1. Don’t assume that your regular fly repellent will safeguard you or your horse from stinging insects. Standard repellents will not deter an angry bee or wasp if you disturb a nest.
2. While riding or working around your horse, don’t wear perfume, cologne, scented deodorant or soaps that might attract insects.
3. If you accidentally disturb a bee, wasp or hornet nest while out riding, the best thing to do is move out of the area as swiftly as possible. Bees can obtain speeds up to 15 miles per hour, but you and your horse should easily be able to outrun them. If you’ve disturbed a hive of Africanized honeybees, keep running! These ornery bees have been known to continue an attack as far as a quarter of a mile.
4. Keep barn trash containers neat and tidy and away from grooming and saddling areas. Don’t leave cans of open soda pop where insects might be drawn to them. Place open drinks in a cooler or the barn refrigerator while you work with your horse.
5. Set wasp traps around your barn and property, but avoid putting traps in high-use zones, such as tacking and grooming areas.
6. Keep your barn well swept of spider webs, being sure to check in dark corners and rafters. Automatic barn misters for fly control will also help reduce spider infestations in your barn.
7. If you live in snake country, keep horse feed in mouse- and rat-proof bins, and be sure to clean up any spilled feed that might attract these vermin. You can expect snakes to move in if you have a problem with mice.
8. Clean up the junk around your barn, and always use caution when reaching into dark places—snakes like to sleep under rocks, piles of jump poles, stored hay, et cetera.
9. Non-venomous snakes are beneficial to have around. Black racer, milk and kingsnakes not only help control barn rats and mice, they also eat other snakes, including their venomous cousins.
10. While riding watch the trail well ahead of your horse. If you see a snake in the trail, stop and wait for it to move off the trail before proceeding or find a way to avoid it.
11. Leave snakes alone. Most people are bitten while trying to get a closer look at the snake or trying to kill it.
12. When riding in snake country, stay on the open trail rather than areas of tall grass and over brush-covered logs that might easily conceal a snake. If you do surprise a snake, move away as slowly and calmly as possible—avoid sudden movements that might provoke it to strike.
13. Venomous snakes like the cottonmouth reside near bodies of water, such as streams, creeks and ponds. Keep an eye out for snakes as you approach a water crossing or before allowing your horse to drink.

Back to Horses and Stinging Insects

The post How to Protect Your Horse from Stinging Insects and Biting Snakes appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

While most cause little harm to the general population of humans and horses, others are capable of producing serious lesions or may even trigger severe allergic reactions. Let’s take a look at our most common stingers and biters—bees, wasps, hornets, fire ants, spiders and venomous snakes.

Social Stingers

Bees, wasps, hornets and fire ants will vigorously attack in defense of their nests. The instant burning sensation from a sting is the insects’ foremost weapon in driving foreseen enemies away.

In most sting scenarios, pain and inflammation are primarily limited to a small area around the sting site, although dramatic swelling might occur if your horse receives a sting around the muzzle or eyes. Depending on the horse and how many stings he received, an allergic reaction could be slight to very serious.

How to Identify a Sting

In general, horses rarely exhibit serious reactions to a single insect sting. In fact, very often you will only learn that your horse has been stung when you stumble upon the small, soft swelling during a grooming session.

“Should your horse exhibit excessive swelling, irritability, pain or hives, he is potentially having a bad reaction to the insect venom,” explains Dr. Nancy S. Loving, DVM, of Boulder, Colo. “Hives indicate that the horse has developed an allergic response. Usually this condition is transient, but the presence of hives often precedes a more generalized allergic response that could include swelling and occlusion of the airways.”

Treating Stings

Of all the summer stingers, bees are the only ones with barbs on their stingers. If you find a bee’s stinger left protruding from your horse’s hide, gently remove the stinger, making an effort not to squeeze the venom sac, which inadvertently injects more venom into your horse. “If removal of the stinger can not be easily or safely done, it’s best to have your veterinarian attend to the problem,” says Dr. Loving.

For any sting, whether it results from a fire ant, bee, wasp or hornet, applying an ice pack to the sting site for 10 to 15 minutes will cool down the painful burning sensation, plus impede further swelling. “A dab of Icthammol or a baking soda poultice might also be soothing and will act as a drawing agent to pull out the inflammation,” advises Dr. Loving.

Stings accompanied with hives or that involve the head will require extra attention. Monitor your horse closely. Any time there is swelling in the head area, stay alert for signs of discomfort or trouble breathing. “Usually it’s best to arrange veterinary evaluation and treatment rather than wait until a more serious issue develops,” says Dr. Loving.

Along Came a Spider

A bite from a black widow or brown recluse spider, although not usually a life threatening problem for your horse, can create a difficult lesion to heal. “A typical reaction to a spider bite creates local inflammation and sloughing of affected skin and soft tissue,” says Dr. Loving. “Horses occasionally develop mild to moderate systemic symptoms, such as fever and depression.

“The bite should be treated as any wound, with careful attention dedicated to avoid infection. Your veterinarian will remove any necrotic (dead) tissue, then will minimize further inflammation with anti-inflammatory medications, plus administer a tetanus toxoid booster. Depending on the extent or seriousness of the bite wound, your vet may also put your horse on systemic antibiotics,” explains Dr. Loving.

Slithering Snakes

Venomous snakes are divided into two categories—the elapids, such as the coral snake, and the pit vipers, which include the copperhead and cottonmouth (water moccasin), along with 13 species of rattlesnake.

Snakebites in horses may be a more common occurrence in some parts of the country than others. “However, snakebites in veterinary practice seem fewer in number than one might actually expect, considering the numbers of snakes and potential encounters,” says Dr. Loving.

More often than not, a horse is bitten while out grazing in the pasture rather than out on a trail ride. Whether out of curiosity or by accident, most bites occur on the horse’s muzzle or face.

How to Treat a Snakebite

While a sizable number of viper snakebites don’t actually result in the injection of venom, they are still quite serious. “Contact your veterinarian immediately, as it is important to reduce the effects of deadly clostridia bacteria that are injected along with the bite,” says Dr. Loving.

“Minimizing tissue destruction is based on the principles of wound care. Your vet will clean the wound thoroughly and administer an appropriate antibiotic treatment along with anti-inflammatory medications to minimize swelling and edema. If the bite is on the muzzle or face, your vet will probably use a scalpel to open the wound so that it won’t swell shut. Leaving such a wound open to the air will help reduce the proliferation of anaerobic bacteria.”

Just as in spider bites, the use of a tetanus toxoid booster and systemic antibiotics will reduce the chance of infection. Ask your vet for any first-aid instructions while you wait for his or her arrival.

Depending on the size and species of the snake, as well as the size of the horse and the location of the bite, prognosis for your horse’s complete recovery may range anywhere from poor to very good.

Preventing Stings and Bites

If you notice a troop of insects flying back and forth from a certain location, stay clear of the area until you can safely check for a nest. Set aside time to fully explore your property. Carefully check for nests around barns, sheds and horse trailers. Whether you can personally take care of nest removal will depend on the size of the nest, where it’s located and whether or not you are allergic to wasp or bee venom, but there are always professionals capable of the task.

While bees usually build their nests in hollowed-out logs or trees in wooded areas, wasps and hornets will often construct their paper nests right under our noses. They prefer the open eaves of barns and sheds, as well as inside horse trailers.

Subterranean nests are much more difficult to find and destroy. Some cantankerous wasps, like the Yellow Jacket, will construct their underground nests, not only in open pastures and hay fields, but may also burrow deep inside your stack of barn-stored hay, or inside open-ended pipe fence panels. Once found, the inaccessibility makes them very hard to destroy. If their nest is inside a structure such as a pipe fence panel, you may be able to deal with it on your own, while a nest that is actually underground could house a large colony, making it difficult and dangerous to handle without the help of a professional.

On the other hand, fire ant colonies are by and large quite easy to locate. This is due to the domed effect of an ant colony’s excavated soil. Contact your local agricultural agent to determine your attack strategy for controlling fire ant colonies.

Spiders are sneaky little beasts, so your best defense is to keep your barn clean. This means you must eliminate all spider nests. Most spiders build their webs in out-of-the-way areas, such as high above in the barn rafters or tucked back in dark corners.

While it’s impossible to prevent all snakebites, you can reduce the odds of a snake encounter by keeping a clean barn to discourage snakes from moving in. Spilled feed invites rats and mice into your barn, which in turn attract snakes.

Whether you like these critters or not, they come with the territory of spending time in the great outdoors with your horse. You may not be able to avoid them altogether, but to decrease the risk of you or your horse getting stung or bit, the first line of defense is to be observant.

Further Reading

• Prevent Bee, Wasp and Hornet Stings

Authors, Kim and Kari Baker are long time Appaloosa breeders living in northwest Montana. Besides breeding horses this twin duo also combine their knowledge and talents as equine photographers and writers.

This article first appeared in the July 2004 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click Here to subscribe to HI.

The post Horses and Stinging Insects appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

What you will need for the towing vehicle & trailer:

• Spare tires for the towing vehicle and trailer (inflated to proper PSI)
• A jack and tire iron or lug wrench
• Three emergency triangles or flares (triangles are best)
• Extra supply of coolant/engine oil/transmission and power steering fluids, plus a funnel and service rags
• WD-40 or other lubricant
• Chocks to safely block wheels
• Flash light and extra batteries
• Tape (electrical and duct)
• Spare fuses and bulbs for exterior and interior lights
• A charged fire extinguisher
• Sharp knife and wire cutters
• Tool kit
• Jugs of clean water (can be used for radiator or horses)
• Jumper cables
• Spare belts and hoses
• Tow chain or cable
• Portable compressor
• Quick fix tire repair kit
• Broom/shovel/manure fork and disposal bags
• Vehicle registrations for the towing vehicle and trailer
• Proof of insurance

What you will need for your horse:

• A spare halter for each horse
• Extra lead ropes for each horse
• A bucket and sponge
• Feed buckets
• Hay and feed
• Water
• Fly repellent
• 100 feet of 1/2″ rope
• An equine first-aid kit
• Identification information on each horse
• Brand inspection papers (when applicable)
• Health certificate (when applicable)

For You:

• Orange safety vest
• Work gloves
• Extra cash and credit card
• Driver’s license
• Road atlas
• Cellular phone and/or CB radio (in rural mountainous areas without cell phone service a CB radio may be more valuable)
• Phone directory with numbers for your veterinarian, insurance company, emergency roadside assistance numbers and numbers of family/or friends who can be notified if you become incapacitated
• First-aid kit

Further Reading
First Aid Kits for Horses and Riders

The authors, an identical twin team, live and ranch in northwest Montana. Along with raising a few Appaloosa horses, they are also professional equine photographers.

The post Horse Trailering Checklist appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.