Tick Safer Horses: How To Remove a Tick from Your Horse

(letters rolling and clicking)

- What do you do when you find a tick on your horse?

There's actually a very simple yet specific process for tick removal.

Removing a tick incorrectly may increase the risk of pathogens being transmitted from the tick to the horse.

So, let's review the best way to remove a tick.

To remove a tick, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, using a pair of fine-tip tweezers, forceps or a tick removal tool, and then pull gently and slowly straight away from the skin.

That sounds pretty simple, but why grasp as close to the skin as possible?

Well, ticks really have two body regions, mouth parts, which are embedded in the skin, and a large abdomen that can swell with blood as the tick feeds.

In that abdomen are the gut and the salivary glands, which is where the pathogens and parasites tend to be.

If you squeeze the abdomen of a tick, it's possible that you might squeeze those pathogens into your horse, which is something we wanna avoid.

For similar reasons, you don't wanna use any other method of tick removal like heat, cold, or any products like petroleum jelly or nail polish remover to try and remove a tick.

These can force the tick to try and make a quick escape, but in doing so, that tick may spit out pathogens into your horse's body.

After the tick has been removed, you can dispose of the tick by flushing it down the toilet, wrapping it tightly in tape, or putting it in rubbing alcohol.

Basically, you wanna make sure that tick doesn't have a chance to escape.

Alternatively, you can save the tick in a sealed container or plastic bag and put it directly in the freezer where the cold will kill it.

Make sure to label the container or bag with the date, your horse's name and where you found the tick.

By keeping the tick, you have the option of getting the tick tested for pathogens at a laboratory that specializes in tick and tick pathogen identification if your horse starts to have signs of a tick-borne disease.

You can also submit your tick to be tested immediately after removing it at one of the many tick testing laboratories.

Keep a tick removal kit in your first aid kits at the barn or in your trailer, as well as in your grooming kit.

Quick access to these tools will make it easy to remove a tick.

Tick removal kits can be purchased preassembled or made at home.

They should include gloves, storage containers, or bags to keep ticks, fine-tipped tweezers, forceps, or a tick removal tool, tick ID card, a magnifying glass, a flashlight and triple antibiotic ointment.

After the tick is removed, apply triple antibiotic ointment and monitor the area.

If you have any concerns about a tick bite either before or after removal, please reach out to your veterinarian.

Remember, simple is better when removing a tick to help keep your horse pathogen-free.

Keep that tick removal kit handy, so you are ready the next time you encounter a tick.