Horses and Fleas

[xfactor fan]

Just finished reading a couple of books on the Mongol and their empire(s) and one of the observations was about the Black Plague. It seems that the fleas and plague spread along the Silk Road, hit the city folk but left nomadic horse folks alone. According to the author, fleas don't like the scent of horses.

Have any of you folks ever seen fleas on your horses? I've seen flies, and ticks, but never fleas. And in fact don't ever remember getting bitten by a flea while in a barn.

If this is true, then the next time the Black Plague comes to call, hang out in the barn with your horses and don't wash the eau de horse off.

[kezeli]

I always wondered about that, even my dogs never had fleas when they spent time in the barn. I thought it was what we washed them with :lol:

[yukidragon]

Interesting, I was thinking Oregon had no fleas.
Never had thought the horses made it peaceful living here for the rest of the pets.

[KBEquine]

I believe a flea needs an animal that nests in the same place for its life cycle - the flea eggs drop into the bedding; the larva climb back onto the warmblooded animal when it lays down in the bedding, suck blood, reproduce, drop off . . . repeat cycle (my vet once told me that when I asked about fleas & horses).

Horses in the wild are nomads & so not good candidates for the fleas' life cycle. Domestic horses may "nest in stalls" but said stalls are routinely cleaned, breaking up the cycle.

[Tbird]

Fleas are parasites of carnivores.

[Kari]

I believe a flea needs an animal that nests in the same place for its life cycle - the flea eggs drop into the bedding; the larva climb back onto the warmblooded animal when it lays down in the bedding, suck blood, reproduce, drop off . . . repeat cycle (my vet once told me that when I asked about fleas & horses).

Horses in the wild are nomads & so not good candidates for the fleas' life cycle. Domestic horses may "nest in stalls" but said stalls are routinely cleaned, breaking up the cycle.

That's what I've been taught. A flea might get on a horse and/or bite the horse while in transit to a better place to live, but that's all.

(I worked at a vet hospital that saw exotic mammals, and once saw a guinea pig with fleas.....ewww! Frontline was the answer for the poor piggie.)

[Tabasco Cat]

I've never seen fleas on a horse or a pony, even when they are not bathed regularly. When we adopted our kittens, born to a barn cat, the barn owner told me they never had fleas on the cats that lived in the horse barn because the fleas were repelled by the horses. I had never thought much about it until then.

[Linda_d]

ANOTHER reason to love horses!

[Laurierace]

I've never seen fleas on a horse or a pony, even when they are not bathed regularly. When we adopted our kittens, born to a barn cat, the barn owner told me they never had fleas on the cats that lived in the horse barn because the fleas were repelled by the horses. I had never thought much about it until then.

We trapped 15 feral barn cats to spay/neuter/release this January. I think there were more fleas per square inch then there were hairs.

[Shammy Davis]

http://forums.westernhorseman.com/index ... ic=3002428

[Shammy Davis]

Fleas on Horses or Cows
Do Horses and Cows get fleas?. If they don't why don't they? 202.92.75.130 (talk) 05:42, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

You need to further define "get fleas." Human can have fleas on them and get bit if they are in an infested area, but that is rarely referred to as "getting fleas." Small animals often carry an infestation with them - which is what is often meant by "getting fleas." Cows, horses, and other large animals rarely carry an infestation with them. I grew up around a lot of cow farms and fleas were never an issue. However, it is possible, just as it is possible for a human to take fleas from one building to another. Any warm-blooded animal is capable of providing a safe home for fleas. They just prefer certain animals over others. -- kainaw™ 06:06, 30 July 2008 (UTC)


I think there are a couple of reasons why horses and cows don't have fleas. First, their skin is too thick for the penetration of a flea's mouthparts to suck blood. Secondly, and probably more important, horses and cows don't have a nest or home area in the same way that dogs and cats do. The home area is important in the life cycle of the flea to allow the eggs to drop into an area where they can hatch to larvae, pupate and then climb aboard the animal to take in blood to start the next generation. Richard Avery (talk) 07:27, 30 July 2008 (UTC)
I believe they do get ticks, however. I wonder what's different that allows ticks to feed on them but not fleas ? StuRat (talk) 13:36, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

I know cows get ticks on their ears. Do they often get ticks on the rest of their body? -- kainaw™ 13:41, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

Only if they are fully checked out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.76.185.178 (talk) 00:15, 1 August 2008 (UTC)


Ticks differ from fleas in two respect that may be pertinent to this discussion. They tend to burrow into the skin thus overcoming the problem the flea encounters. (Why a tick is able to do this and a flea not is beyond my primitive grasp of this topic) The spread of ticks is achieved by the adult, after hatching, looking for and ascending a stalk of grass or a plant to put itself in a position where it can grasp a passing animal, cow, deer, dog or indeed human. This strategy gives it a singular advantage over the flea by allowing it to bridge a much larger vertical space and not having to rely on a central point to board the host. Richard Avery (talk) 14:40, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: ... 08_July_30

[Shammy Davis]

Very interesting thread. I had never really thought about it.

http://journals.tums.ac.ir/upload_files/pdf/9168.pdf