Horse rubbing his tail again!

Sol

Sol

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Anyone know how to prevent/help with this? He did it last summer too, but was also reacting really badly to fly bites in general so wasn't to surprised. This year (touch wood) he's not been bitten half as much, just the odd one, but has over the last few days rubbed the top of his tail again causing it to look like he's been electrocuted, and as it damages the hairs it goes frizzy & wont go flat again & eventually thins out. :o


Any ideas??


Thanks, Sol x.
 
Mine did this around this time every year, he didn't have sweet itch, just he was so annoyed by the flies. I found that spraying fly spray into the top of his tail and rubbing it in so it reached his skin worked, I managed to sort it out early and he had a lovely tail for the rest of the summer and was much happier without the flies annoying him so much, I guess a fly rug would work too :)
 
Mine rubs his mane and tail cos the midges drive him mad , not sure when it becomes sweetitch! But I have been manageing to keep him fuzz free with Avon skin so soft dry oil spray (not an ad...I wish I owned Avon). A couple of years ago he managed to rub great chunks out of his mane and his tail had to be pulled to look even half decent and that was with using horsey fly stuff. You do have to put it on every day , sometimes twice ,tho cos if you forget the midges are straight back.
 
Sol said:
Anyone know how to prevent/help with this? He did it last summer too, but was also reacting really badly to fly bites in general so wasn't to surprised. This year (touch wood) he's not been bitten half as much, just the odd one, but has over the last few days rubbed the top of his tail again causing it to look like he's been electrocuted, and as it damages the hairs it goes frizzy & wont go flat again & eventually thins out. :o


Any ideas??


Thanks, Sol x.
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Get Global Herbs Skratch cream, it's an absolute godsend! Toto normally gets what I'd describe as mild sweet itch on his tail and sometimes a bit of his mane. Since we've used this he hasn't scratched once :D
 
Thanks everyone! Been spraying it but hasn't helped apparently. Got some fly cream stuff or something somewhere to smear all over his tail & rub in for now, think it needs a wash too which can't be helping :o (bath time tomorrow I think!)
Always hearing good things about the Avon stuff so another idea to try! Thanks!
 
benzyl benzoate, available on eBay. Water down with another two parts water and spray his tail every day. Never fails with mine, it's an age-old remedy that's out of fashion but it's by far the cheapest.
 
Another vote for benzyl benzoate - only problem is it is quite thick and even watered down it tends to clog the spray nozzle after a few weeks, but cheap and very effective.
 
Mine does this every year, turns his tail into a bog brush! Was beginning to wonder if it was sweet itch (as u say when does itching become SI?) but his skin under the hair seemed really dry. A friend said to try Shapleys MTG which u pour in once a week and the itching has completely stopped and hair growing back lovely. I was sceptical about it but have to say Im very surprised.

http://www.shinyshowhorse.co.uk/info2.cfm?info_id=63143

ETA it seems greasy when u put it on but within the day the greasiness has gone but the skin seems moisturised.
 
Killitch - but don't bother using as often as they recommend unless it is really bad. If you get the first application in during March then I normally get away with about 1 a month, but as a bit later may need to do it more regularly.

PS Always wear gloves, anything with Benzyl Benzoate isn't great to handle.
 
ditto on the benzyl benzoate and try feeding a bit of brewers yeast in his feed, just a tad, it helps stop itching.
 
Try Frontline - the stuff for cats and dogs. I used one cat dose pipette on my horse last year and it did the trick for the whole of the summer. You can also buy it in a spray can - useful if you have a number of horses. This technique can also be used on manes - but not obviously near the eyes.
 
Toxicity records for benz benz say toxicity is "slight", not carcinogenic, may harm liver if ingested. Provided you aren't planning to drink any it's fine :-) I've been using it gloveless for years and never even got the "may cause red itching skin" reaction listed as a possible human side effect. It was the routine treatment for headlice in children before better things came along for that job - it made the pillow awfully messy!
 
I never use gloves for BB either and have never had a problem :)

My horse does the same, tail and mane, to the point that I had to hog him last year (he is a 17.1hh WB!) This year I have been feeding him garlic since March, thought I was on top of it, but no, the day before yesterday he had rubbed when in during the day so fly rug is on now :( I also upgraded to Deet this year, rather than home made repellant, but it obv isn't working as well as I thought.

I used Stop Itch (think that is it, white container, green writing, over £20 a tub!) last year, didn't work either *sigh*
 
I used the Shapleys MTG, which worked fine initially, but then it made the whole thing worse,:eek: so be careful with it.
Now, I just fly rug to the hilt when midges out, and also electrify everything and anything that can be used as an itching post- including around the inside of the stable and shelter. That may seem extreme, but touch wood, it works.
 
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