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[RC] Preventing ticks ? - Cynthia Eyler

I used to take 4-6 embedded ticks off my gelding each week.  Now I find 3-4 per year.  The difference is powdered garlic mixed in with his grain/beetpulp mash.  I feed it all year long since we have only brief periods during winters here in central Maryland when the ground is frozen solid -- and so the ticks are active virtually all year long.
 
When I asked my vet about using garlic against ticks, he said that it seems to help some horses and not others (it certainly has not helped my horse with flying insects).  Since my horse gets huge lumps from tick bites, dripping blood and pus, and I'm terrified of Lyme Disease, it was certainly worth a try.  I started out feeding 1 teaspoon, twice daily, and worked up to 1 tablespoon at each meal.
 
In advance of horrified responses:  Yes, garlic in large amounts can cause anemia, but Susan G advised that I'd probably have to feed cups of the stuff for that to happen.  And a recent study published in the Horse Journal showed anemia resulted when horses ate 7.5 ounces twice daily.  I feed an ounce, or less, at a time, and recent bloodwork showed that my horse is fine.
 
Cindy
 

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Re: [RC] ABs for Tick?, rides2far