Help me with Sweet Itch

Ladybird L

Ladybird L

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I’m fairly sure my girl has sweet itch 😢 It’s just warmed up and I turned her out without her rug and she’s now tearing holes in her face and bum..

I’ve ordered a fly mask and rug and have been keeping her in till they arrive. I’ve been giving her a soothing bath every day and sponging fly spray on (as she’s terrified of the spraying sound) and putting Aloe Vera on the itchy bits.

She’s being fed HiFi Lite, Molassed beet pulp, a handful of oats and linseed. She looks and feels fantastic apart from this.

How can I manage this going forward? I’m floundering a bit 🙁
 
The rug (if good quality - you should have paid over £70 - around £100 or thereabouts is usual and it should be marked as ‘sweet itch’) will do most of the work. I have a really bad one and we also use the spot on fly stuff (marketed for horses as ‘Switch’) but in years gone by managed fine with rug, fly spray and mask.

Do check you don’t have lice though - that is another itch option.
 
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I would scrap the molassed feed first off. There’s quite a lot of anecdotal evidence that high sugar content in feed can exacerbate SI.

Stock up on Biteback products - they are amazing! Switch is also good stuff for maintenance.

I feed mine the HerdLeader ‘Summer Itch Relief’ from around March until November.

Regular baths are good, too. I use the Amigo Rip Stop hoodies on my mare as she doesn’t need a belly flap, these are lighter than conventional SI rugs, but do offer decent protection around the neck and bottom.
 
Definitely eliminate all high sugar feed from her diet, including high sugar grass areas in spring and autumn especially. Biteback is absolutely the best stuff available IMHO.

A really good sweet itch rug, I found the best one was the Rambo Hoody, very robust and just slather on Biteback along the belly line and the inside of the back legs in particular. A good fly mask is also essential IMO. Unfortunately the all in one body suit rugs were just too hot for Dolly and she sweltered in them, so that wasn't the best idea.

Electric fence off any area she can rub on and all hedges and fences, if they can see something to rub on, then they will no matter what else you do.

If you persevere you will get it under control and it will just become a daily routine, good luck.
 
Ideally you need to start treating before the itch. Once the itch starts, it's a nightmare and hard to get on top of.

I used killitch with good success but started applying in February, then usually tapered off around September.

Boetts are the best rugs I've used but do get hot in the warmer weather.

Good luck! X
 
Everyone else has given good advice on rugs and sprays etc (I like the Shires Highlander rugs, and swear by Biteback) but I would like to add that she doesn't need a bath every day. SI ponies should maybe be bathed more frequently than other horses to handle product build up but every day is excessive and risks stripping the coat, making the skin dry and more itchy.

I would also start working on the fear of sprays. A SI pony really doesn't have a choice about whether to tolerate being sprayed unfortunately! Positive reinforcement will be your best friend here. Keep sponging product on and practise spraying water near her until she is comfortable with the noise and feeling, then you can start to spray product. Having to sponge anything on for the rest of her life just isn't feasible!!
 
My SI mare was worse on alfalfa, so I'd cut that out, too. I feed her on Pure Easy/Condition (depends on time of year) with added brewer's yeast and linseed.

My mare is also exceedingly water phobic, whether that be sprays, sponge or hose - it's the feel of it, rather than the sound. We do muddle through with 'bed baths' in the summer. Not ideal, but needs must and there is much dancing around. I did a lot of +R with her over the years, but aged 24, she's unlikely to improve, now! I use dermoline or hibiscrub for this. Routinely I apply a mix of benzyl benzoate 20%/neem oil 20% in an emulsified lotion. I make it as follows: 75g emulsifying wax melted in approx 500 mL hot water, 200 mL pure BB, 200 mL neem oil, up to 1 L with hot water. Mix and decant into a wide necked bottle or tub.

Stock up on sudocrem for when your horse has broken skin. If I'm caught out and she's self harmed (she bites holes in herself around the belly/hips and legs if I'm not vigilant enough), I apply sudocrem to the broken skin and her usual potion around it! I can't cover her up, yet, as she has a lot of fur to come out and gets even itchier under the rug, so I'm trying to hold out a couple more weeks!
 
It does vary so much from horse to horse, mine will rub her face at times, only the lower part of her mane, and tail. Sometimes shoulders, sometimes hindquarters. I do use bite back products, but as the main ingredient is benzl benzoate, you can buy that neat cheaper and dilute it yourself.
We've settled on a shires highlander (i think) rug, quite sturdy. Boett would not stay still on her and slipped round. Thinner rugs got ripped in days
 
Thanks everyone. I think I got a Kavlakade Fly Rug. Hopefully it’ll do….. and I will order some BiteBack straight away!

Oh yes I was just giving her the daily bath while she’s very itchy to try and soothe it a bit.
 
Ladybird L said:
Thanks everyone. I think I got a Kavlakade Fly Rug. Hopefully it’ll do….. and I will order some BiteBack straight away!

Oh yes I was just giving her the daily bath while she’s very itchy to try and soothe it a bit.
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I would get a refund on that and use the money for a proper sweet itch rug. I look on marketplace if I’m feeling broke and need a new one. They are available second hand. Needs to say ‘sweet itch rug’.
 
maya2008 said:
I would get a refund on that and use the money for a proper sweet itch rug. I look on marketplace if I’m feeling broke and need a new one. They are available second hand. Needs to say ‘sweet itch rug’.
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Tend to agree. I took a look at the Kavalkade and it does seem fairly thick polyester so it might stop midges but it also might not. There looks to be a sale on Harry Hall atm for the Masta sweet itch rug for the same price as I'm seeing the Kavalkade which would be a much better option.

Regret looking now, as I definitely don't need another one but that price is really good 😂 ETA, the waterproof version is on sale as well. I can't do this on the same day I pay rates and the leccy bill!!!
 
Sweet itch is a very tricky condition to deal with. One of its most unfair aspects is that a cream/lotion that work very well for one pony will do nothing for yours. You just have to keep trying until you find your product. Premier Equine rugs are very expensive but are great for the start and finish of the season- you can often get good second hand ones on Marketplace. They last well. Ruggles are good but aren't that robust. Shires are good for when it's warmer but the Rambo rungs are good when it gets really hot. It's important to keep the rugs clean - I wash weekly so you need more than one. Any products containing neem work well as the midges hate it. Sudacreme is very good if all else has failed. You can try supplements as well as creams. I feed nettle, cleavers. calendula and chamomile herbs. Brewers yeast is meant to help and some people feed redbush tea helps. You can also try antihistamines. There's also a vaccination called Insol. It's meant to be used for ringworm but has been found to be helpful for sweet itch. It has to be given before the season starts so you're too late for this year. It is very weather dependent so you can think you're having a good year and then it rains and the midges appear and you realise that you aren't! It is a nightmare condition and is very distressing for pony and owner. When I bought my pony I knew he had it and was determined to cure him of it. I learnt very quickly that all you can do is manage it.
 
Ladybird L said:
Seems great but dummy question, I thought it was dangerous to turn out in rugs with ear things like that?
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Oh. I've never heard that myself but interesting point. In case they get caught on something? On some of the Shires Highlanders the ear pieces are thinner material that tears easily so maybe it is something to consider, but the newer models they seem to have stopped doing that and the ear pieces are the same as the main body. Honestly half the reason I have so many rugs is they are mostly cotton and all of it tears quite easily. Certainly more easily than polyester. The necks are also all velcro fastenings so should break away, theoretically.
Chianti said:
Premier Equine rugs are very expensive but are great for the start and finish of the season- you can often get good second hand ones on Marketplace. They last well.
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This isn't useful, but a second hand premier equine is the only rug I've ever had that lasted less than 48hrs and was so badly ripped it couldn't be repaired, was in 3 separate bits scattered across the field 😂 It was a gift as well!!
 
smolmaus said:
Oh. I've never heard that myself but interesting point. In case they get caught on something? On some of the Shires Highlanders the ear pieces are thinner material that tears easily so maybe it is something to consider, but the newer models they seem to have stopped doing that and the ear pieces are the same as the main body. Honestly half the reason I have so many rugs is they are mostly cotton and all of it tears quite easily. Certainly more easily than polyester. The necks are also all velcro fastenings so should break away, theoretically.

This isn't useful, but a second hand premier equine is the only rug I've ever had that lasted less than 48hrs and was so badly ripped it couldn't be repaired, was in 3 separate bits scattered across the field 😂 It was a gift as well!!
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That's bad luck. I've got some that are six years old with just the odd patch repair. They are so expensive new that I only buy second hand even then you hope they last.
 
smolmaus said:
Oh. I've never heard that myself but interesting point. In case they get caught on something? On some of the Shires Highlanders the ear pieces are thinner material that tears easily so maybe it is something to consider, but the newer models they seem to have stopped doing that and the ear pieces are the same as the main body. Honestly half the reason I have so many rugs is they are mostly cotton and all of it tears quite easily. Certainly more easily than polyester. The necks are also all velcro fastenings so should break away, theoretically.

This isn't useful, but a second hand premier equine is the only rug I've ever had that lasted less than 48hrs and was so badly ripped it couldn't be repaired, was in 3 separate bits scattered across the field 😂 It was a gift as well!!
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Yes I think it is in case they got caught, I’m not sure though but I think I read it somewhere… we don’t have much to get caught on in the winter field but the summer one has a copse of trees. Will have to fence them off for scratching purposes too so maybe it’ll be fine.
 
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