I live in Florida and we have fire ants. Does anyone know what ant bites look like? I didn't think a horse would roll in an ant pile but every time one of the horses at the barn has bumps, people think they are ant bites. The bumps look more like a rash or fungus to me.

Thanks
Peg

Where are you from? Florida

We have fire ants here in Texas, too, and they will sure bite horses. The bites are small, often close together, and may look like pustules. The hair will slip off each bump. There's a product called Calm Coat that I've found is excellent for applying to the bites. If you use it soon after the animal (or you!) gets bitten, the pustules won't form. Be sure you don't break the pustules open, as the bites will be as painful as they were when the ant first attacked. The ants like to get in stalls under mats or under the barn foundation. When the horse lies down, the ants rush out and bite and sting.

Thanks for the info. I'll try the calm coat. Have you ever seen bites in the horses ears? I thought the horse had ant bites because she had a few small soars under her belly but now I found a few in her ears. You said the bites would be clustered together and get a white bump, these didn't. I groom her almost every day and about ten days ago, I noticed soars on her belly. I have been using equiderma on them but it didn't help. The vet said they might be ant bites and gave be some bedigen spray. Now I'm not sure since it seems odd that she would have a few on her belly and they are scattered around and now the ears. Atleast I know what to look for now when it is ants.
Thanks

Peg, I haven't seen fire ant bites inside the ears, although I'm sure that's possible. I've seen lots of bites on the neck and around the poll and outer ears. Inside the ears might be flies, especially if the bites seem to have dark scabs. You might check around the stall for fire ants and treat them as needed, then maybe put a flymask with ears on the horse if you don't seem to have an ant problem.

Where are you from? Peaster Texas

How did you locate this forum? Equine DDS, 2-3 years ago

Hi Peg and Pam,

The issue of ant bites is not a nutritional one, so I cannot specifically address it here. Calm Coat is helpful, as well as rubbing a small amount of Vicks Vaporub on the ears.

Your vet can provide an antihistimine to relieve the pain and itching.

Formerly from Texas, I know how these ant hills can appear overnight after a rain, so the best approach is to treat the ant hills as soon as possible. Most horses avoid them, but there are plenty of accidental encounters.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO