Chronic itching not SI or lice. Pruritis experiences

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Loughlin

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Hi guys,

Well, now wiht asthma and an aching back, I have a naked horse who never appeared to have lice, and I didn't find them on clipping BUT he is more comfortable. How and ever, he is still itchy. If I run my hands over him he buckles at the knees, and pulls faces. He tries to mash me off the stable wall (not like him at all to be rude) to get some rubs. I have another horse coming specifically as company but I don't want him bothering this TB for grooms night and day. He drove the last youngster I had in there mad, chasing him around and demanding mutual grooming. I had to fence off any branch or post that he could get to. What should I ask the vet to look at next and has anyone had an antihistame shot for their horse? I have him on linseed, rugs off at night inside (he's a wel covered ISH) and out during the day with company in sight. He was tested for cushings (he's 24) and came up negative. Just did Spot On for cows as he was due and I'm nervous I'm missing something.
 
A few ideas that might help.

bath in a medicated shampoo to help settle the skin

cut out all feed apart from hay if you haven't already

Antihistamines to take the edge off the itchiness and help break the habit/cycle.
 
dorsetladette said:
A few ideas that might help.

bath in a medicated shampoo to help settle the skin

cut out all feed apart from hay if you haven't already

Antihistamines to take the edge off the itchiness and help break the habit/cycle.
Click to expand...
I presume antihistamines from the vet. Anything I should ask for? Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated.
 
Worth trying Coopers Spot on to be 100% sure it’s not related to mites or fly bites or sweet itch?

Cut feed down to grass/hay only and see if you have a feed allergy?

Check your pasture for plants? Over the years I have found that most horses won’t eat things that are not good for them - but there’s always one!
 
I use cetirizine for my itchy horse - vet advised better than Piriton for horses. I buy it from b&m/poundland.

I also use feed mark no fill, which I didn’t buy for this purpose but it has improved his skin.
 
My small cob gets very itchy in spring, I'd say she's grass/sugar sensitive even though that's not considered a real thing.

Antihistamines, cetirirzine at 12 tablets a day for 600kg horse, you can buy packs of 365 fairly cheaply online.

Anti inflammatory diet - I did a lot of research, looked into herbs that sooth skin, reduce inflammation, help control insulin/blood sugar, etc. Blends marketed for sweetitch and ems tend to do this.

Also magnesium (intralabs Mag Ox is very palatable), it helps with insulin sensitivity.

And topical applications. Lots of people like the Biteback creams, didn't do much for us but I liked their powder its a mix of zinc and sulphur and definitely makes a difference.
 
Definitely look at the feed, linseed might be the cause, but what else is he on?

Is he stabled? If so what is he bedded on? Is he eating it if so?

Hoping you get to the bottom of it.
 
Jambarissa said:
My small cob gets very itchy in spring, I'd say she's grass/sugar sensitive even though that's not considered a real thing.

Antihistamines, cetirirzine at 12 tablets a day for 600kg horse, you can buy packs of 365 fairly cheaply online.

Anti inflammatory diet - I did a lot of research, looked into herbs that sooth skin, reduce inflammation, help control insulin/blood sugar, etc. Blends marketed for sweetitch and ems tend to do this.

Also magnesium (intralabs Mag Ox is very palatable), it helps with insulin sensitivity.

And topical applications. Lots of people like the Biteback creams, didn't do much for us but I liked their powder its a mix of zinc and sulphur and definitely makes a difference.
Click to expand...
Sugar sensitivity is definitely a thing. My old share horse had terrible pastern dermatitis. It would start in autumn, continue at a low level all winter then go absolutely crazy in spring before dying down over the summer and starting again in Autumn. One year he had the summer off and got a bit porky so we didn't start feeding him in the autumn and we noticed the rash didn't come back.

We twigged it was something in his feed causing it so when we started feeding him we added each element one by one. Alfa-A was fine, cool mix started the rash off a little then when we added molassed sugar beet his legs went crazy. We put him on a very low sugar diet and it kept it controlled most of the time but it still flared up in spring. He was quite useful as a laminitis indicator. When his legs got itchy, we knew to get the fatties off the grass! The more we restricted it though, the more sensitive he became to smaller amounts, the poor thing couldn't even have a carrot in the end.
 
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