Any tips for severe itching?

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Mistywoo

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My riding horse is itching, quite severely. He's rubbing all body parts on his stable, trees, fence posts, anything he can lean on. I've had the vet out and routine bloods done, no obvious reason for the itching. It's been going on for about 10 weeks now and to start with we thought it was coat change. So far we've tried salt at 50g per day (500kg horse), brewers yeast, another b-vitamin supplement, global herbs skratch plus, Lumin8 and antihistamines prescribed by the vet. We have kept adding things in rather than chopping/changing. Nothing has worked and vet is at a loss.

We are not near water, he's never had sweet itch before and I've owned him 5 years. No change of location, diet, I don't feed alfalfa. We have been using a special sweet itch rug and application of the itchstop cream, still no improvement. Otherwise he looks in good condition, no behavioural changes or anything suspicious.

Has anyone had anything similar or found anything else which may help the itching?
 
My mare was really itchy on and off for over a year. Never got to the bottom of what was causing it but I started her on turmeric about 9 months ago and she's been fine ever since *touches wood* it ran out last week and within a couple of days she started itching again so she's now back on it and seems fine, plus it so cheap it doesn't matter if it doesn't work!
 
catherine22 said:
My mare was really itchy on and off for over a year. Never got to the bottom of what was causing it but I started her on turmeric about 9 months ago and she's been fine ever since *touches wood* it ran out last week and within a couple of days she started itching again so she's now back on it and seems fine, plus it so cheap it doesn't matter if it doesn't work!
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That's interesting - I used to use turmeric on my veteran for stiffness, I can't remember using it on my itcher. I'll get some more. His is grass related - now we have had warm and wet and grass coming through fast even in his starvation paddock I saw him sitting itching his bottom on the ground this morning
 
Ditto re. elimiinating sugar from the diet.

You're obviously treating this as a "sweet itch" and rugging appropriately etc etc.

My loan mare has a bare patch on the top of her tail which she always rubs, particularly if stabled - coz she's bored in there. So just wondering if it might be a boredom/habit thing with yours OP??

You also might try adding a teaspoon full of Cider Vinegar to the feed? Cheap and cheerful, plus adding some Clivers (sticky stuff, loads of it in hedgerows this time of year) - Clivers is supposed to be good for itchies; mine will pluck it out of the hedge as he's grazing, so perhaps knows its good for him!

I use Benzyl Benzoate on the mare's bare patch plus wash her tail out with Tea Tree Shampoo occasionally.

Good luck with yours anyway. Its a b@ggar when you don't know what's causing somethign.
 
Thank you for all the suggestions!

He is in during the day and out at night on minimal grass with our pony who has had laminitis in a previous home. He has all the low sugar/starch feeds as well. Unless I stable him 24/7 I'm not sure how I can reduce his grass take any further. He has half a bale of hay plus two fibre based bucket feeds a day and he's trim as it is with his workload.

I wonder if turmeric will be any different to the skratch plus stuff as that has turmeric in it I think? I will get some because, as said, it's cheap and I'll try anything. How much should I be feeding per day?

Clivers we have in the garden so I can easily pick those for him, and apple cider vinegar is another cheap and cheerful remedy to try.

I really don't think it's boredom, partly because it's frantic and obsessive to the point of itching till he bleeds rather than eating, and partly because he is well worked doing 2-3 hours of hacking 4-5 times a week and we jump/x-county at least once a week on top. Plus he has company when out, we have made a grass track so they have room to wonder around without having a volume of available grass etc.
 
Give him a good bath using warm water and Nizoral shampoo - it won't hurt and if there is an underlying fungal infection it will sort it out.

My Clydie is a very itchy horse and usually has several of these baths a season to keep her itches sorted.

You can buy Nizoral from the chemist
 
I agree with MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (love the name) by trying a tea tree shampoo. I use gallop medicated which really help soothe Pippin's sweet itch and is fab at getting rid of that flaky skin! It smells sooo good too. If you can get the Benzyl Benzoate too that really helps. Used to be able to get from chemist but you cant buy it for horses from them now. Only other Benzly Benzoate thing I have found that works (rather than paying the vet through the nose for it) is Killitch.
 
Someone on face book yesterday posted a link on intense itching and a sort of threadworm that migrates to the muscle in the neck and itching with no other cause is a symptom. Not something I've ever heard of but if you rule everything else out might be worth looking at
 
I never leave mine in a stable - he would rub himself raw. He is in a paddock with electric fencing so there are no surfaces to rub on, so that he never begins the itch/scratch cycle - the more he scratches it the more it itches. If he is being groomed, tacked up etc he is tied up with a haynet. Can you leave him out full time?
 
poiuytrewq said:
Someone on face book yesterday posted a link on intense itching and a sort of threadworm that migrates to the muscle in the neck and itching with no other cause is a symptom. Not something I've ever heard of but if you rule everything else out might be worth looking at
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I also think that this would be worth investigating as an RSPCA neglect case came to mine as a companion. Doubtful worming history but we did the usual. A month later, pinworm. Treated for that but spent months with a pony that would, like yours scratch itself crazy. Treated for lice and mites etc etc. Only to be told that it was a symptom of high pinworm load. Got rid of the pinworm and itching stopped. But pinworm is difficult to clear and doesn't show on dung tests. Ask your vet and also consider using Diatomaceous Earth - super anti wormer!
 
Neck Threadworm - from Wormers Direct

Neck Threadworm Onchocerca Cervicalis , O.retuculata
These worms infect the neck, skin, eyes, tendons and suspensory ligaments. They are transmitted to the horse from the culicoides midges.
Size Appearance
5cm – 30cm long
Location In Horse
O.cervicalis lives in the main ligament in the neck.
O.reticulata lives in the nodules, tendons and suspensory ligaments, usually in the front legs.
Symptoms
O.retuculata causes swelling or lameness in the front legs.
Adult O.cervicalis do not cause problems however the microfilariae can cause skin lesions.
Diagnosis is difficult due to other parasites causing skin lesions. A biopsy will be performed on a small skin sample.

Treatment
There is no drug treatment for the adult worm in the tendons or neck. However the microfilariae in the skin can be killed with ivermectin or moxidectin.
This treatment could make the condition temporarily more severe, and so if a horse has visible lesions anthelmintics should only be given under veterinary supervision.
Preventative Measures
Use sprays to prevent the horse being bitten by the Culicoides midges, and transmitting the disease to horses.
 
He has had two wormers this year which have moxidexin in. Before and after the itching started. He is also itching everywhere, face, neck, legs, belly, flanks, quarters, tail. Pretty much everywhere itches. I thought pin worm was mainly itching tail/bum and threadworm neck so I'm interested if anyone has seen symptoms which indicate otherwise? Vet seemed to think both were unlikely, but I'm happy to revisit that idea.

He is noticeably better this morning so I don't know if the lumin8 is starting to kick in (week 5 or 6 of that now), or whether he'll be just as bad later as it is often worse in the evening than morning. He started on turmeric yesterday, two teaspoons a day at the moment but I had read they can have up to 100ml or 20 teaspoons, so I might try and work up to near that dose and see how that helps.

I have got my vet coming out next week to check up on another pony, so I shall discuss the options regarding threadworm, allergy testing and also mites again then.
 
Mistywoo said:
Pretty much everywhere itches. I thought pin worm was mainly itching tail/bum and threadworm neck so I'm interested if anyone has seen symptoms which indicate otherwise? Vet seemed to think both were unlikely, but I'm happy to revisit that idea.

I have got my vet coming out next week to check up on another pony, so I shall discuss the options regarding threadworm, allergy testing and also mites again then.
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Yes, you would imagine that pin worm is only around the tail but the pony I spoke of was more into itching neck, shoulders. And vet knew this when suggesting the pinworm.

If you suspect mites then certainly DE Diatomaceous earth is worth getting - cheap and used for poultry mites too. Much better for a pony with problems than further chemicals such as Frontline for which there is no licence for horse use. DE can then also be added to feed, bedding and dusted all over pony - worms, mites - job done.
have a look at what these people say, maybe http://diatomx.co.uk/

Also, pinworm can be very resistant to wormers; mine was done with several but pinworm not only persisted but passed on to others!
 
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HappyHooves said:
Yes, you would imagine that pin worm is only around the tail but the pony I spoke of was more into itching neck, shoulders. And vet knew this when suggesting the pinworm.

If you suspect mites then certainly DE Diatomaceous earth is worth getting - cheap and used for poultry mites too. Much better for a pony with problems than further chemicals such as Frontline for which there is no licence for horse use. DE can then also be added to feed, bedding and dusted all over pony - worms, mites - job done.
have a look at what these people say, maybe http://diatomx.co.uk/

Also, pinworm can be very resistant to wormers; mine was done with several but pinworm not only persisted but passed on to others!
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Please forgive my ignorance, but how does the Diatomaceous earth work? And how long do you feed it for?
 
DE works by 'cutting' the outer coating of the parasites; its microscopic so isn't going to hurt your horse's guts, or if you're using it for mites, the skin. Read the link I gave for the supplying company as it explains it well. I use about a heaped tablespoon ( 50gms) in a feed every day for 5 days each month, but you need to use a chemical wormer in the Spring to deal with the encysted redworms. For mites and lice just dust it into the coat - you can't overdose the skin! But don't get it near the eyes ( you or the horse) and try not to breath it in.
 
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A couple of things my vet said that may help - firstly the place the horse is itching isnt necessarily the place where the problem is. Secondly it takes some weeks to break the itch cycle 6 weeks isnt uncommon
 
What I'm struggling with is where worms have suddenly come from, if they are the problem. He'd had a pramox 12 weeks ago and has just been wormed again with an Equest. I always worm on time and at the correct dosage. None of my others are showing any indicators of worms and I thought pinworm was highly contagious? We keep them at our home, and we've had no new horses (or dogs/other animals) arrive to bring in any worms. The last 'new' pony we took on was 2.5 years ago.

If he has suddenly got a pinworm load I'm not sure I understand how that has happened, or why the religious worming, including the pramox, has not worked. Moxidectin is marketed to kill both pin and thread worms.

The itching started two weeks after the pramox and has continued for just over 10 weeks now. If there is no improvement with the equest then I am going to ask the vet about other options including the DE.
 
Mistywoo said:
My riding horse is itching, quite severely. He's rubbing all body parts on his stable, trees, fence posts, anything he can lean on. I've had the vet out and routine bloods done, no obvious reason for the itching. It's been going on for about 10 weeks now and to start with we thought it was coat change. So far we've tried salt at 50g per day (500kg horse), brewers yeast, another b-vitamin supplement, global herbs skratch plus, Lumin8 and antihistamines prescribed by the vet. We have kept adding things in rather than chopping/changing. Nothing has worked and vet is at a loss.

We are not near water, he's never had sweet itch before and I've owned him 5 years. No change of location, diet, I don't feed alfalfa. We have been using a special sweet itch rug and application of the itchstop cream, still no improvement. Otherwise he looks in good condition, no behavioural changes or anything suspicious.

Has anyone had anything similar or found anything else which may help the itching?
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We have one here itches like mad. Nothing showed so livery just puts up with it.

It could be allergic reaction to plant or feed or-

Before you try washing in Tea tree or any such alternatives


Have they done a skin scrape???


Anything shampoo wise could make matters worse until you do.

It could be fox mange. There are many manky foxes around.

My best advice having a donkey that got mange is wash every 2 days with hibi scrub. Or get the vet to give you some seleen shampoo leave on 10 mins

you might need dectomax injections
and oral norodine too

I would ask the vet about a skin scrape
 
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We gathered Pinworm, no new horses, own horses, own land, daily poo picking, egg counts in conjunction with wormers as required. The only thing that worked was a 5 day Panacur, and even now 2 years later I still have a monkey fit when I find one, but that is very rare.
 
We did do a 5 day Panacur Guard in Feb, 6 weeks before the Pramox at the end of March. I have been over everything, checking under the tail and I poo pick every two days. There is not a sign of a pin worm to be seen, anywhere in any of the droppings, under any tails, or on any surfaces.

We went through all this the vet and I when I initially raised concerns about the itching. It was suggested that because of the lack of any evidence at all that pinworms could be the cause, and because I'd wormed correctly anyway, that it was unlikely to be the problem. The same point was made by the vet that the pramox, with the moxidectin should kill off any threadworm too.

I think I am going to ask for a skin scraping to be taken and see about options for mite treatment. I have heard of dectomax being used in horses for mites before, so this is something I will raise if the vet doesn't.
 
Mistywoo said:
We did do a 5 day Panacur Guard in Feb, 6 weeks before the Pramox at the end of March. I have been over everything, checking under the tail and I poo pick every two days. There is not a sign of a pin worm to be seen, anywhere in any of the droppings, under any tails, or on any surfaces.

We went through all this the vet and I when I initially raised concerns about the itching. It was suggested that because of the lack of any evidence at all that pinworms could be the cause, and because I'd wormed correctly anyway, that it was unlikely to be the problem. The same point was made by the vet that the pramox, with the moxidectin should kill off any threadworm too.

I think I am going to ask for a skin scraping to be taken and see about options for mite treatment. I have heard of dectomax being used in horses for mites before, so this is something I will raise if the vet doesn't.
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Before stressing any more I suggest that you try washing in Nizoral - if this is a fungal based problem it will deal with it - if it's not then you may need to get skin scrapings - as someone has pointed out foxes can carry mange and this is extremely itchy. Ivomec is used to treat it
 
Hi, I have had a pony with recurrent pinworm for well over 2 years. He's been under the vet all this time and I've spent over £500 on vet's bills!

His latest wormer came from America as it is different to the wormers licensed in the UK and apparently pinworm in this country is becoming resistant.

You can get your vet to look at strips of sellotape for pin worm eggs as you can't see them with the human eye. You just get some sellotape and press it round the horses bum preferably in the morning because the worms come out at night and lay their eggs outside and then go back in again - gross! You have to put the strips on to slides so they can look under a microscope.

I did a sellotape test about a month ago because my pony was itching AGAIN and sure enough the test was positive for pinworm eggs. So i did an internet search for natural wormers and decided to use Diatomaceous Earth. I've been using it for about 3 weeks 4 ounces a day [they recommend 5 ounces for a horse]and have just had another sellotape test done and I can hardly believe it's come back negative! It's really worth a try as it seems to have worked for my pony after so many attempts to clear the pinworm with chemical wormers.

Because Diatomaceous Earth breaks the shells of the eggs and is not a chemical wormer their is no resistance so you can use if for ever if you like. You can also use it for mites or fleas in dogs etc or horses.

I would think it's definitely worth a try but you have to make sure you feed it every day. And also you have to make sure you get food grade D Earth and get it from a reputable company.
 
Countryfun, so glad the DE worked. I have been expounding its virtues for ages both as a wormer and as an anti-mite/lice treatment but although people are saying they are against too many chemicals they still plod on with the same old, same old. And if you are unlucky enough to have mites or lice, its the only thing that is easy to use for the bedding and rugs, unless you can take them all to the cleaners and don't need anything to wear until they return!
I think that you don't need to feed DE everyday though. Five days a month seems to do the trick! Also, I asked www.diatomX.co.uk whether or not to buy DE human grade or animal grade since it was also for internal use and they said the DE is just finer ground for human consumption so animal grade is fine.
 
I'm still not entirely sure I understand how DE works. If it's sharp enough to cut through the outer coats of the worms, does it not damage the horses gut?

He has had the Equest as planned, and 7 days later we've had not a sign of a pinworm in the poo, either stabled or in the field. And I poo pick every day after a wormer.
 
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HappyHooves, thanks for your reply. I should just add that I meant to say to use food grade for animals as opposed to swimming pool stuff which is dangerous to animals and humans - I think the animal DE is foodgrade as well. Also, I read that if the DE is white it's not such good quality so if it's more browny grey it's likely to be better. I got mine from SPR Centre and am feeding daily as I have had such an ongoing problem. Once I've worked out the timing of the whole pinworm lifecycle I'll cut it down as you suggest. My vet said it was a 5 month cycle but a few months later said pinworm has been found in 3 month old foals so it seems they're not really sure!

I know that pinworm eggs can live for 10 years and the cold temperature in the winter doesn't kill them off so it's a matter of disinfecting everything again and sprinkling some DE where he's been rubbing in his stable as an extra precaution.

Mistywoo, have you asked your vet to do the sellotape test? It seems this is the best method of checking if your horse still has pinworms as any usual worm count done doesn't show pinworm eggs.
 
Just to update and thank all those who have taken the time to offer help and suggestions. Vet came on Monday. Skin scrape was clear so no mites, he did the sellotape test which went back to the lab with the skin scrape and it's been confirmed no sign of pinworm. He's now had two baths in the Nizoral shampoo stuff and the condition of his skin has improved with the loss of the dandruff but the itching persists. The vet is sure the itching is severe sweet itch but can't explain why it's suddenly come on this year when he's never suffered before. We did discuss the neck threadworm again but with all the wormers I've administered this year he's confident it's not threadworm. We are doing a course of global herbs restore, I have a supplement and topical application from the vet and he will continue to to wear the SI rug.
 
It sounds like you're really trying everything to get to the bottom of it. It muse be miserable for your horse to be suffering so much.

My pony has sweet itch and I've been giving him Cavalesse everyday on a small piece of bread and it's amazing how it's helped his sweet itch. Ideally you start it before the midge season begins but it's probably better late than never.

My vet recommended it and said she gives it to her own horse and it was one of the few things she recommended confidently as so often these things are a waste of money. I would say it has definitely helped my pony this year and last year.

It's aways been a bit difficult to tell if it's the sweet itch or pinworm making him itch but now I seem to have the pinworm under control with the Diatomaceous Earth I'm only left with the sweet itch problem.

Hope this helps!
 
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