Ticks

[sleeton]

It looks like it's going to be a bumper year for ticks. Just the beginning of May, and they are already causing problems. Horses are on daytime turnout and coming in with their muzzles covered ... one animal more so than all the rest.

Any ideas for an effective equine-safe repellent (that can be used on faces).

Thanks for any ideas.

I used Coopers fly repellent plus, or Switch which is currently out of stock but very good both can be used as a spot on and should repel them. They both contain Permethrin which should work on ticks. (Coopers says wipe on, but the company says poured on the spine from ears to tail will work just as well.)
Im going to continue fly treatment with Deosect.
TBH none of the other Deet or Citronella fly repellents are up to much.
Does there seem to be one particular area in the field where they are picking them up that you can fence off?

Thank you Saggy I'll try those.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be confined to a particular area. Others in they area talk of similar problems just now, but I don't know if my grazing areas are worse because I keep it on a three year rotation. In any one year one third will be horse paddocks, one third resting and one third sheep.

The sheep are of course dipped, but I wonder if they are causing this infestation. I have never seen so many ticks coming back each day.
Poor horses!

It might be worth contacting csj about their billy no mates herbal supplement. I've used it on my dogs and although they've had the odd tick they don't seem to attach properly so are much easier to remove. O'TOM tick twisters are fab for removing ticks too.

When I mentioned ticks to my 'fount of all horsey knowledge', the first thing she mentioned was sheep! Make sure you are protected. Ticks can be pretty nasty for people too.