Horses changed fields recently & now really itchy

[davisn]

Hello

My horse's usual turnout field was becoming over run with thistles, so they were moved to a new temporary field whist their original field was sprayed.

The new field has quite a lot of rich grass, so sheep were put in it for a couple of weeks before the move, but there is still a lot more grass than my 2 are used to.

Since then they have both been very itchy & one of them now has lots of little bumps on his hind quarters (like nettle rash). These have been driving him mad for the last couple of days. I have washed the area thoroughly & put on some stop itch salve, which seems to have eased it a bit.

Could the change in grass be the cause or is it more likely to be insects or something else?

The YO is away at the moment, so I don't know what they used to spray their original field, but it was done 2 weeks ago & we have had loads of rain ever since. Do you think it would be OK to move them back off this rich grass?

 

[Maisy]

I would think there are probably insects in the long grass which will be having a feast!

I wouldnt want to move the horses onto the sprayed field until you are sure that it is safe to do so.

Can you bring the horses in from dusk till after dawn as this is when it will probably be worse??

 

[kellyeaton]

is there any different trees or plants in there?

 

[davisn]

Thanks for your responses.

There are some stinging nettles around the edge of the field, other than that there is nothing in there apart from lots of rich grass.

I must admit I haven't been putting as much insect repellant on due to the wet weather we have been having recently.

They have been going out at night, in during the day as they are both quite pink skinned & prone to sun burning. However, with the weather how it is maybe I should swap them over & turn out during the day??

 

[rocketdog69]

Hi there

Last year a couple of my horses but not all suddenly became covered in lumps as you described. After a couple of weeks they got better and then went away. About 3 weeks ago the same lumps appeared again but as with last year not all my horses seem to have been affected. I reckon its a particular type of insect bite. Personally I'm not too worried as their general well being is very good.

I went to a show a couple of weeks ago and there were a couple of other horses with similar "bumps".

If the problem persists I would call your vet.

Good luck, I hope it sorts itself out.