Buying youngster with sweet itch?

tobiano1984

tobiano1984

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I'm looking at a gorgeous youngster to buy, he's 2.5, very nicely bred - with the idea of producing to event or dressage and eventually selling. However he has mild sweet itch - as a yearling got it very mildly in the last months of summer, managed by fly spray and rug. This year as a 2yo he had no symptoms til July and then went to a field by water and got munched by midges and ended up rubbing his tail and mane out. Apparently this was fixed by betnovate and removing from said field.

I've never had a horse with sweet itch - would you buy it? Especially with the idea of selling on in a few years. I don't mind managing a problem, but if it's going to a) make him a problem to ride in the summer months (obviously hasn't been ridden yet and just lived out all his life) and b) hammer his future value?

Is it normal for sweet itch to come up so young? And are there any miracle cures..? :-) I imagine not! But have read that linseed and Brewers yeast help a lot (which mine are already on) and there have been some (unresearched) successes with homeopathy and acupuncture and the like.

I don't want heart to rule over head and regret it, he is absolutely lovely but if it's not going to make sense in the long run I won't get him. it would be alright if I wanted to keep him and live in a low-midge area all my life, but as a potential competition and sale horse it's a different matter!
 
If I was thinking of selling on then definitely no... for myself it was something special at a CHEAP price I'd think about it for a bit and maybe say yes but sweetitch worsens with age so be cautious...
 
I have one with sweet itch and it has got worse with age, at 22 its uncontrollable and nothing works and believe me we have tried EVERYTHING! I wouldn't touch another horse with sweet itch but if hes otherwise perfect and the price is right go for it, just be prepared for the maintenance
 
I have a sweetitch pony and would never buy another. I only brought him because he was 6 months old and didnt know he had it. As a buy/sell I would say no
 
No, it can be a nightmare to manage and very expensive and would make the horse much harder to sell on. I had an arab who had it quite badly and would never knowingly buy another SW horse (didn't know the arab had it, bought as a youngster in winter).
 
Nope i wouldn't touch it with a barge pole! Just went through a horrible few months with a horse my very novice friend bought who suffered so much in that time and cost my friend all her savings trying to make her comfortable. She ended up giving her away when personally i would have pts.
 
To sell- definitely not.

For myself - well I am biased as Charlie horse had sweet itch, and he was super fantastic...... I would not have missed him for the world. We did manage to control it, Charlie was rugged in sweet itch rugs 24/7 from February to December - and they did not look comfortable either under winter rugs or in hot weather. We had indoor and outdoor ones, and he was only turned out in the dark. He even wore a face mask in the stable or he would lose his forelock, and rub his cheeks raw.

With the rugs and only turning out at night he was fine to look at with a full mane and tail, but it was still distressing how sensitive he was to any flies even landing on his legs. We even converted his Boett to have shorts, or more like Culottes, so the fleshy parts of his front legs were covered.

I would buy another for myself - but it would have to be something very special to make it worth the while.
 
SI is not an absolute disaster so long as you are commited to managing it properly. I got a new pony with reasonably bad SI but I covered him up with SI blankets and found some good products and you wouldn't really know. It's a faff but with good management you can have a happy horse. SI is a condition that you have to declare to a potential buyer but if you have a quality horse and a decent buyer who will comit to good management then that's great. It annoying though as there are lots of good horses who don't have sweet itch so it does affect the price. Google the national sweet itch centre they have lots of helpful advice. You can sometimes claim on insurance for things like boett blankets if they have a complimentary therapies policy.
 
Agree with "chazza44"....... my traddie boy has SI and I've worked out a way of dealing with it to the extent that you'd never believe he had it to look at him. I bought him knowing that he had it and its worked out OK, but I wouldn't ever consider buying a youngster to bring on and sell at a later date if it had SI. People don't want to buy horses with SI.

I'd look elsewhere OP. Sorry.
 
Nope....not as a sell on.
I just took on another 2 itchers . I need slapping but both were miserable and I know how simple it is (for me)to help minimise the misery
 
We have 2 SI ponies here and have got good at managing them. However I would say that if one has already developed it as a 2yo it is likely to get a lot worse as he grows up so I wouldn't touch it. If it was an adult pony with only moderate symptoms I may consider it but not a youngster.
 
It generally shows up in their second or third year and gets worse as they age. As a project to bring on and sell, no I wouldn't buy, but if its for yourself and is reflected in the price then I would say yes. It's not necessarily a disaster, as has been said. The management is a PITA in that its more time consuming than managing a horse who doesn't have it. But I don't find it too bad, perhaps it helps that I like grooming and spending time with my horse, some just want to crack on with riding and get home again. It costs me about 300 pounds a year extra to manage the sweet itch. I have one bought as a baby who is now in its 20's and I've had to change the management as the condition worsened but I can't see it causing PTS and its never caused a problem with riding.
 
I wouldn't as it gets worse the older they get and especially no if you want to sell on - I think you have made the sensible decision to look elsewhere.
 
If its a really nice horse and you have the time to manage SI then I would buy him. It seems a shame to right him of just like a child that has eczema-you have to manage it carefully-Its all about prevention not cure.
 
Foxgloves are poisonous to most living things, as they contain digitalis which slows the heart. However, I read about a cure which involves digging up the whole plant, roots & all, and boiling it up for an hour or two. You then strain & bottle the liquid. It is dabbed onto the mane, centre line and tail twice a day. You would have to use heavy duty gloves for the entire procedure, including putting it on the horse. You would also have to keep the stuff locked away. I just wonder if it works, perhaps a herbalist would know.
 
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