First Aid for your Trail Horse

Horse & Insect Bites

Yellow Jacket, Wasp, and Bee Stings

Yellow Jackets are very territorial and have a reputation for being aggressive. They will protect their nest and can be quite nasty about it. Often, and unfortunately they invite themselves into the hay loft or rafters of your horse's stall to build a nest. Next thing you know, they attack your horse. Unlike bees, yellow jackets and wasps can sting repeatedly, and this will be quite painful to the horse. The site will swell up almost immediately, and will be warm and sensitive to touch. An ice pack or cool water compress is a good first aid remedy to help relieve the swelling and pain without the need of medicated treatments.

Follow these steps:

• Remove remaining stinger
• Use a pair of slant tip tweezers if needed
• Cleanse the wound with warm soapy water
• Pat dry
• Apply salve

The following remedies are recommended for application on stings:

• Baking soda and vinegar: mix equal parts baking soda and vinegar
• Aloe vera gel: appy gel liberally to wound as needed
• Comfrey leaf ointment
• Tea tree ointment
• Ledum homeopathic ointment
• Drawing Salve/Black ointment (ichthammol)

Shaving the area before a salve intended for insect bites is applied liberally may be a good idea. If the sting is on the neck below the mane we suggest to braid it, and roll the braids up into short little "nubs" to keep it away and from getting messy.

Ichthammol for Insect Bites

Ichthammol, also called black drawing salve, or black ointment is a remedy we often use, including on yellow jacket, wasp, and bee stings. It is an ointment made from sulfonated shale oil and combined with other ingredients, like lanolin or petroleum, to treat skin problems. It comes in different strength concentrations and is well-known for its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. It also relieves swelling. Apply a big blob of 20-percent ichthammol ointment directly to the insect bite, or skin irritation once, or twice daily.

The swelling around the sting should go down significantly within hours. If it is NOT accompanied by fever or body aches, it is probably a local allergic reaction. The site of the sting tends to remain sensitive to the touch for several days. Eventually it will gradually harden to a central "pimple" and lead to a hard bump remaining at the site for several weeks before it resolves completely.