Do Supplements Vary In Their Effectiveness?

[chasingmytail]

We've had our cob mare for a year now and for most of that time - difficult to remember when it started or whether she's always been the same - she's been quite itchy along her sides and bum/tail. It's not seasonal and I don't think it's sweetitch. Her previous 2 owners say she never suffered from it. We're very careful not to over-rug her as she's a warm mare - she has a low trace clip. We've given her micronized linseed and brewers yeast for about 6 months but this has had no effect. The only thing which helps is Benzyl or Sweet Relief but we'd prefer to give her supplements. My question is: do different makes of these supplements vary in their effectiveness? We bought ours from the local shop and it's made by Gold. I don't know if this is a good brand or not. I know people rave about Cotswold Herbs but I don't want to be throwing good money after bad. Does anyone have any experience of Gold products? Any advice either on supplements or itchy remedies would really be welcome.

 

[Tammytoo]

It really depends on what's causing the problem as to how well a supplement works. For example, lots of calmers have magnesium as the main ingredient, but these only work if the horse has a magnesium deficiency which causes them to behave badly.

Is it possible your cob has picked up some sort of infestation i.e. mites or lice? Benzyl works well as a repellent of midges and mites, so if it works this could be the problem. I only know GOLD as a good value for money make, but haven't heard of their Sweet Relief lotion.

If she is a warm horse, perhaps a lightweight rug would be better as she only has a low trace clip.

 

[Mare Stare]

If it's never been a problem before, is there something in her environment or feed that's causing her to itch?

My Doris goes itchy when she's fed alfalfa. We didn't realise this for ages and was blaming her itchiness on everything else - we even started renting out a different field to see if that helped her get better. I was spraying her with fly repellent twice a day, thinking it was flies. But as soon as we changed her feed she stopped itching.

 

[chasingmytail]

It really depends on what's causing the problem as to how well a supplement works. For example, lots of calmers have magnesium as the main ingredient, but these only work if the horse has a magnesium deficiency which causes them to behave badly.

Is it possible your cob has picked up some sort of infestation i.e. mites or lice? Benzyl works well as a repellent of midges and mites, so if it works this could be the problem. I only know GOLD as a good value for money make, but haven't heard of their Sweet Relief lotion.

If she is a warm horse, perhaps a lightweight rug would be better as she only has a low trace clip.

We think she had feather mites when we got her so trimmed her legs and treated with benzyl and since then her legs have been fine.

 

[chasingmytail]

If it's never been a problem before, is there something in her environment or feed that's causing her to itch?

My Doris goes itchy when she's fed alfalfa. We didn't realise this for ages and was blaming her itchiness on everything else - we even started renting out a different field to see if that helped her get better. I was spraying her with fly repellent twice a day, thinking it was flies. But as soon as we changed her feed she stopped itching.

We did actually give her alfalfa when we got her and then read that it doesn't always agree with mares so changed to the same chaff she was on with previous owner, so it's not her food.

 

[IsabelleJ]

Is it just chaff she's on?

My boy rubbed his tail really badly over the summer, went away for a couple of months, and when he came back he started rubbing again. I decided to cut his feed right back to see if that was it, and it turned out it was the nuts we were using. He is fine with a handful of them, but can't tolerate more than 1/4 of a scoop or he really starts itching. I know I'm the same with a couple of medications - fine to a certain point, but after that I get a rash.

Also, it could be that the chaff has changed its formula/ingredients recently, as Sidney used to be fine on the same nuts until recently.

Good luck, I feel so bad when they rub themselves like that

Isabelle

 

[chasingmytail]

Is it just chaff she's on?

My boy rubbed his tail really badly over the summer, went away for a couple of months, and when he came back he started rubbing again. I decided to cut his feed right back to see if that was it, and it turned out it was the nuts we were using. He is fine with a handful of them, but can't tolerate more than 1/4 of a scoop or he really starts itching. I know I'm the same with a couple of medications - fine to a certain point, but after that I get a rash.

Also, it could be that the chaff has changed its formula/ingredients recently, as Sidney used to be fine on the same nuts until recently.

Good luck, I feel so bad when they rub themselves like that

Isabelle

We could try her on a different chaff to see if there's a difference, but have put a call into the vets so will see what he says. Many thanks.