https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:5210 Control of Bovicola equi infestation in a herd of horses using an environmentally sustainable treatment protocol Bandelj, Petra Petra Bandelj 0000-0002-2216-0473 Peregrine, Andrew Andrew Peregrine Joachim, Anja Anja Joachim 0000-0003-3082-6885 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Wiley journal article open access eng In March 2024, a Slovenian warmblood gelding presented with severe pruritus and skin lesions throughout its head, neck and around the base of the tail. The owners had observed increased pruritus in multiple animals within the herd. After careful examination, Bovicola equi were found in all five horses, but not the pony. Horse owners requested an environmentally sustainable treatment plan, which consisted of (a) mechanical removal of lice by shaving and/or combing, (b) application of 0.2 g/horse (0.1 g/pony) neem extract, geraniol (0.5 g/horse, 0.25 g/pony) and diatomaceous earth (250 g/horse, 50 g/pony). Clinical signs ceased 1 week after the initial treatment, no lice were found after 3 weeks, and skin lesions resolved within 6 weeks. Although there was no control group to estimate the true efficiency of the described treatment, upon follow-up, all horses remained lice-free for at least 18 months after the last treatment. Neem Extract Natural Treatment Horses Geraniol Diatomaceous Earth Bovicola Equi http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:5210/download 10.1002/vrc2.70317 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:605 application/pdf Veterinary Record Case Reports issn:2052-6121 VoR Veterinary Record Case Reports 14 1 1.53 MB 2026