Grass Making Horse Itch

[Squeak]

Since moving onto the summer field last week my thoroughbred has started itching. He itched last year but as the flies were horrendous I thought they were just irritating him. After tracking down a previous owner they said that molasses made him itch and so I started to get suspicious that it could be sugar related.

He's been fine over the winter living out but is there anything I can do over the spring and summer to stop him from being so itchy?

 

[Annagain]

My share horse has a sugar allergy. Too much sugar gives him a scabby rash on his back legs. It's at its worst at this time of year when the spring grass comes through. It then dies down for the summer before flaring up a little in the autumn and calming down again in the winter. Other than limiting his time on the grass, the only thing you can do is make sure you keep any other sugar to a minimum. Monty has a very low sugar diet apart from the grass. He's on Danilon at the moment and the only way to get it down him is with sugar beet - even just a handful every day is enough for his legs to have flared up even though he's on box rest and off the grass. He has celery as treat rather than carrots!

 

[rabatsa]

We had a pony that was considered to have sweet itch. When there were 3 cases of grass sickness on the yard everything came off the fields. She was on a short stretch of track along side a hedge, a very midgey place, but her sweet itch cleared up. She was alergic to the grass.

 

[Pinkvboots]

Sweet itch think of the words it's basically a reaction to sugar really I think it's massively understood that it's flies and bites it's often grass in spring and summer that triggers the itch.

 

[Rosie'smum]

Hmm this gets me thinking... my horse has been particularly itchy over winter and worse since i swapped to some really good hay despite it being from the same field she is currently grazing. I soaked it and she dramatically reduced her itching to mild again. Wonder if she is too has an sugar allergy.
I am waiting for my vets to get a allergy test in to see if it is diet related as she has never been this itchy through winter. Steroids helped but its still mild.

 

[Squeak]

My share horse has a sugar allergy. Too much sugar gives him a scabby rash on his back legs. It's at its worst at this time of year when the spring grass comes through. It then dies down for the summer before flaring up a little in the autumn and calming down again in the winter. Other than limiting his time on the grass, the only thing you can do is make sure you keep any other sugar to a minimum. Monty has a very low sugar diet apart from the grass. He's on Danilon at the moment and the only way to get it down him is with sugar beet - even just a handful every day is enough for his legs to have flared up even though he's on box rest and off the grass. He has celery as treat rather than carrots!

That gives me hope that it might settle down again after the spring. He was having loads of carrots but I've cut them out. I'll give him a go with celery but for a horse that loves food he's very fussy!

 

[Squeak]

We had a pony that was considered to have sweet itch. When there were 3 cases of grass sickness on the yard everything came off the fields. She was on a short stretch of track along side a hedge, a very midgey place, but her sweet itch cleared up. She was alergic to the grass.

Was it only the spring/ summer grass she was allergic to? He's been out all winter and not had a problem so I'd initially dismissed an allergy to grass but I might have been too quick to dismiss it.

 

[Squeak]

Sweet itch think of the words it's basically a reaction to sugar really I think it's massively understood that it's flies and bites it's often grass in spring and summer that triggers the itch.

That's interesting, I'd always thought that it was the specific link to flies that made it categorically sweet itch. He doesn't itch his mane or tail so I'd pretty much dismissed sweet itch but maybe I should look in to it more. There's no cure for sweet itch though is there? I'd really like to be able to find away to stop him from being irritated by itching.

 

[Squeak]

Hmm this gets me thinking... my horse has been particularly itchy over winter and worse since i swapped to some really good hay despite it being from the same field she is currently grazing. I soaked it and she dramatically reduced her itching to mild again. Wonder if she is too has an sugar allergy.
I am waiting for my vets to get a allergy test in to see if it is diet related as she has never been this itchy through winter. Steroids helped but its still mild.

It's so upsetting when you can see them getting irritated and itchy and not being able to help them. I hope the vets get to the bottom of it for you and that it's an easy solution.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Magnesium might help if the problem is diet, rather than fly, related.

 

[Nasicus]

Sweet itch think of the words it's basically a reaction to sugar really I think it's massively understood that it's flies and bites it's often grass in spring and summer that triggers the itch.

If it's not caused by an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects, it's not Sweetitch, and there is a big difference in management between a horse with Sweetitch and a horse with a sugar intolerance/pollen allergy/grass allergy etc. A lot of itchy horses are pinned as 'Sweetitch' without actually having any diagnostic tests run. A quick google of 'Sweetitch' will throw up loads of trusted resources that define Sweetitch as an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects.

OP, if you can afford it, I would have at minimum a blood allergy test run, but these can be inaccurate, so if you are insured/can afford it then Intradermal Skin Testing will give you more accurate results. If not, then I would try excluding things one at a time to see which yields the most improvement.
For example, keeping him off grass for a couple weeks (but ideally still outside so he's still exposed to insects, as you wouldn't want to keep him in, find he gets better and assume it's the grass, when it could actually be the lack of biting insects indoors), if he's still itchy then add a sweetitch rug and douse him in fly sprays, a couple weeks to see if that improves, if it does then that suggests it's insect or pollen (making contact with his skin) related, introduce him back to the grass with the sweetitch rug and sprays and see if he flares up or remains comfortable.
It's a bit of a faff and not always possible depending on the horse and the yard setup, but it can really help narrow down the situations and potential causes of his itchyness, which can help speed up things with the vet (should you choose to then go that route) as they can take the more targeted approach of 'horse itchy on grass but not off grass' for example, as opposed to the more scattergun approach of 'itchy horse'.

 

[Pinkvboots]

That's interesting, I'd always thought that it was the specific link to flies that made it categorically sweet itch. He doesn't itch his mane or tail so I'd pretty much dismissed sweet itch but maybe I should look in to it more. There's no cure for sweet itch though is there? I'd really like to be able to find away to stop him from being irritated by itching.

I think a lot of itchy conditions were just put down to sweet itch a long time ago, it was a very old vet that said to me about the sweet itch sugar link thing.

 

[Pinkvboots]

If it's not caused by an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects, it's not Sweetitch, and there is a big difference in management between a horse with Sweetitch and a horse with a sugar intolerance/pollen allergy/grass allergy etc. A lot of itchy horses are pinned as 'Sweetitch' without actually having any diagnostic tests run. A quick google of 'Sweetitch' will throw up loads of trusted resources that define Sweetitch as an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects.

OP, if you can afford it, I would have at minimum a blood allergy test run, but these can be inaccurate, so if you are insured/can afford it then Intradermal Skin Testing will give you more accurate results. If not, then I would try excluding things one at a time to see which yields the most improvement.
For example, keeping him off grass for a couple weeks (but ideally still outside so he's still exposed to insects, as you wouldn't want to keep him in, find he gets better and assume it's the grass, when it could actually be the lack of biting insects indoors), if he's still itchy then add a sweetitch rug and douse him in fly sprays, a couple weeks to see if that improves, if it does then that suggests it's insect or pollen (making contact with his skin) related, introduce him back to the grass with the sweetitch rug and sprays and see if he flares up or remains comfortable.
It's a bit of a faff and not always possible depending on the horse and the yard setup, but it can really help narrow down the situations and potential causes of his itchyness, which can help speed up things with the vet (should you choose to then go that route) as they can take the more targeted approach of 'horse itchy on grass but not off grass' for example, as opposed to the more scattergun approach of 'itchy horse'.

I have just seen your post after I replied to the other poster, yes it is an old fashioned thing of anything that causes an itch was referred to as sweet itch.

 

[sport horse]

I have had great success with itchy horses feeding Brewers Yeast. It has definitely worked for me as I have stopped and restarted several times to check if it is effective. Great advanatage if it works is that it is pretty cheap!

 

[rabatsa]

Was it only the spring/ summer grass she was allergic to? He's been out all winter and not had a problem so I'd initially dismissed an allergy to grass but I might have been too quick to dismiss it.

It was March to October and she rubbed her mane and tail.

 

[Squeak]

If it's not caused by an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects, it's not Sweetitch, and there is a big difference in management between a horse with Sweetitch and a horse with a sugar intolerance/pollen allergy/grass allergy etc. A lot of itchy horses are pinned as 'Sweetitch' without actually having any diagnostic tests run. A quick google of 'Sweetitch' will throw up loads of trusted resources that define Sweetitch as an allergy/reaction to the saliva of biting insects.

OP, if you can afford it, I would have at minimum a blood allergy test run, but these can be inaccurate, so if you are insured/can afford it then Intradermal Skin Testing will give you more accurate results. If not, then I would try excluding things one at a time to see which yields the most improvement.
For example, keeping him off grass for a couple weeks (but ideally still outside so he's still exposed to insects, as you wouldn't want to keep him in, find he gets better and assume it's the grass, when it could actually be the lack of biting insects indoors), if he's still itchy then add a sweetitch rug and douse him in fly sprays, a couple weeks to see if that improves, if it does then that suggests it's insect or pollen (making contact with his skin) related, introduce him back to the grass with the sweetitch rug and sprays and see if he flares up or remains comfortable.
It's a bit of a faff and not always possible depending on the horse and the yard setup, but it can really help narrow down the situations and potential causes of his itchyness, which can help speed up things with the vet (should you choose to then go that route) as they can take the more targeted approach of 'horse itchy on grass but not off grass' for example, as opposed to the more scattergun approach of 'itchy horse'.

Unfortunately he's not insured so don't want to go too far down the vet route if I don't have to and can help it with management. He was in a fly rug and fly sprays last summer and he didn't itch with the rug on but as soon as you took it off he itched. When we got to the winter he'd stopped but some extra carrots seemed to trigger it, as soon as they were removed he stopped itching again. It's then only re-started since he went on to the spring grass so I'm fairly sure it should be linked to the sugar but obviously there could be something I'm missing as it's not something I've dealt with before.

 

[Squeak]

I have had great success with itchy horses feeding Brewers Yeast. It has definitely worked for me as I have stopped and restarted several times to check if it is effective. Great advanatage if it works is that it is pretty cheap!

Thank you have looked this up and will give it a try. Being a tb I'm always careful about ulcers so the fact that it's good for their stomachs and helps with condition is a bonus.

 

[Squeak]

It was March to October and she rubbed her mane and tail.

Thank you I'll bare this in mind, I hadn't thought that allergies would be so seasonal. I'll see how I get on with the Brewers yeast first but then I might have to look in to this further.