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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

How Much Do You Know About Bots?

The Horse: Autumn Pests

by: Craig R. Reinemeyer, DVM, PhD
October 01 2006, Article # 7672

Q: Every fall, I see bot flies terrorizing my horses. I have tried to find a way to get rid of them or to even cut their numbers down, but I have not been successful. I have cows in the next pasture, and someone told me cows attract bot flies. Is this true?
Tracy, Oroville, Calif.

A: Bots are an inevitable aspect of equine ownership, but they are probably more bothersome to you than to your horse.

Read more great information from Dr. Reinemeyer.

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1 comments:

gtyyup said...

Oh how I hate bots...so do my poor horses. In our climate, we have "nose bots" that come with the hot weather. They lay their eggs on the horses nose. The horses react VIOLENTLY...striking out, bolting and running etc. I make sure that they've got shade and they will congregate in a tight bunch to protect each other.

So, when the regular bot flies come in the fall, they think they are the nose bots from the summer and react just as violently.

All of my worming does little to keep the population down when the neighbor has 60 horses with NO worming program...sigh...