Of course you’re aware that there are many words in the English language that sound the same but are spelled differently and have very different meanings. I wonder if the same is true in other languages. Being monolingual, I don’t have a clue…. But that’s neither here nor there.
Take for example the words ‘tic’ and ‘tick’ – or don’t take them as they both undesirable, things you don’t really want to have.

In humans, a tic is basically an involuntary, repetitious movement. Some horses display repetitious, seemingly obsessive movements like ‘weaving,’ rocking their head and neck from side to side while their chest and front legs follow along, shifting from leg to leg. Weaving is a ‘stereotypy,’ a repetitive, compulsive behavior that serves no purpose. This would seem to fit the definition of a ‘tic.’ Unfortunately, there always seem to be one or two horses in the barn afflicted by this vice, the cause being unclear, some attributing it to confinement, boredom, or stress.

And there’s another affliction horses are prone to – ticks.
Tiny but mighty!

Nasty little creatures that crawl through the grass (they don’t fly) and grab onto horses, attaching themselves by burying their sharp little teeth into their prey while they feed on the horse’s blood. Ick.

They are not insects as one might think, but arachnids, relatives of spiders, scorpions, and mites. Double ick. Tiny yet mighty, besides looking nasty, these parasites can be dangerous, transmitting serious illnesses like Lyme disease. Removing them can be tricky as you must be sure to pull the entire critter out without leaving the head behind, which can cause an infection.

Last week during grooming Pins was acting bothered, holding her left leg on the tip of her toe and the inside of her leg was sensitive. I always listen to what she’s trying to tell me and upon closer inspection I found something sticking out of her inner leg. It looked like a tiny beige plastic tab of some sort and was pretty well stuck to her. I had no idea it was a living creature– never having seen a tick feeding off a horse before. Luckily, we were able to successfully extract it intact, but I’ll never forget the unreal sight of it!

If you want more info on ticks horsehealthproducts.com has some good information.

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