Any Lice Experts?

[teddyt]

Not sure if anyone is going to own up to being an expert on lice but here goes...
How can horses that are kept on their own with no contact with other horses get lice? Lice are supposed to complete their whole lifecycle on the horse and can only live off the horse for 2/3 days. My friends horses have all got lice but neither she nor them have had any contact with any other horses. So where have they come from

[sillygillyhorse]

Have they had any contact with cattle? Seem to remember also being taught in the very dim and distant past that lice can live and breath in the cavities found in breeze blocks, painting the blocks blocks the holes.

[teddyt]

No other animals at all, except maybe wild ones as they live out.

[Donkeymad]

[ QUOTE ]
No other animals at all, except maybe wild ones as they live out.

[/ QUOTE ]

And there you have your answer - wild life.
Lice can live for up to 48 hours off their type-specific host, get onto foxes, badgers, hedgehogs etc and deposit on or near your horse.

[samstar]

fence posts

[Honeypots]

I have 3 ponies living at home. None leave the yard/paddock/mix with other horses. 2 have had lice this year for the first time and the third hasn't.
Go figure