Horse itching all year round

A

Anna*

Well-Known Member
Joined
31 December 2012
Messages
316
Visit site
My mare has been itching for over a year now. Vet has been and of only supplying ‘soothing’ shampoos which are doing nothing. He’s reluctant to give her an injection as she’s haflinger and he said it’s been known to trigger laminitis. Any ideas of what I can try? Already done antihistamines (in case it is allergies) and deosect (in case it was lice etc)

I feel I can’t ride as I feel bad she’s so uncomfortable and it’s ruining our relationship in the field as she’s literally running at me, treading on me to get me to scratch her.
 
What kind of itching? All over? Specific areas? What's her coat like?
This may not be it at all but my Dales had 2 years of intermittent, unexplained hives. They didn't bother her but something was clearly going on. Also a very, very greasy coat. I tried everything.

Turned out to be cushings (aged 9!). 8 months in, on pergolide and her coat is beautiful, and no more hives. Might be worth thinking about especially if there are any other symptoms.
 
I’d be looking at things like the liver. My first port of call would be to use L94 from Trinity and see if any improvement. Have a look at Christina Fritz’s work about KPU etc.
 
Alongside liver support as already suggested, maybe some gut support with mixed probiotics could be useful. The immune system has a gut triggering system, so if that’s out of balance, over-active or under-active immune system symptoms can result. Protexin do probiotics.

There’s a thread on here ‘feeding oily herbs’ - which you might find interesting for gut support using herbs.

Also consider eliminating things like coat sprays for flies, which she may be allergic to, and are causing skin sensitivity. My mare is a bit tricky with some horse coat sprays so I test first. I used a no-mud spray on her that many use to stop mud sticking so easily, and she was in hives the next day all over.

If she’s rugged for flies, maybe the polyester layer is causing less breathability, and causing an itchy coat?
 
One of mine had this frantic itchiness. It was a year before we found out the cause. He'd gone a bit footy and the vet tested him for Cushings. His acth was 10x what it should have been so definitely positive. He went on Prascend and within a week he'd stopped itching. Itchiness is not on the usual lists of symptoms but in his case it most definitely was one.
I had not thought of Cushings as he was only 12 but I have since been told that it's quite common to develop it at that age.
 
Nudibranch said:
What kind of itching? All over? Specific areas? What's her coat like?
This may not be it at all but my Dales had 2 years of intermittent, unexplained hives. They didn't bother her but something was clearly going on. Also a very, very greasy coat. I tried everything.

Turned out to be cushings (aged 9!). 8 months in, on pergolide and her coat is beautiful, and no more hives. Might be worth thinking about especially if there are any other symptoms.
Click to expand...
That's interesting. I'm sure my horse's itching was worse when his insulin was high (he has EMS) - it improved quite a bit once the insulin was back under control. Mine is a bit overweight (still - I do my best but...it's hard!) and I have noticed that the slimmer he is, the less itchy he is. So I've also observed that metabolic issues can cause itching.
 
That kind of itching does sound extreme. I have an itchy horse, the vet took bloods (as already said liver issues can cause intense itching). He also advised trying an exclusion diet of just soaked hay or haylage (to rule out dust/pollen from the hay) and carrots. I had some cortisone spray too, as well as the usual antihistamines. I'd already eliminated Alfalfa from his diet.

After all that he was still itchy so I had him allergy screened to identify his triggers and now he's just started immunotherapy - a tiny little injection every fortnight. It will be a while before we know if it's working though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top