Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-08-27
Bots in Horses.

A Subscribcr-address mislaid, asks
whether there are such things as bots
in horses; and if so what are they
and how to get rid of them.
ANS of course there such things
as bots in horses, and, for the matter,
in sheep too. The former are the
larvae of the estrus owls, another spe
cies of the same genus. The accom-
panying cuts represent the common
estrus equi and a cluster of bots ad
herring to a horses stomach. The fly
comes out from the pupa state about
the middle or latter part of the sum
mer, the time varying according to
the weather. When the eggs are ma
ture the female soon selects fit place
for disposltiog them on the hairs OF
the nearest horse turned out to grass.
When about to deposit the egg she
hovers in an upright position then
darts upon the horse, instantly fixing
the egg on the hair by means Of a
glutinous secretion. This feat she re
beats with marvellous rapidity until Of
ten 400 or 500 eggs are placed on one
horse. Instinct tells her to deposit
them on those parts of the animal
within easy reach Of the tongue. such
as the inside OF the forelegs, tho back
of the shoulder and the sides In
four or five days time they become
ripe so the slightest application Of
warmth or misture is enough to IN.
stantly bring forth the Larvae. 1t at
this time the tongue of the horse
touches an egg, small active worm
issues from the egg adheres to the
tongue and is carried down the gullet
to the stomach, to the white, insensi-
BILE lining of which it at once attach
es itself by means of a couple OF hooks,
one at each side of its mouth. Some
times in licking or biting itself or an
other animal, the horse detaches some
of the eggs before they are mature
and 10 that case the larvae are develop
ed in the stomach.
The bots pass the autumn, winter
and spring as represented in the cut,
and attain their full size about the be-
ginning or middle Of summer, when
they let 90 their hold and are carried
out with the dung. On reaching the
outer air, the bot buries itself in the
ground and becomes crysalis and in a
short time energies as a fly ready ere
long, fla female, to deposit eggs from
which other bots are similarly evolved.
A ragged coat and an dnthrlfty appear.
ance are often outward symptoms OF the
presence of bots, but more frequently
their presence is not suspected until
they appear at the anus. They vary in
number in the stomach from half doz-
en- to as many hundreds, and sometimes
are so numerous that they block up the
orifce from the stomach to the intes-
tines. With regard to the amount OF
injury they do, opinions widely vary /;
but Of late the best veterinarians think
that they do little or no damage. FIRE.
quently the symptoms of other ailments
are attributed to their presence, but ii
the proper remedies for these affections
are applied, the bots are no longer
troublesome. Eggs are sometimes de-
posted on horses in the stable or the
yard, but as they can be readily detect
ed on all animals except those ola chest
nut color, they can be easily removed.
Medicine cannot remove bots from the
horses stomach, because they adhere
to parts OF it where medicine seldom
reaches them, and, moreover. their
mouths are too deeply buried in the
mucus for any medicine that can safely
be administered, 10 effect them, and,
besides, they use food so very slowly
that the medicine IL carried away be
fore any sppreciablo quantity oft is
absorbed by them. Horses, however,
are frequently injured by the medicines
that are ignorantly given to remove the
bots. This will be easily understood