Recommendations for a tick spot on brand that actually does something and also does not burn skin?
I have a horse with super sensitive skin. I was using Frontline spray on him very successfully but it’s discontinued.
I use the Equispot and it definitely works (we are in a tick invested area…and the difference between which horses have the equispot on and which don’t is very significant).
That said, I don’t apply it exactly the way the directions suggest, as my one gelding is super sensitive and hates it if I follow the exact application instructions.
I put a rubber glove on and pour a tiny bit on my hand and then rub over a wider area of the hair. I cover most areas except under the saddle or where the boots would be. So I rub over the neck, chin, chest, belly, pasterns, hocks, rear, tail, etc.
Doing it that way instead of pouring it from the tube onto a concentrated spot seems to make a major difference…all mine tolerate it and my sensitive gelding doesn’t get hives that way.
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I spray my horses’ legs and belly with fly spray that has permethrin. That seems to keep the ticks off pretty well. It seems ironic to me that fly spray does nothing to deter flies but it works well against ticks and chiggers.
Another vote for Equispot. I dont have to put it on as often as the directions state and I focus it more in her mane and dock than other places because my mare generally gets ticks there. Good results for us. We live in a swampy tidal area.
I use freedom 45- same as equispot, but cheaper (or at least it used to be?) and the applicator is WAY easier to use. It does work, and I have applied it to 4 different horses without ever causing any visible/long lasting skin reaction, but it does seem to give them some sort of tingly feeling when first applied that they don’t love. My understanding is that’s just something that happens with the active ingredient (working in small animal, we were told the same about the permethrin in advantix for dogs being why some of them don’t like it). They are always fine after a few minutes, so as long as they’re not acting unsafe for me to apply it, I just go with it. A few minutes of discomfort is far preferable to tick disease in my book.
Like someone said above, I don’t apply it exactly per instructions. I usually do a few dots down the mane starting at the poll, some on each side of the withers, at the tail head and a few spots down the dock, and then try to get a dot behind each knee and hock. You do want to get it on the skin vs the hair as much as possible.
My guys were always flat out dangerous when applying these spot on things, requiring a twitch and a helper and application in the middle of a field to accommodate the frantic rolling once the halter came off.
Someone here recommended applying to a WET horse, and holy cow, what a difference. Now they just stand.
Works really well for those horses who really don’t like the way it feels going on!
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Except somehow it seems to be not quite the same. My horse seemed to hate Equispot, not so much Freedom 45 or Pro Force 50, not that she’s exactly a fan of the last two. It could just be coincidence that something happened the time or two that we tried Equispot, but I’m not going to try it again.
They all say not to apply wet and not to bathe right after. Do they actually absorb it if you apply wet?
Is Freedom 45 the same as Pro Force 50? When I searched for it Pro Force 50 is what’s coming up.
Also, has anyone tried Vectra 3d for dogs on their horses? Or the spot on dog Frontline?
They don’t absorb it applying dry, either. It sits on the skin regardless.
When applying wet, you do have to not have them at that point where water is still running off, because otherwise the stuff will run off with it. That may be what the application instructions are warning against.
It seems to work fine applying to a wet horse.
I tried this for gnats and found it ineffective for much at all. Certainly didn’t work for the gnats.(And it went on a dry horse, lol.)
I’ve also applied it when they were wet (after a post ride hose down)…and had the same results as when I’ve applied it to them when dry. I agree that it’s actually easier to apply when they are wet.
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I’m so going to try this for my retired pasture boarded guy this year! I thought he was weird for hating these spot on treatments but guess not lol.
Thanks, I always understood it to be absorbed but I just went and did some reading and learned a bit more about the mechanism. It does sound like it’s fat soluble vs water soluble, and that is maybe why they don’t recommend applying wet- that it would interfere with the ability of the substance to “bond” (for lack of a better word at the moment) to the skin. So I will probably keep applying dry as long as my horses tolerate it. But it sounds like applying wet is a good option for the ones that don’t tolerate it, good to know it still appears to work.
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What is the “mechanism” by which it isn’t tolerated? My horse also hates when I put it on but I assumed it was more that I was kinda pressing/rubbing the little nib of the applicator on various spots and I assumed that was the issue. Does it burn or tingle or something?
(and I agree with applying it dry - it’s oily so I would assume it would stick to the skin/hairs best if applied dry.)
What we were told by the Advantix people when I was working in small animal was that it causes a bit of a creepy crawly feeling. That was to explain why some, usually tiny, dogs tolerated frontline but not advantix (advantix has permethrin, frontline doesn’t). No idea how they knew that or anything, but my sense is that it’s a little tingly maybe? May be about the applicator for some animals, but I don’t think that’s the primary mechanism.
Yep, I agree, my horses respond as if it’s the oil crawling along the skin that they don’t like. It’s not the applicator–I don’t even touch the tip to the horse.
I can either torture them and risk my safety applying it dry, or apply it wet with no complaint. Given that I’ve never noticed a difference in efficacy, I choose the application they don’t hate. 
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I just run a stiff brush once or twice in the direction gravity will make the oil drip, speeding it along.
Wow, that is super interesting. And makes a ton of sense given the surprisingly reactive reaction I get from applying it.
Would love to hear from anyone who has accidentally got it on their skin if they’ve felt this!
I get it on my hands all the time. don’t feel anything
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