Feather mites - how plant magic can help
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Time to read 2 min
For a non-biting insect, feather mites cause an awful lot of discomfort. They love to feed on flakes of dead skin, and horses with feather are their favourite home! Because Chorioptes bovis mites are ubiquitous in the environment, keeping feathered horses free from infestation isn't an easy task.
Chemical treatments for feather mites target adult stages, so they need to be repeated as nymphs mature into adult mites, a process that takes around three weeks. It's a never-ending cycle since all stages of mite development are present at the same time - eggs, nymphs, and adults - meaning that as soon as you control the adults, more just take their place.
What's more, veterinary treatments are all off-label and include Cydectin (ivermectin) and the doggie flea treatment, fipronil. Both have concerns surrounding them about possible environmental toxicity, so eco-conscious horse guardians are caught between a rock and a hard place when considering the available options to alleviate their horse's discomfort from feather mites.
So how can plant magic help? Plants have evolved to fight pests and diseases by producing substances that deter their attack or, in the case of diseases, detect them and limit their damage. These magic goodies are also in plant extracts such as essential oils and other plant oils.
We can use these inherent properties to our advantage to make horses' legs a hostile environment for mites, and this is how our Horse Oil with Sweet Orange & Peppermint works. The fractionated coconut oil base has a physical effect on feather mites, blocking their spiracles (breathing holes) and causing them to jump ship.
The essential oils both have natural deterrent properties, and while the peppermint kills the itch, the sweet orange & peppermint calms and soothes irritated skin. It's a magic combination that is proven to work. What's more, applying it two to three times a week helps prevent hitchhikers from jumping on board.
Feather mites can cause horses to stamp, or they can be insufferably itchy, causing them to rub and chew their legs. You can often feel scabs in the hair where the horse's skin is reacting to its irritating little passengers.
That's where Itchy Gel comes in. It contains the same trusted combination of sweet orange & peppermint essential oils at a stronger concentration than the horse oil. It also contains pharmaceutical-grade neem oil, which, because it's so pure, doesn't have the strong smell often associated with neem products. It's pleasant to use!
The oils are carried in an aqueous aloe vera gel, so there are no nasty greasy residues after applying and all the benefits of aloe vera to help soothe the skin.
As an added measure, peppermint wash can also play a role. With no need to rinse out, the diluted wash can be sponged onto the legs and rubbed into feathers, leaving the peppermint oil to do its thing.
As well as a smell that horses love, often horses that haven't welcomed handling of their legs before become easy to handle under the Hedgewitch regime.
