Being itchy is making him spooky... Really?? Thoughts please...

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rose bud

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Hi all,
as a bit of a follow on from my earlier threads (recently bought a new pony who was bombproof for first few weeks and has now started spooking and being silly)
I got in touch with the old owner and she suggested that he may be itchy (he has sweet itch) and that this may be making him spooky.
Could this really be true at this time of year??
He lives out and is a lightweight turnout at the moment, his paddock is electric fenced so he can't rub on anything.
Could this really be the cause of his behavour??
Any thoughts gratefully received!
 
well....speaking as someone who has suffered in the past with stress induced eczema that got waaaaaay out of control, being itchy certainly made me feel anxious and very uptight so could be possible!!
 
amymay said:
I doubt it. It's more likely he's feeling well.

What are you feeding and how much exercise do you give him?
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Thats what i thought!
He's out on grass and has half a scoop of hi fi lite (just so i can give him a vit and min supplement) a day.
He's ridden 3 times in the week and once or twice at weekends.
Any ideas?
 
I would stop the hi-fi lite, it has molasses in it, which in my experience (tbxwelsh and a welsh a) of horses with sweet itch, does not help. Also have had sugar intolerant horses and the current mare cannot have alfalfa at all (turns her into a total fruit loop). Use ready grass or graze on to get the supplements in. I would also check the supplements if he continues to be spooky on the change of feed.
 
stilltrying said:
well....speaking as someone who has suffered in the past with stress induced eczema that got waaaaaay out of control, being itchy certainly made me feel anxious and very uptight so could be possible!!
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Currently dealing with a horse that has possible stress induced itchiness, particularly after exercise. He is uncharacteristically spooky too, so the old owner of your pony may be thinking along the right lines.
 
YorksG said:
I would stop the hi-fi lite, it has molasses in it, which in my experience (tbxwelsh and a welsh a) of horses with sweet itch, does not help. Also have had sugar intolerant horses and the current mare cannot have alfalfa at all (turns her into a total fruit loop). Use ready grass or graze on to get the supplements in. I would also check the supplements if he continues to be spooky on the change of feed.
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oh no, really?
I have only been feeding him the hi fi lite for the last few days. He was having hay, but he doesn't really need it yet (he's an exmoor and a good doer) so thought that i may be giving him too much sugar, so was reccommended to give him some hi fi lite as it has less sugar than hay.
I don't know what to do for the best really!
 
horserider said:
Currently dealing with a horse that has possible stress induced itchiness, particularly after exercise. He is uncharacteristically spooky too, so the old owner of your pony may be thinking along the right lines.
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thats interesting, thankyou!
He is getting very sweaty when exercised at the moment (he needs clipping) so maybe it is making him more itchy.
 
I had a mare who used to get spooky when tired and I guess being very itchy could make your horse tired. I went riding today and there are still a lot of midges about here in Devon as it's so mild.
 
When I tried my old horse on Alfa A, he got incredibly itchy, and was even more spooky. How much of the spookiness was the extra energy remains unseen, but he was generally 'uncomfortable' - hated being groomed, tacked up, touched at all - and that made him unhappy.

I would say excessive sweating - especially if he's not washed/groomed off - would make him more uncomfortable too.

Hope you find the answer :)
 
jim is very spooky/bolshy/down right out of control when he has feather mites (which itch chronically) as soon as they clear up he is back to himself, so i wouldn't totally disgard this theraoy especially if this has happened before

gj
 
Twiglet said:
When I tried my old horse on Alfa A, he got incredibly itchy, and was even more spooky. How much of the spookiness was the extra energy remains unseen, but he was generally 'uncomfortable' - hated being groomed, tacked up, touched at all - and that made him unhappy.

I would say excessive sweating - especially if he's not washed/groomed off - would make him more uncomfortable too.

Hope you find the answer :)
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Thank you! Im trying hard to find the answer, and get the pony that I bought back!!
 
katherine1975 said:
I had a mare who used to get spooky when tired and I guess being very itchy could make your horse tired. I went riding today and there are still a lot of midges about here in Devon as it's so mild.
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Thank you for your reply, it is still very mild here too so maybe the midges are still biting.
Interestingly, I have never seen him lie down in his field so may be tired. He is getting a field companion tommorow to see if this makes him happier (he had one in his old home, but doesn't have one at the moment although he is surrounded by horses in the other paddocks) so he may feel that he can rest more.

Thankyou, that is a very interesting point!
 
gypsyjim said:
jim is very spooky/bolshy/down right out of control when he has feather mites (which itch chronically) as soon as they clear up he is back to himself, so i wouldn't totally disgard this theraoy especially if this has happened before

gj
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Ok, thankyou. May try bathing him again tommorow as we have some mild weather at the moment.
 
The midges are definitely still about up here in God's Own Country! Our sweet itch pony was down rubbing her belly on the ground yesterday afternoon. We've found anything with alfalfa in seems to increase her itchiness, as does garlic. If you need to feed a chop try Mollichop Calmer, it's straw based, no molasses or sugar and has added magnesium which will help calm him.

It's difficult to concentrate when you're feeling hot and itchy so it's not surprising he gets a bit spooky. Epsom salts is supposed to be useful for itchiness as it cools the blood.

Have you asked his previous owner what she fed him?
 
Tammytoo said:
The midges are definitely still about up here in God's Own Country! Our sweet itch pony was down rubbing her belly on the ground yesterday afternoon. We've found anything with alfalfa in seems to increase her itchiness, as does garlic. If you need to feed a chop try Mollichop Calmer, it's straw based, no molasses or sugar and has added magnesium which will help calm him.

It's difficult to concentrate when you're feeling hot and itchy so it's not surprising he gets a bit spooky. Epsom salts is supposed to be useful for itchiness as it cools the blood.

Have you asked his previous owner what she fed him?
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hi,
thankyou, thats interesting i hadn't heard about epsom salts being good for itchyness - how much would you feed him? (he's a 13hh exmoor)
i have just started him on magnitude calmer but will look into the mollichop calmer, to avoid the alfalfa.
His last owner didn't feed him anything at all!
 
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