***BOTFLY***

The botfly is a nightmare for the horse and his owner. It is a hairy- bodied fly whose larvae lives as a parasite in mammals. There is a certain botfly species that actually uses humans as their host.

Bots infest the host by depositing eggs onto the skin and hair of the animal. Body heat stimulates the eggs to mature to larvae. The larvae then burrows under the skin of the horse, cow, or dog. The female botfly is so determined to perpetuate her kind, she will capture a common housefly, hold it down, and lay up to 30 eggs under it's wings in hopes the fly will drop the eggs on a delicious host. Botflies do not kill their host.

Botfly eggs looks like yellow paint drops on a horse. Once attached, the eggs must be removed with a razor blade or rough sandpaper. Egg removal is essential to prevent infestation. If the eggs are present and the horse rubs his nose on his legs, the eggs are transferred to the mouth. From there, the eggs travel to the intestines, attach, and grow into larvae. Not a pretty visual ! Erosions and ulcerations are the result of this process. In cattle, if left untreated, these lesions will become infected and ultimately take the animals life.

It is easy to see that these guys are not your horse's best friend. Keeping them off your animal is really the best prevention of infestation. Some basic prevention measures will go a long way in keeping your beloved horse comfortable. Protect him with a safe, high quality fly repellant. That way both of you will always be able to GET OUT AND RIDE !!