Feeding advice for sweetitch mare?

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Mylife

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Hello! Just wanting people's opinions really, I'm getting a mare who has sweetitch, we don't know how bad she gets it. Although we are led to believe she doesn't get it that bad, I still want to prevent it to my best ability as I hope never to find out how bad it is!

Iv been told low sugar feeds, she is an 18 year old cob so what would you suggest?

The more natural it is the better, what are people's opinions on simple systems feeds? Very natural but very pricey!!

And also have had ultimate oil suggested to me, again what are people's views on this?

I'm open to more suggestions :) but don't want to get bogged down with a million different feeds as ill be even more confused than I am already about what to put her on!

Thanks in advance!
 
Hi, first of all congrats on your new mare :) is she a good doer? If so then I would just use a carrier for supplements, like a non molasses chop or fast fibre is good. My SI mare is a good doer in summer so I just feed her hi fi molasses free and a bit of speedi beet. To this I add micronised linseed which is really good for coat health, brewers yeast which is meant to be good for SI and then a vit and min powder. Whatever you do, don't feed garlic as it actually attracts the midges that cause sweetitch!

Few other tips, make sure she is always covered in her rug and mask and electric fence the field so she has nothing to rub on. I would invest in a good rug, I've had success with the Rambo sweet itch hoody and it's a hell of a lot easier than the boett. I would also buy a cheap 20 quid rug off eBay to put on her for a day whilst you wash the good one. I had to wash nelly's rug every few weeks as keeping it clean really helps keep the flies off. Benzylbenzoate, if used before the itch sets in, is really good for helping control sweetitch. Make sure you use gloves though because it's horrible stuff! Oh and I know it might be something out of your control but try to find a yard that's not near a stream/ water source as it will be more midgey!
 
Good advice already given, I'd 2nd the linseed and brewers yeast and no sugar diet. Also get the rug on before the midges start biting to prevent rubbing. We can get warm weather in March so I'd be prepared for this.
 
Bioeos Capsules help some?
Rugs will really help the most though, given that you may need to prioritise working around sugar levels in grass for turnout.
 
I think it's the rug that is the most help. Second the "one on, one in the wash idea" helps no end. I feed my boy a no sugar diet and all the linseed and brewers yeast but frankly I don't think it makes any difference. At least not to mine. Electric fence and regular use of fly repellents etc are a necessity. Good luck with it, it's not nice for them and it is a life's mission trying to keep them comfortable.
 
Electric fencing may be an issue, but saying that there is another sweetitch pony in the field so I may be wrong! It could already be there so I'll have to find out, going to the yard tomorrow as my stable situation has changed so I'll ask about the fencing then :) this brewers yeast can you just get any brewers yeast I.e cheapest I can find on ebay?
 
Great advice here!!

Second all advice given!

Re. the "Bio Eos" tablets........ they're very pricey, and there are mixed reports about them. TBH if I'm going to spend that much money on something, I need to be reasonably sure that there will be a noticeable difference!!! And they don't/can't/won't promise any difference! So methinks money better spent on other stuff.

IME you can spend a lot of £££ on so-called "fixes" for sweet itch, and buy a lot of tubs and mixed powders that are supposed to help. They may, or may not, or may work for certain horses.

The main thing you need to do is AVOID GARLIC. My vet explained that this is because SI is basically a disfunction of the immune system, i.e. when the horse is bitten by a sensitisor (midge bite, cullicoides midge) the immune system then over-reacts, which is why the horse itches. Garlic basically works by stimulating the immune system, which isn't what you want to happen!!! Beware, coz a lot of the "fly repellent" powders and potions do contain it, as do some feeds, they sneak the stuff in unawares!

The SI "season" is normally (but not always) from about mid-Feb to mid-October, BUT midges can come out ANY time of the year: I've been faffing around on Christmas Day before in heels and dress, sorting out hairy monsters with his sweet itch rug coz it was so mild I saw some midges flying around!!! So you'll need to be vigilant. Your high field with the nice breeze (hopefully) will help a lot too. You can put on a Rambo SI hoody rug underneath an ordinary rug, OR I find the snuggy hoods bibs ideal for bunging on underneath - it means the mane and poll area is covered, and if you can find a rug with a large enough area over the tail, you might find this is sufficient in winter.

Neem oil is good for discouraging midges!! I put it on a sponge and apply that way, tho' be aware that it can discolour grey/piebald horses.

For summer riding: I use a ride-on rug, think mine was from Horseware. Absolutely invaluable piece of kit, don't know how I managed without it.

Good luck with yours anyway. Oh and have a look in the HHO archives as there's a lot about SI on here.
 
I get shot down all the time saying this, but I "cured" my boys sweetitch with a change of diet. He had chronic sweetitch that developed as a yearling. As far as I know he was blood tested, but I havent had it 100% confirmed. He was so itchy and had horrid lesions on his face and mid line even wearing a Boett. He would lay down and use his muzzle to bite through the rugs :(

Anyway, in case your interested, I moved him from a field that was cross grazed with sheep and contained a LOT of clover. I put him on a balancer, I used pro hoof to start, added linseed, approx 40gms salt, 70gms of brewers yeast and the same of magnesium chloride. He got better on the original grazing with just the balancer and linseed. There were noticeable improvements when I moved him, then when I added salt and again when I added brewers yeast. I had to up the dose form 25gms of BYs to 70gms to get the full effect.

He went from being rugged 24/7 and needing kill itch, well benzyl diluted with avon skin so soft, but pretty much the same, every day, and sudocreme on his sheath and midline twice a day in June, to at the end of July living out 24/7 with no rugs and the occasional application of kill itch, as in 4 times since July. The lesions went and the hysterical throwing himself about behaviour went and he stopped itching :)

He lived in an ordinary low lying field with a ridiculous amount of flies as it was fairly close to lying water, but not lush or rye grass grazing, and he was fine :)
 
FrankieCob said:
I get shot down all the time saying this, but I "cured" my boys sweetitch with a change of diet. He had chronic sweetitch that developed as a yearling. As far as I know he was blood tested, but I havent had it 100% confirmed. He was so itchy and had horrid lesions on his face and mid line even wearing a Boett. He would lay down and use his muzzle to bite through the rugs :(

Anyway, in case your interested, I moved him from a field that was cross grazed with sheep and contained a LOT of clover. I put him on a balancer, I used pro hoof to start, added linseed, approx 40gms salt, 70gms of brewers yeast and the same of magnesium chloride. He got better on the original grazing with just the balancer and linseed. There were noticeable improvements when I moved him, then when I added salt and again when I added brewers yeast. I had to up the dose form 25gms of BYs to 70gms to get the full effect.

He went from being rugged 24/7 and needing kill itch, well benzyl diluted with avon skin so soft, but pretty much the same, every day, and sudocreme on his sheath and midline twice a day in June, to at the end of July living out 24/7 with no rugs and the occasional application of kill itch, as in 4 times since July. The lesions went and the hysterical throwing himself about behaviour went and he stopped itching :)

He lived in an ordinary low lying field with a ridiculous amount of flies as it was fairly close to lying water, but not lush or rye grass grazing, and he was fine :)
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If a simple diet change 'cured' his sweet itch then it probably wasn't sweet itch. That's not me shooting you down, but just pointing out that it was probably an allergy of another kind....grass, pollen, whatever, but not midge bites (which is what sweet itch is).
If he was still itching despite what you put on him then that's another indication that it wasn't sweet itch because even the most severe sweet itch case (I have one) will settle eventually once they are covered appropriately :)
 
OP
Appropriate rugging and electric fencing (to stop your rug being trashed) is the most important thing when dealing with sweet itch.
Of course, a well balanced diet will help any horse to cope with what life throws at them and so either feed that or a token feed with a good supplement/balancer.
I have not found anything that can be added too feed that has made any major difference to my severe sweet itch cob.
I feed him a token feed with TENS daily balancer, micronised linseed (in winter) and salt.
My must have are:
A decent rug (or three)... Rambo sweet itch hoody or Premier Equine sweet itch hoody. Both high denier and tough.
Electric fencing to protect the rug
Net Tex Stop Itch Salve...brilliant for face, ears and sheath areas.

And very importantly a well located field if possible....as exposed as possible and well away from much heaps and water sources
 
_HP_ said:
If a simple diet change 'cured' his sweet itch then it probably wasn't sweet itch. That's not me shooting you down, but just pointing out that it was probably an allergy of another kind....grass, pollen, whatever, but not midge bites (which is what sweet itch is).
If he was still itching despite what you put on him then that's another indication that it wasn't sweet itch because even the most severe sweet itch case (I have one) will settle eventually once they are covered appropriately :)
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It was sweet itch though. As far as I know he was at some point blood tested. Hes rising 14 and has had it all his life. The bits of him that itched were the bits the rugs didnt cover properly, ie where midges could get under his fly mask and to his mid line/sheath. If he goes without his supplements for any reason he sweet itch comes back within about 48 hours
 
FrankieCob said:
It was sweet itch though. As far as I know he was at some point blood tested. Hes rising 14 and has had it all his life. The bits of him that itched were the bits the rugs didnt cover properly, ie where midges could get under his fly mask and to his mid line/sheath. If he goes without his supplements for any reason he sweet itch comes back within about 48 hours
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Could another allergy (say a food stuff) exacerbate a low level sweet itch, making it more obvious? If histamine levels were already high; I think most allergies can be cumulative in that way.
 
I would imagine so. He was always itchy if it was hot, or it had rained then warmed up, or if the grass was flushing. Alfa A is also known to make horses itchy, so that might not have helped. I know a previous owner tried Cavellese and they helped a bit. Cavellese is mainly B vitamins, the same as brewers yeast, so he clearly needed more B vits. He also had horrific feet. I think its probably all tied in with him being a bit special needs and possibly having gut issues.

I was terrified the first day he went out naked as I just didnt think it had worked! But it did, and will hopefully continue to work. He didnt have low level sweet itch though, and hadnt been out unrugged since he was a yearling. He had definitely gotten worse as he aged as well. He does still get the odd scaly patch on his midline and on the side of his face, but thats treated with sudocreme and kill itch and goes away without issues usually. It happened 3 times I think since July
 
Thank you for all the advice! I hadn't visited this thread for a few days as I thought it had died! She's getting a handful and a bit of hoof kind atm with linseed pellets in and a carrot :) will defo start introducing brewers yeast :) and I'll be investing in a rug ASAP! X
 
Mylife said:
Thank you for all the advice! I hadn't visited this thread for a few days as I thought it had died! She's getting a handful and a bit of hoof kind atm with linseed pellets in and a carrot :) will defo start introducing brewers yeast :) and I'll be investing in a rug ASAP! X
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Good luck :)

My cob has had sweet itch since he was 2.. He's 19 next year!!! It's been quite a journey and I was considering PTS at one point. Our turning point was a location change...literally a life saver. He went from suicidal to manageable in days and then it was easy.
I have since taken on 2 others 'sweet itch 'ponies but I suspect it not true sweet itch in one (grass and pollen allergy), and stress and being old and run down in the other (she's 27 and never had it before) ....both presented classic sweet itch symptoms but have improved no end with simple changes despite being in a very midgy paddock.
 
We have 2 ponies with severe sweet itch and have not found any difference made to the SI from changes to diet.
That said I do like to give them some linseed to help their coats and we have fed the Bioeos tablets and think they do help to some degree over a long period.
The most important things have been:-
A good location, as windy as possible and with as few wet areas for midges to breed.
A good rug and mask,
Electric fence everywhere.
Coat the bits not covered by the rug with Nettex itch-stop or neem oil.
When the rug is removed to ride, give a good coating with midge repellant.
Bath when the weather is suitable, and wash the rug regularly.
 
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