Bot Egg Knife

Bot season sneaks up on you. One day the horse's legs and shoulders look fine, and a few weeks later there are small yellow eggs stuck to the hair. This bot egg knife gives you a dedicated tool for scraping them off, so you are not improvising with a fingernail or the edge of a card.

Getting the eggs off the hair before the horse licks them is the whole point. Bot fly eggs hatch when the horse licks them, and the larvae that come out are what move into the stomach. A quick pass with the knife on the spots where you find eggs takes a few minutes and fits into the normal grooming routine.

Highlights

• Dedicated tool for scraping bot fly eggs off hair
• Simple hand tool for quick grooming checks
• Keeps the job from being improvised
• Fits in the grooming box next to the brushes

Why bot season is worth watching

Bot flies are most active in warm months. Adult flies hover around horses and lay their eggs on the hair of the legs, shoulders, chest and throat, where a horse can reach them with its tongue. Checking those spots after turnout, all through the warm months, catches the eggs before the horse takes them in.

A tool built for the job beats a fingernail. It sits in the grooming box, you can use it on the spot, and it keeps you from scraping at a horse's coat with whatever is in your pocket. Keep it where you will see it, and the habit sticks.

At a glance

How to use it

1. Check the horse's legs, shoulders, chest and throat after turnout, in good light, where eggs stand out against the hair.
2. Hold the horse still, and scrape the eggs off the hair with the knife. Go gently near the skin.
3. Check the same spots again the next day, because new eggs can show up.
4. Clean the knife after each use, so it is ready for the next check.

Good to know

• Keep the knife with your brushes so it is on hand the moment you spot eggs.
• Ask your vet about a deworming plan that covers bots. Scraping removes eggs, but it does not treat larvae the horse has already swallowed.
• Keep the stall and the turnout clean. Flies breed where manure is wet and left lying around, so manure removal helps the whole fly plan.

About Partrade

Partrade has been making and distributing Western and English riding supplies since 1955, and it distributes internationally.

Have the knife in the bucket before the first warm-weather bot eggs show up.