Has anyone had their horse pts because of sweet itch?

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Mitchyden

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As the title says really. I'm getting to the end of my tether as I hate seeing Zara constantly trying to itch but I'm not sure she would rather be dead :-(
 
Aww poor girlie, Do you have a lot of midges in your area?
Would you consider trying her in a different area, I know even simple yard moves can help/hinder horses with SI.

What treatments have you tried?

Ive never had a SI horse, but a goods friends horse has it, and he would tear himself to bits given the chance.
 
Not sweet itch, but I know of someone who had their trad cob put down because of mites. This was about twenty years ago, so I'm not sure what treatments they'd tried, but they had been trying to sort him out for a while. The itching literally drove him crazy, he was becoming increasingly hard to handle and was doing a fair bit of damage to his legs through biting and rubbing.

It was a hard decision, but the poor horse was seriously miserable all the time and they had run out of options.
 
what have you tried so far?

This year (touch wood) my mare has been hardly itching (shes an itchy cob anyway) and she has had her rambo hoodies on since feb and i've been applying killitch to her crest and face. Seems to have worked so far
 
Have you tried anti histamines? Pharmacy First were selling Ceterazine Hydrochloride (Piriteze) and Loratadine very cheaply recently, I bought some of each for my horse who is an itcher but allergic to new grass, am about to try them this summer. If she is that bad what have you got to lose other than a few £££££s?
Have you determined that it is an allergy to the bite of the culicoides midge or something else? Managing exposure to the allergen is key, so you do need to know what it is - hence barrier rugs, grass free living etc.
I did know one that was PTS a few years ago, he was allergic to timothy grass and his owners just couldn't find grazing or fodder without any. Anti histamines might have helped but this was some years ago.
 
I can't actually see any midges but they're obviously out there somewhere as she's being eaten alive already. She is covered with a Boett but the only cream I can use on the exposed bits is Muddy Marvel as she's allergic to everything else. Her face is a mess because the fly mask doesn't seem to be doing it's job. The most difficult part of her to deal with is in between her hind legs as I have to tie her up really short to avoid being bitten by her so then she cow kicks. I'm assuming because she is so itchy, she can't stand to be touched.

It's not a possiblility to move elsewhere to a more exposed area as she has to have trees and hedges to shelter behind as she really hates getting wet. I've owned her for 11 years, and each year she has got progressively worse :-(
 
Try looking at retirement livery yards and see if they can do anything to help you. Our fields here are enormous and on an exposed hill, so the horses don't get bothered by midges but they have plenty of natural shelter with the large hedges and trees when they need it.

I am not the only retirement livery with this set up. We can't do ridden liveries here until next year as we can't do the change of use until then, but most yards will be able to accommodate ridden horses, so it's definitely worth getting on the phone and asking.

Other than that, it would depend totally on the horse. If already in a Boett and already using everything available and it's still not helping, I'm not sure I could subject a horse to that level of discomfort for years to come...so if you did make the PTS decision, you could absolutely count on my total support. For your sake though, I hope you can find another solution xxx
 
I've been in touch with a couple of retirement yards around this area because that was an option I'd already thought of. Unfortunately both of them have water close too which is a breeding ground for midges. Being ridden is not a problem now as she has just been retired. She developed navicular and arthritis in her fetlocks in March 2014 along with her bone spavins and unfortunately although sound when ridden, she is lame when she is then turned out in the field. This is despite being on a Danilon a day.

I had never in a million years thought that sweet itch could be a killer :-(

I'm not getting any support from other liveries either as they say that she doesn't look as if anything is wrong with her.
 
Mitchyden said:
The most difficult part of her to deal with is in between her hind legs as I have to tie her up really short to avoid being bitten by her so then she cow kicks. I'm assuming because she is so itchy, she can't stand to be touched.
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We have two with really bad sweet itch and this seems odd because ours, and others I've met, beg to be scratched wherever is itching. It makes me wonder if there is something that is making her skin sore rather than just itchy.
I know there is the laminitis risk but has she ever had steroid injections for it?
 
I very very nearly did! litterally spent thousends in vets fees over a 3 year period trying anything and everything, nothing worked, he was by far the worst case ive ever known and he was so miserable, BUT after reading a thread on here about alpha intolerance (which neither vet had ever mentioned to us) i took him off it, soon after found him a fab loaner with electric fencing whos kept him off alpha and its like a miracle! im now so glad i didnt pts because although he still does have sweet itch its now extremely mild (so far) and easily managable, i wish i had known about the allergy years ago(cant help but feel vets should have known) and saved him years of suffering.
In severe cases of sweet itch i honestly think PTS is the best option
 
Gloi said:
We have two with really bad sweet itch and this seems odd because ours, and others I've met, beg to be scratched wherever is itching. It makes me wonder if there is something that is making her skin sore rather than just itchy.
I know there is the laminitis risk but has she ever had steroid injections for it?
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I was wondering that too. P always lifts his legs like a dog when he gets itchy or presents his withers or forelock to me. The midgies round our way were particularly bad last night and this morning and he has some bad bites at the base of his mane. He's out in his fly rug today with lots of skin so soft spray on the exposed bits and sudocreme on the actual bites themselves.

I assume OP that you've tried all the usual remedies - coopers, killitch, D-itch, calomine, sudocreme, benzyl benzoate etc?

I totally understand your frustration OP, SI is the most awful thing, in your case though I would be asking the vet about allergy testing and/or steroid injections before taking such a big step as PTS.
 
Gloi said:
We have two with really bad sweet itch and this seems odd because ours, and others I've met, beg to be scratched wherever is itching. It makes me wonder if there is something that is making her skin sore rather than just itchy.
I know there is the laminitis risk but has she ever had steroid injections for it?
Click to expand...

She loves having her ears and head scratched but cannot tolerate her legs being touched although she is always trying to scratch them herself.
As for the steroid injections, I did try steroid tablets and they made her go footy, as she also has very mild cushings, I don't want to risk it.
 
rowan666 said:
I very very nearly did! litterally spent thousends in vets fees over a 3 year period trying anything and everything, nothing worked, he was by far the worst case ive ever known and he was so miserable, BUT after reading a thread on here about alpha intolerance (which neither vet had ever mentioned to us) i took him off it, soon after found him a fab loaner with electric fencing whos kept him off alpha and its like a miracle! im now so glad i didnt pts because although he still does have sweet itch its now extremely mild (so far) and easily managable, i wish i had known about the allergy years ago(cant help but feel vets should have known) and saved him years of suffering.
In severe cases of sweet itch i honestly think PTS is the best option
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I already avoid alfalfa with her as she is barefoot and it makes her go footy. She is on Thunderbrook feeds with grass chaff, is stabled during the day to avoid the sugary grass so really doesn't have a great deal of sugar in her diet either. Glad it worked for your pony though.
 
3OldPonies said:
I assume OP that you've tried all the usual remedies - coopers, killitch, D-itch, calomine, sudocreme, benzyl benzoate etc?
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I've tried all the above as well as many others. She is allergic to so many ointments including sudocreme and vaseline. Muddy Marvel is the only one that doesn't cause her skin to blister and peel off.

I also forgot to add melanomas to her list of ailments although they are very small at the moment so shouldn't cause her a problem yet. Bless her, she has been such a fantastic endurance horse and now everything is going wrong for her :-(
 
I recently bought a horse I've had on loan who has SI. I did so in the full knowledge that when the end comes, if I have a choice in the matter, he will go on a crisp spring day with a stiff breeze, before the midges can get to him. OP, if you've gotten to that point already, I totally understand. It's no different in my mind to having an arthritic oldie PTS rather than putting them through another winter.
 
Hi,
I have a horse with the same problems as yours...
I almost had him pts last year as he was self harming so much he actually destroyed a block stable.
Over the winter I have fed him dried nettle...nettle has amazing antihistemine properties...to build up a resistance....and so far..touch wood we are in the clear.
I religiously cover his mane and tail in a water soluble show sheen (Gold Label) to keep them tangle free...and to make the midges side off. I use Naff Citronella with omega oil added and spray over the top of the show sheen as midges cannot land on oil. I also do his 'bits' as this is where the midges seem to aim for mostly.
He goes out after sunset (did you know there are three different twighlights and the midges do not die until the final twighlight?) ...and comes in at 6.30 am. He only has TopSpec lite balancer, Top Spec Un molassed chaff, omega oil Naff mulit vit and nettle and soaked hay and when he comes in I immediately put a rug on him which seems to stop itching in its tracks. He cannot wear a rug in the field as we have a lot of blackthorn which a fly rug would catch on.
You can make a wash from nettles which immediately cools and stops the itching. Pick some nettles...pour boiling water over them, wait for them to cool, empty the juice in to a bucket and top up with cold water until pale green and wash the horse all over...no need to rinse.
I have tried all the creams, lotions and washes and sprays and nothing worked like the regime I now have him on....not yet tried the SI injection.
He lives at home with me so I can manage this regime.
I wish you the very best of luck.
Bryndu
 
I did. Well it wasn't just his sweet itch- he had several other issues too - sacrolittic disease, arthritis and ligament issues, but the sweet itch was def a contributing factor in making the decision to have him pts.
It was a very hard decision to make, and one I took a very long time to make but he was so miserable. I hated seeing him so unhappy. i was devastated that it got to having him pts, but don't regret the decision.
 
Bryndu said:
Hi,

You can make a wash from nettles which immediately cools and stops the itching. Pick some nettles...pour boiling water over them, wait for them to cool, empty the juice in to a bucket and top up with cold water until pale green and wash the horse all over...no need to rinse.
Bryndu
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I like this idea and I'd not heard of it before, a no rinse wash! Excellent idea, I've loads of nettles so I'm going to try this one. (Dad and OH will be pleased too - they won't have to get the weedkiller out!

OP, thanks for your continued messages answering us all, it is starting to sound like you've tried everything. Just think carefully and go with what you feel is right.
 
OP I feel for you: my traddie boy has SI and I bought him knowing he had it and was prepared to manage his condition. As I've got my own yard it makes things a lot easier.

You have probably thought of this, no doubt you have, but it might, just might, be worth trying to find another field/yard/situation for yours where there aren't so many midges. I say this because where I keep my boy on my place, its up quite high here and we're in the eye of the prevailing wind (and don't we know it when the Westerlies come in!!); but literally a mile away, because its the other side of the hill and there are lots of trees, its a nightmare for anything with SI. There is such a huge disparity of suitability within literally one mile's radius.

It might be worth trying to find somewhere which is high up, away from standing water or streams, and where there is prevailing wind, for yours.

But failing all else, then you must not feel guilty at making the ultimate choice. When I put my boy on loan a few years back, I saw the very worst of what a horse with SI can be like. I'd looked after his sweet itch and managed it effectively, but within one pitiful weekend the loaner had put him out without his SI rug on and he'd rubbed himself raw and bleeding on his mane and tail. It was horrendous, he was in a dreadful state, and thoroughly miserable - and if you have a horse whose SI you've done the very very best to manage and every solution you've tried hasn't worked, then I can see how one might come to the thought-process you're going through.

The other thing I'd do is ask for another veterinary opinion: it might be that a different vet will come up with something else you can try as research is continuing all the time.

But whatever you decide; I feel for you having to make this choice...... bless you. Your horse has got the best owner he could ever possibly have.
 
Has the vet diagnised SI one of mine was found to have a grass allergy and the other a grass allergy and SI. both wear Boetts and have piriton in their feed dose varies between 10 and 25 a day depending. they are both fine on this regime but itch terribly otherwise.
 
I would have the horse allergy tested ASAP. I thought a Welsh D I had for years had sweet itch as he itched out the lower half of his mane every year, however I had him tested and it was found he was allergic to pretty much everything EXCEPT midge bites (most grasses, dust and mould!). Definately worth getting yours tested OP as it may not be sweet itch. I had a vaccine type thing made up for my boy and I had to inject him regularly for a while but unfortunately it didn't work for him but I sold him and actually its a lot better in his new home (maybe they have more of the grass types he wasn't allergic too!).
 
I put this on a similar post yesterday . . . .

Many moons ago I had a pony who suffered terribly. I tried everything in the book incl a Boett and she was so so distressed with it. She would rub until she bled. It was horrendous to see. At a country show once I was pounced on by an Aloe Vera sales person (Forever Living) and as I was so desperate, took their advice and dealt with the allergic reaction from the inside (rather than applying topical solutions alone), by feeding Aloe Vera Gel in the yellow bottle. It wasn't cheap but as I said I was desperate and the ponys life pretty much depended on it. Well to my surprised it worked, and within a week you could see how much more comfortable she was. I am no Forever Living rep so not trying to sell the stuff, just sharing my experience. I have so much faith in it that when I sold the pony I gave the new owner a box of they promised to feed it to her. The pony wore a Boett, was fed the Aloe Gel in her feeds, and I used the Aloe Propolis cream (which has bee propolis in it) topically. It all worked brillliantly. Whilst her S.I didnt totally disappear, it became far less severe and she has a fairly normal life, being far more comfortable. We sometime place too much importance of topical solutions, and overlook the fact that that sometimes a condition may be helped by dealing with it from the inside. One final point - my vet swears by Forever Living products and uses them and sells them, so there must be something in it :-)
 
Get in touch with Roger Meacock?.natural healing solutions...he offers a natural injection that has had some positive results for sweet itch and other allergies.
I totally understand your predicament...I was in the same place until I moved several years ago. my horse went from untouchable/unrideable/ suicidal to happy and easily managed with the environment change.
You can still have natural shelter in an exposed field...or put in a shelter.
The Boett rug just didn't work for my lad...I prefer the tougher Premier equine/Rambo types .

I have 3 with sweet itch and none will go anywhere else...one is 30 and will be pts soon and the others will be pts if I can't keep them for whatever reason.

It's an horrendous condidtion and if you can't manage it then I would pts if it feels right.
 
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I have a mini shetland that started with sweetitch at 2 years old, , that i decided to have him pts if it got anyworse, luckly it didnt get anyworse { doesnt need a rug just spraying everyday} so yes i would have had him pts if it got to the stage that yours is at.I feel for you.
 
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