Does my horse have sweet itch?

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imperfectgirl

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Well at first my mare had feather mites, which i have now got rid of and removed her feathers. anyway when she comes in from the field she itches the top of her tail, bum, mane, hind legs and head. then itches for about 10 minutes and then stops and is absolutly fine. Also her 'cheek' area and eyes swell up with the flies, oh and there is a dandruff type substance in her mane and tail which i heard is typical with horses with sweet itch (my friends horse has it with sweet itch too). Do you think this sounds like sweet itch? if so what helps reduce the itching?
 
Sounds like it to me! just like what my girl has, a sweetich rug is great and I apply benzyl benzoate to the affected areas which provides immediate relief and stops itching/rubbing :) I also bath her every week to get rid of the skin in soothing shampoos

My mare's eyes also swell up and 'golden eye' from the chemist works a treat for that
 
Thank you i think it might be, and no its since ive been at this yard which has a number of midges, even in the weather where you would think no insects would be about! but ive just thought shes just having a little scrat when she comes in and its just come to mind that she could infact have sweet itch. its became worse over the last few weeks where the weathers been nicer though which also got me thinking
 
Ah yeah, in that case sounds alot like it! In regards to preventing it, you can buy specific sweet iTCH rugs. There are all sorts of lotions and potions around though. When my horse has gotten really bad i use nettex itch stop lotion in a tub to sooth the sore areas, they also do a shampoo type thing that you can use prior to application that gets rid of the scurfy bits you described! Might be worth getting a vet to confirm it is sweetitch thoug before you start spending!
 
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