As the spring weather warms, ticks are becoming more active in their search for a good meal to continue their on-going life cycle. In addition, more horse owners are taking advantage of spring weather to ride on trails where ticks are prevalent in grasses and shrubbery. Although ticks are active year-round, they appear to be more active during warmer weather.
Ticks as a threat to horse and human health
Infection rates in tick populations vary by tick species and geographic region from as few as two percent to 90 percent or more.
This means more tick bites for all warm blooded animals. If tick bites aren't bad enough, the possibility of becoming infected with a disease such as Lyme disease or other bacterial infections should be enough to cause horse owners to take special care to check regularly for any signs of tick activity.
Lyme disease is an illness caused by a spirochete bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to animals and man through the bite of infected ticks.
The disease is reported worldwide and throughout the United States. The states of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey account for the majority of cases in the United States. However, cases are reported from all geographic regions of the country.
Different ticks are carriers in the different regions. Ixodes dammini (the deer tick) in the Northeast and midwest, Ixodes scapularis (the black-legged tick) in the South, Ixodes pacificus (the western black-legged tick) in the West and Amblyomma americanum (the lone star tick) found in several regions are all considered vectors.
The is growing concern that Dermacentor variabilis (the American dog tick) may also be capable of transmitting the disease. Transmission by biting insects (flies, fleas, mosquitos) is speculated but appears to be quite rare.
Not all ticks are infected. Infection rates in tick populations vary by tick species and geographic region from as few as two percent to 90 percent or more.
THE DEER TICK
Ixodes dammini is responsible for most of the cases of Lyme disease in the northeastern United States. These ticks are found in grassy areas (including lawns), and in brushy, shrubby and woodland sites, even on warm winter days.
They prefer areas where some moisture is present. The tick has three life stages: larva, nymph and adult. Each stage takes a single blood meal. They feed on a variety of warm blooded animals including man, dogs, cats, horses and cows.
The bite is painless so most victims do not know they have been bitten. The nymphal stage appears to be responsible for most Lyme disease cases. Both the larval stage (about the size of a grain of sand) and nymphal stage (about the size of a poppy seed) attach to a variety of small mammals, but prefer the white-footed mouse, the main reservoir of the Lyme disease bacteria.
The adult ticks (about the size of a sesame seed) prefer to feed on white-tailed deer. The entire life cycle requires three separate hosts and takes about two years to complete. Mice, rodents and birds are often hosts to these ticks.
Larval and nymphal deer ticks also attach to birds. Indeed, birds may be a primary means by which the ticks (some infected) are spread from one area to another. Some species of birds also function as a reservoir of infection.
Co-infections with Lyme disease are common. Erlichiosis (aka Potomac Horse Fever), babesiosis, & several other bacterial infections must be considered.
Symptoms in horses tend to be vague, but most frequently involve a sudden change in the horse's personality, such as biting their handlers or becoming sensitive to girthing.
Other symptoms can be lameness, back soreness, anorexia, lethargy and/ or low grade fever. In people you can expect a low grade fever often associated with flu like symptoms such as body aches, joint pain, and/or nausea.
The primary problem with tick-borne diseases is that they are difficult & expensive to diagnose using traditional tests which include Western Blot, ELISA,and Titers tests. False negatives are frequent. Because diagnosis can be difficult, the organism is allowed to reproduce making treatment longer with more negative consequences.
A few extra minutes spent examining and grooming your horse can help keep health risks from ticks at a minimum. Checking yourself for ticks and tick bites, as well as any other animals in the area is important to the health of all.