Equispot caused an allergic reaction in my horse who rolled repeatedly and ran around and bit at himself. Ultraboss has been effective and doesn’t make him miserable. I put it on every three weeks. And his tail is banged.
Also some all-natural spray product based on Geraniol caused big swollen legs.
So sorry to have to learn the hard way about allergies… “But I was only trying to help” doesn’t cut it with my horse.
I was the guinea pig with the OLE mosquito repellant. It helped repel gnats this AM but the mosquitoes in my front yard were not phased by it. I tried to get some on my horse but her stall door was open and she shot out the door because she was sure I was trying to kill her. I did spray her back end with Ecovet this AM so I don’t blame her. I will try again tonight with a halter on her.
Anything with that same amount of cedar oil? It really does work very well for us!
More ways to prevent ticks/tick bites on your person:
Commercially treated socks, etc.
Can wash as usual, but we then line dry.
Pay a service to treat your own clothes
In case the link doesn’t work in the future, I’m most familiar with insect shield, but I’m sure there are others. We have not done this yet, but it’s on our list for certain outdoor clothes.
Treat your own clothes with sawyer permethrin spray
Premixed aerosol is best. I have used the concentrate and then diluted it to save on cost, but it didn’t seem to spray as well. It lasts for a few washings, and is great for trips.
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Jumping in on this thread from last month:
Anyone notice their horses are reacting more to ticks than usual this year?
All of mine are getting huge, itchy, pus-filled swellings with every tick bite. In the past it has happened occasionally, but never with every single tick. I don’t know why the entire herd is reacting so severely to ticks this year. It’s from the dog ticks and lone star ticks that are present every year. Probably from deer ticks, too, but they are always harder to find on the horses.
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Not here, but goddamn it’s definitely a year for big, over the top bug reactions otherwise. I have a couple on antihistamines for full body hives and insatiable itching.
I’m going to try braiding cattle ear tags into the mane & tail. We’ll see how it goes!
@Simkie that’s awful and strange! I’ve noticed more bites on my horses’ sensitive areas from flies this year, but no increased reaction. The ticks on the other hand have them covered in pus-filled lumps and scratching their hair out.
I’d love to know what’s going on!
In my area the farmers put a lot of insecticides on the crops, they have to change chemicals as resistance builds up. Maybe someone in your area changed what they are putting on their land and it’s impacting either the horses or the ticks.
This is a drastic change, I’d contact the closest university with a big ag or vet school. If they don’t know about this change, well, somebody has to be the first to report it.
Sounds like our horses are similar in the “whoa WTF is that?!” style reaction, just in slightly different directions 
I do garlic for ticks, and find nearly none on the horses since I started (probably less than a half dozen from all four all season! I pull more from me 
)
I’m using the TriZap tag, and put one in the mane of each horse yesterday. I’m hopeful! When I turned out this morning, I saw a LOT less tail swishing.
It’s funny you mention this because I live on over a thousand acres of crop land. We also have a large vineyard directly next to the pasture. They chemicals they spray on the grapes are OMG. 
And whatever they crop dust on the corn has killed multiple trees over the past two years. Because the pasture and house sit in between corn fields, we get chemicals raining down on us.
In addition to the tick issue, 3 of my 5 are having new laminitis problems despite being muzzled 24/7.
I won’t drink my well water anymore, but my animals don’t have a choice.
This tick collars on the legs is an interesting approach! Have you been doing it for long? How often do you change the collars?
I used Seresto when I had one pony and lasted the entire summer. Now I’m up to 3, and one is sensitive to chemicals, I’m using the vets + plant based collars. They come in a pack of 4 and are still going strong a couple months in. They are a stronger smell.
Do you have them on all 4 legs?
I attempted to keep them on all four legs. Usually ended up with 2 out of 4 by the end of fall.
So far everyone has kept them on all 4 feet.
This is such a great idea, I had thought of it but never knew anyone who had actually tried it in real life! I’ve been using a topical, but it hasn’t been super effective.
After reading this thread, I ordered a bottle of cedar-cide and let me tell you…it works! I went on a trail ride that normally would result in at least 20 minutes of de-ticking after and I only found 1! And he was hiding under her bell boot where the spray did not reach! I do think it might tingle their skin a little-i saw some leg lifting etc after I misted it on, but I am definitely pleased so far. I also mist the bottom of the tail and I did comb a bit in the longer maned fellows.
I am also very interested in the flea collar idea-these 2 products together just might be the ticket for a tick free life!
Where do you live?
Southern NJ…in the middle of the Pine Barrens. We’ve had animals/friends locally come up positive for Lyme, Anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever…and we have a neighbor with Alpha-Gal. Saw one newborn fawn the other morning - both eyes swollen shut from all the ticks (wasn’t able to get a hold of it for the wildlife people). It’s bad here…but we’re pretty much used to it.
Holy cow. I don’t know how you deal with it. That’s a hard no for me.
Glad you find it effective! I love that stuff and wind up smelling of cedar all summer. Went wading through elbow deep weeds yesterday collecting berries and no ticks! Practically a miracle 
