Giant tick

I was grooming Champagne last night, and when I got to the area where his hind leg attaches to his flank, yikes: a huge swelling bigger than my fist, and just above that a swelling the size of a walnut with a bead of blood as big as a marble on top.

Kathy, the barn manager, said to wash off the blood and see what was under it. I did, and what was under it was something dark and weird, which everyone (big crowd around at this point) agreed was a tick.

I soaked a cloth in hydrogen peroxide and pulled out the tick. It was the size of a black sunflower seed and had not really gotten engorged with blood yet. I cleaned out the hole (it was a hole/crevasse I could but the tip of my little finger into) with non-sting iodine.

Since I know that diseases (including Lime disease) can be spread by ticks, and since horses do get Lime disease, I am concerned. Oh my. I don’t think he’s been vaccinated against Lime! However, it didn’t seem to be a deer tick, (they are the main culprit), because it was too large.

Having a horse is a lot like having a little kid, in that they are subject to all kinds of pains, illnesses and issues and they can’t really tell you what’s wrong. So you the owner/parent have to be eternally vigilant about injuries and anything other than normal, while needing to stay calm and matter-of-fact so the child/horse does not become concerned as well. Deep breath.