fungal or bacterial infections can occur.
Treatment can be tricky, as mites are often widespread in the horse’s environment – and other horses in the herd or on the yard may have mites even though they aren’t showing any symptoms. It is important to watch out for early signs of the problem as this makes treatment more likely to be successful. If there are groups of horses housed together it might be necessary to treat all horses who have contact with the one known to have mites, to prevent the problem recurring.
Feather mites are often associated with scurfy dandruff like flakes in the skin. This is perhaps the skins natural defence to try and shed the mites. Once the skin starts to do this it seldom seems to stop, even when the mites have been eliminated. The mites feed on the skin debris and can live for around 70 days after hatching from eggs laid on the surface of the horse’s skin.
As long as the horse is not showing signs of being itchy, owners should not worry too much about the scurf. Occasionally the scurf can form large crusty areas at the back of the knees (mallanders) and the front of the hock (sallanders). Again, once these have formed, they are unlikely to go away. Attempts to remove them may cause more harm than good. They are often no more unsightly, but can become chapped and painful or infected on occasion. Keeping them soft and protected by using Wunder Gel or Manuka Gel will help soothe and hydrate as well as protecting from secondary infection.
Occassionally, large crusty areas can form at the back of the horse’s knees which are know as mallanders or the front of the hocks known as sallanders. The thickening of the skin leads to scaling and a dandruffy appearance. Unfortunately, once these thickenings have formed it’s difficult to get rid of them and they are unlikely to ever totally go away.
Mallanders and Sallanders is linked to current or historic feather mites issues in heavy and feathered breeds of horses and so should be checked for regularly. Unfortunately, these breeds are particularly prone to them as hyperkeratinisation is also associated with having feathers.
Hyperkeratosis is a thickening of the outer layers of the skin triggered by the movement of the mites causing inflammation and in some cases infection. In a normal situation, the epithelial cells shed regularly but in hyperkeratinisation, excess keratin is formed and accumulates causing the normal shedding process to be disrupted. Keratin is a fibrous protein that is the main structure of the skin, hair, hooves etc and is produced by epithelial cells. Keratin is also essential for wound healing.
Mites absolutely hate Neem Oil, apply some neem to your finger tips and massage deep into the base of the feather and skin areas. Remember to clean equipment and change bedding. Pro-Equine Neem Oil range includes sizes starting from, 250ml RRP £9.95. The neem spray is also useful for spritzing around the stable and on rugs and equipment.
Finding the right neem product or soothing Aloe Vera gel application for your horse is easy when you visit our online store. Products include pure cold pressed neem to shampoos, sprays, gels and hoof applications.
