Boett v Snuggy Hoods (not the usual dilemma so please read on)

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Notimetoride

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Need to deal with sweetitch and have 2 options. Get a Boett which I know really are the best for this problem, but are a bit of a pain putting on and off - I know my husband will refuse to deal with the rug as it is quite fiddly. OR, I get a Snuggy Hoods neck cover only - the ones that fix around the girth and cover right up the neck and the face. Then on the rest of her body just use a normal fly sheet. Her mane and face are the worse affected areas, with her tail suffering a little with it. I think this would be far quicker to get on and off. So, any ideas/opinions anyone. Many thanks
 
This year I have used the Premier Equine sweet itch buster and my mare has been very much better than usual. She is also just affected on her neck and tail, and actually came out of summer with a full mane for the first time since I have had her. I have only used the PE sweet itch rug this year - no lotions, no potions.

I had a boett style rug before and it did the job ok and we did get the hang of putting it on and off really quickly, but my girl is very good that I just kind of plonked it over her head.

I think the only thing that would annoy me with your separate hood / sheet plan is having separate parts, but it would probably do the job :)
 
I would not turn out in a snuggy hood as have seen 2 horses being stitched back together at the vets after going through fences in panic after they have rubbed and the hood has moved and covered their eyes. Surely the midges would just bite through them anyway? The Boett seems great at its job-a couple of horses wear them where I keep my mare.
 
Years ago I had a mare who needed a boett rug and really don't recall it being any harder to put on than say a spik & span rug. Fortunately my current lad doesn't suffer from sweet itch but if he did I wouldn't hesitate to get another boett.
 
I think the only thing that would annoy me with your separate hood / sheet plan is having separate parts, but it would probably do the job :)[/QUOTE]

Many thanks for your advice. The Boett comes in 2 parrts though doesnt it. In fact if I remember rightly, if I had the head cover, that would be 3 parts. And there are loads and loads of straps and clips arent there (I had one many moons ago). I think the Snuggy hoods neck and face cover is all in one and has a zip, and then the fly sheet would just go on over that. Hmm, i think im talking myself into the Snuggy Hoods route here, however I know Boett really are very good. I will look at the P.E on on their website :-)
 
twiggy2 said:
I would not turn out in a snuggy hood as have seen 2 horses being stitched back together at the vets after going through fences in panic after they have rubbed and the hood has moved and covered their eyes. Surely the midges would just bite through them anyway? The Boett seems great at its job-a couple of horses wear them where I keep my mare.
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Hi twiggy2. The pony I had many moons ago had the Boett head cover and she used to rub and twist it round so she was blindfolded ! Daft pony. Luckily she didnt panic. That is horriffic - panicking blinded horses. Poor sausages. I have to be honest though, I had fogotten about them twisting round so will need to research this further I think. I really have to have the head cover tho and she suffers really badly with it on her face. Many thanks for your advice.
 
I have a Masta Bug Rug and it's great. Goes on over the head, fasten two clips on belly wrap then two between the front legs, fasten leg straps and velcro tail.

Not difficult at all (and I did remove some extra strapping that I didn't need, for example around the throat).
 
I know someone who lost a horse when it blindfolded itself and panicked. Not nice. I prefer the properly shaped fly masks, personally.
I have a Boett-style rug for my overly sensitive-skinned TB (not sweet itch) and I find it just as easy as a "normal" rug, though admittedly my boy stands still loose in the field to let me put it over his head. I have also heard good things about Rambo sweet itch hoodies and the PE ones.
 
Another who uses the premier equine sweet itch combo. Higky recommend, it had ear holes but doesn't cover the face so no need to worry about slipping!
 
I've used the combination you describe but with the Snuggy Hood that covers only up to the poll.

I have used the ones that cover the face and they didn't budge on my pony but with the huge risk that the pony will go in to an itchy stage there was too much risk he would rub the face cover over his eyes.

Using the neck cover only is safer, it fastens behind the front legs so if fitted correctly cannot go over their eyes and it fastens tightly behind the ears. In an ideal world I would have ears on it and have it fasten around the brow/throat area but its not a perfect world!

The fly rug over the top works well too. especially on warmer days. I don't find that the fly rugs (or even the sweet itch versions that go over the ears) work as well on their own but will use just those on low risk days

On cooler summer days I use the whole Snuggy Hood set and I have to say I rate that the highest

the only downside to Snuggy Hoods is that the zips arent always fantastic and an itching pony could get them undone so I use the pull on sort. the trick with those is to put a headcollar on the pony, bunch the hood up and put your hand through the hood and on to the noseband then pull the hood over but its really important to do it quickly.

A lot depends on how bad the sweet itch is and what other methods you use. I've found that keeping my pony very clean is key (again the neck covers help with this) and all covers/rugs etc are washed every four days
 
I found my pony rooted to the spot one day surrounded by a group of walkers, the snuggy hood had come over his head and he couldn't see a thing as the neck part was over his face meaning he hadn't been able to graze or drink. He had clearly been there some time and was too scared to move. This was the latest and worst of many slippages and it was made to measure. Awful things imo as I've heard a few stories similar to mine.

The boett is your best bet if you can get your husband used to it, other than that do you need her face covered? If not a decent fly sheet would be easiest - some have straps that attach to a normal fly mask too if you need one.

ETA this was a complete pull on snuggy neck & head that attached behind the front legs - no zip
 
I think it does depend how badly affected your pony is as a standard fly rug will obviously not cover/seal areas that the boett does.
 
Mmmm....... a few years ago I tried a rug called "Pagony" which was supposed to be a cheapie version of the Boett sweet itch cover-up rug. It was an awful thing, badly made and the stitching on it was so awful I had to get my sewing machine out and re-do it myself after a very short time. The worst thing about it was that somehow my boy got himself tangled up in the elastic bit that goes round the back legs, and was in considerable distress with it. It had to go on over the head; and I think this made him very scared of anything like a hoody that has to be pulled on over the head.

I would steer clear of ANTHING that is made of lycra/stretch material and goes anywhere near the eyes. I have bought, for mine, a Snuggy Hoods headless hood thing, and have got a sweet itch hoody which is separate from the main garment, which I can put on him for the summer. That is the ONLY combination I would use, have heard of too many horror stories of horses who have lost their eyes (worst case) from a lycra rug which slipped over the eyes and caused an ulcerated cornea :(

Why not go for an easy-peezy solution: i.e. a specialist "sweet itch hoody" rug. Premier Equine has already been mentioned, and are good and serviceable (but their sizing is a bit unpredictable sometimes!); best thing is a Rambo Sweet Itch Hoody - with a fly mask if needs be (make sure it fits correctly and that the horse has SOME respite from wearing it constantly though).

With my SI cob, I use the Rambo Sweet Itch hoody during the summer/spring/autumn months. At the moment he's wearing a Snuggy Hoods headless neck-cover thingey, which comes with a zip so that putting it on is far easier. He is wearing a turnout rug, as he's clipped, and its a Weatherbeeta one which has a nice long tailflap - if there are any midges around (were yesterday:( ) I use some pig oil with tea tree in it, sponged on gently around his head & ears.

Have never tried a Boett: but you have to put them on over the head I understand, and that's a no-no with mine. But apparently they're supposed to be very good.

But for ease of putting on and off, you really cannot beat the Premier Equine/Rambo SI hoody style rugs. Simples! No stress.
 
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twiggy2 said:
I would not turn out in a snuggy hood as have seen 2 horses being stitched back together at the vets after going through fences in panic after they have rubbed and the hood has moved and covered their eyes.
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We can't be 100% sure, but we think this is what happened to my mare. I never used it again and was lucky that she only headbutted a barbed wire fence after going through two sets of mains electric fencing. Miraculously she had one small cut. I use the rambling sweet itch hoody or the shires version. Both are excellent. I use neem oil and benzyl benzoate on the face and ears.
 
Thank you all so very very much for your advice. Really appreciated. I have gone with the Boett and bought one, though I think I will steer clear of the hood over the head and just use a well fitting face mask. Cheers everyone :-) xx
 
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