has anyone had a horse pts due to sweet itch?

johnrobert said:
My mare is an absolute nightmare with the sweet-itch, had her 8 years and she unridable. but this winter she lost a lot of weight, so have put her and young mare out on 9 acres, grass looked good but thin. she had her boett rug and mask on until this weekend,when it reached 30c and she was being cooked alive, so took rug off. She has put weight on, but started rubbing big time. she is a nightmare to try and put creams on, injections are a no! no! as I like my vets and she would do them serious damage. Will wait for the weather to cool down before I put her boett back on. but have decided that if she really doesn't pick up the weight will have her pts in the autumn. And before anybody says teeth checked, she's an absolute nightmare with them. And yes she's only 13???
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Please put her rug back on...better a bit sweaty than itchy again surely?:confused:
 
HP I would love to put her rug back on but when it 30c and the sweat was dripping off her and they say the hot weather will continue. So sorry I cann't may have the RSPCA on my back, having rugged up mare in heatwave. I cann't bring her back in as having her stable repaired. She is enjoying being out full time, bless her, I think for the first time in 8 years that I've owned her, as I've always tried to do the right thing by her. She is not an easy mare to do, but I love her and in her own way, I'd say she loves me. I'm the only person she trusts.
 
Don't until you have tried cattle pour on insecticide.
My shetland used to get on his tummy rub his belly raw, itch mane and tail and shake my 4 year old daughter off. I was going to have him PTS but am so attached to him that we thought we'd give himeone last season.
We clipped him out at the end of winter, put I think about 4ml of cattle pour on dysect on one stripe each side on the flank, one a top of tail and some down his main and you would never know he had it now. He is a little bit itchy but nothing compared to before.
The drug isn't licenced to horses but the vet advised to do a test patch first in case he reacted but it lives in teh fat under the skin for 6 weeks and is just fab!!
Try it.
I do top up every other day with the horse version deosect which in itself is fairly nasty.
 
Wow - some real tough responses on hear, some of which are pretty vile in my opinion too much hassle to care for so therefore PTS! :eek:

My showjumper has sweet itch and he is a homebred, yes its a pain the behind, but I wouldn't put down a horse that wins money BSJA because I cannot be bothered to care for him! :mad:

Right so firstly - get them away from the midges! This means bringing in

The best life for a sweet itch horse if you are not on site is to be in an american barn 100% of the time (i.e there is no one who can put out and bring in at required times)

If you are onsite like me, I put out after dark and I bring in before 7.30am. So this time of year I get no lay-ins or early nights!

This dramatically reduces the number of bites full stop. He is wearing a rug, in fact 2 rugs right now. A cheap thin boett type and a fly rug that won't rip if he rubs on the breeze blocks. Yes its hot, but he has been rugged with a 200g medium turnout prior to the hot weather, so I got him ready for 30oC whilst wearing a rug.

So key points:
1. Preparation - if they are bitten, its too late
2. Decent rugs - ALL the time and over rug so they can cope in the heat
3. Keep them in during daylight

I use very little products, just a smidge of sudocrem in the morning, as even at 7.30am he gets the odd bit on the sheath. I use ultra shield when I ride and occasionally if the barn has been invaded I'll spray deosect around to kill any insect life.

If you cannot cope - find a home with no turnout. A riding school with no land or city farm would be ideal.
 
Bit harsh CWS...I don't think anyone is saying PTS if you can't be bothered.

Its about quality of life...most people won't take on a SI horse so rehoming is not that simple.

If for any reason I can't keep my horse anymore I would rather PTS than risk rehoming him to the wrong place. He would be so miserable if he were not managed correctly.

A seriously affected horse can be dangerous to themselves and their handlers
 
Agree HP. And I would love to have an American Barn on My property, but Planning wouldn't allow it. My mare has been rugged up to the nines for the past 8 years, her rugs are over 20 last count. This is the first time since owning her and finding out she had sweet-itch that she's had no rugs on and I mean 24/7. But I'm not able to stand by and see my mare dripping in sweat under her boett and as I have said cann't bring her in as major repairs to her stable and this has been caused by her sweet-itch and she weaves badly when stabled.
 
No as soon as I took rug and mask off her, she's been fine, so I guess I'm in a catch 22, dammed if I do and dammed if I don't. But if you had seen the sweat dripping off her, I think you would have done the same.
 
hi, sorry have just got round to reading all the repiles. much appricated!

i have had her allergy tested and she is also alergic to other stuff, mainly the mould spore and soya oil, which is in most feeds. i physically could not bring her in as she would scratch herself to death, this is advice from a top vet. i am also in reg touch with the sweetitch company who are ace, really supportive.

i suppose part of my point is she isnt a showjumper winning money etc etc, she finds ridden work v difficult and has been to professionals of many types and gen feeling is she'd prob be an okay hack in company or companion. i wish i could move to a windy exposed part of the country but i cant simply up sticks and leave, and i dont think she'd be top of the list for someone looking for a companion. there are tonnes of companions out there needing a nice home that dont come with the issues that mine does! I'm just thinking of her ong term future really. is it fair?
 
You have heard for and against. But the last answer is up to you, nothing that is right comes easy and I'm standing in your shoes at the moment and it isn't going to be easy for me either way. Best of Luck and take care
 
CotswoldSJ said:
Wow - some real tough responses on hear, some of which are pretty vile in my opinion too much hassle to care for so therefore PTS! :eek:

My showjumper has sweet itch and he is a homebred, yes its a pain the behind, but I wouldn't put down a horse that wins money BSJA because I cannot be bothered to care for him! :mad:

Right so firstly - get them away from the midges! This means bringing in

The best life for a sweet itch horse if you are not on site is to be in an american barn 100% of the time (i.e there is no one who can put out and bring in at required times)

If you are onsite like me, I put out after dark and I bring in before 7.30am. So this time of year I get no lay-ins or early nights!

This dramatically reduces the number of bites full stop. He is wearing a rug, in fact 2 rugs right now. A cheap thin boett type and a fly rug that won't rip if he rubs on the breeze blocks. Yes its hot, but he has been rugged with a 200g medium turnout prior to the hot weather, so I got him ready for 30oC whilst wearing a rug.

So key points:
1. Preparation - if they are bitten, its too late
2. Decent rugs - ALL the time and over rug so they can cope in the heat
3. Keep them in during daylight

I use very little products, just a smidge of sudocrem in the morning, as even at 7.30am he gets the odd bit on the sheath. I use ultra shield when I ride and occasionally if the barn has been invaded I'll spray deosect around to kill any insect life.

If you cannot cope - find a home with no turnout. A riding school with no land or city farm would be ideal.
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It's not the "hassle" as you put it that would make me PTS a SEVERE SW sufferer - it's the WELFARE of the animal and if it's so itchy for upto 10 months of the year then I think it's downright cruel to keep them alive.:mad:
 
You can't say shove in a barn etc etc until you have tried pour on cattle insecticide.
I cannot stress how bad my gelding was and I have had him 6 years gettng progressively worse over the years.
Please try it.
i no longer rug, I have a boett and a snuggy hoods and have had neither this year.
I won't rant again but please find a friendly farmer and try some.
 
I rescued a shetland 4 years ago, he was overweight and covered in sweetitch sores all over his body, we had to sedate him to gethim bathed as he was too sore to touch. We treated him with Camrosa with excellent effects, put a fly rug on and only put him out during the day after dawn and got him in before dusk. It was really hard as we were trying to treat it as well as manage it. The following year at the beginning of march we were caught out with some warm weather that brought the midges out in force and he had a really bad attack, his body swelled in lumps that big between his back legs you couldn't see his sheath, he tried to rub on anything and everything and got that tstressed rolling that he burst blood vessels in his nose, All I could see is a pony that was being tortured and considering PTS, but I wanted to try everything first, so we sedated him bathed him and clipped/hogged him out, he then lived in his boett 24/7 with limited turnout when the midges are bad, he also had brewers yeast tablets, again it was a really tough year with him and i'd spent more on a rugs, sedation etc than the pony was worth.
Now every year, he is clipped out completely end of feb begin of march depending on the weather ready for his boett, half the problem was him overheating that made him uncomfortable too, he is fed brewers yeast all year round but it's cut down through winter and built up again in feb, his stable has the windows taken out in summer so that a breeze can flow through to distract the flies and he has a full mane and tail! So I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's finding what woks best for your pony, prevention is better than cure, sometimes I think all the lotions and potions irritate the scabs along with alot of bathing.

Also alot of people go straight to the garlic, garlic shouldn't be fed as this boosts an already overreactive immune system.
Hope this helps.x
 
johnrobert said:
No as soon as I took rug and mask off her, she's been fine, so I guess I'm in a catch 22, dammed if I do and dammed if I don't. But if you had seen the sweat dripping off her, I think you would have done the same.
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JR please don't think I'm criticising...its such a miserable condition for the horse. I just feel I would prefer to be hot and sweaty than itchy.
Is your rug big enough? Maybe it is too snug. My cob runs hot and has never sweated, any more than he would without, in a Boett thats all. Does your horse have shelter?
 
Hp both of her rugs fit her very well as when you order you have to send measurements. But I'm not prepared to stand see the sweat dripping off her and I mean dripping the temperatures have been in the high 20's and last sunday hit 31'c. They have trees for shade which they use. I'd love to slap loades of lotion and creams on her but as soon as she sees or smells them she becomes a danger to me and herself. It takes a whole large bag of carrots just to get her rug on, and the mask is a nightmare. Why when you try to make things better for them,they think you are trying to kill them. This is the first time in 8 years I've left her out 24/7 but her stable needs major repairs and this is due to her sweet-itch and weaving and the fact she has lost weight and muscle tone this winter, so desperate to get weight back on her.:(
 
I've got a really bad sweet itch sufferer, or should I say I had... he's doing incredibly well since we moved yards and tried numerous products.
When I had him first he was wearing a boett and even when ridden- you *can* ride in them and at one point I had to complete with mask.
I tried benzyl benzoate but it was really strong and my sensitive boy couldn't cope with it. It would make his sores worse and that was watered down to the correct dosage.
I have fed a spoon of marmite in a handful of chaff which seemed to help and finally I contacted an alternative therapy centre and got homeopathic drops which have been a miracle for him. Seriously impressive results with them (when you use them properly)
If you give them a ring and explain you have a horse with sweet itch they will send you two little bottles of drops for around £20. http://www.allergy.org.uk/homeopathy.htm

The thing that made the biggest improvement was moving yards to somewhere with a breeze and electric fencing off all the trees. Also keep the horse away from the muck heap, away from trees and away from still water.
 
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