Itchy face! Sweetitch? Pictures.

[Lintel]

Little WHW Shetland is doing well and has always been an "itchy" type. Has been treated for everything living and has seen the vet who didn't think their were any creepy crawlers. It flares in summer and settles more in winter but is only really round his face?
I know little about itches... sweetitch or allergies! Does anyone have any insight or tips.. products?
He now has his fly rug and mask on but clearly it doesn't cover his chin which he scratched too! I have been putting baby oil on his baldy bits as the sudocream was ending up some mess!

 

[_HP_]

I can highly recommend these products for itchies...
https://www.bitebackproducts.co.uk/horse

His skin does look very dry...my Shetland came to me in a bad way skinwise and I now feed micronised linseed and Progressive earths pro minerals in a blob od speedibeet each day, which have made a big difference.
Could it be a pollen allergy? Perhaps ask your vet about anti histamines

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Ummm........ I've got a sweet-itchy and TBH the pictures don't look totally "right" for sweet itch....... for SI I'd expect more generalised rubbing, rubbed so the skin is raw/bleeding even, but this doesn't look typical of sweet itch to me.

I'd be inclined to ask your vet to take a look. It may be an allergy of some sort, or possibly a nutritional issue. Either way, your vet is the best person to advise you on this.

 

[Lintel]

Thanks the vet had said about it being allergies but trying to find what the allergy is can be like trying to find s needle in a haystack! But pollen allergy sounds likely as it dissipates in winter but isn't 100% away.
I do dread to think how much horsey anti-histamines are though! He does have very dry skin poor boy but it's much better than when he arrived I will try the linseed too!

 

[Supertrooper]

Awwww what a beautiful WHW boy ❤️❤️. They are the best.

My pony had very similar one year, I think he’d got hot & sweaty under his thick forelock and then he made it worse by itching it. I used Nettex stop itch??

Worked a treat

 

[_HP_]

Check with your vet first but most people just use these..?shouldn't need too many for a shettie
http://www.pharmacyfirst.co.uk/12-month-supply-of-cetirizine-hayfever-tablets-6md1.html

 

[dollyanna]

I'd second the use of biteback products, they are amazing. My mare isn't sweetitchy but does react badly to bites - she gets eaten alive which leaves sore areas rather than itching, but is driven mad by the flies which does lead to itching. The biteback cream calms everything down and it heals within a couple of days, new hair growing through. Her face can often look like this if I've not stayed on top of it enough or the weather catches me out with an increase in bugs.
I tried antihistamines but they made no difference to her. I did have her on micronised linseed and brewers yeast for a year and she was much worse again last year when she didn't have it so have started that again. She just seems ultra yummy - my gelding isn't eaten by them at all!!

 

[EllenJay]

My boy had something similar a few years ago, but his wasn't just on his face it was all over. The only thing we found to stop the rubbing was steroid cream. He does have Cushing's and since then we have to clip all summer, fly rug on at all times and we haven't had a re-occurrance.

Before we tried the steroid we tried all the usual stuff to no avail.

 

[Gloi]

Has he had a Cushings test recently. One of ours came out with all manner of strange skin complaints before he was on treatment for Cushings.

 

[Carrottom]

Have you tried an anti fungal cream? Something like Clotrimazole, can be bought from the chemist (just don't say its for a pony) so might be worth trying.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thanks the vet had said about it being allergies but trying to find what the allergy is can be like trying to find s needle in a haystack! But pollen allergy sounds likely as it dissipates in winter but isn't 100% away.
I do dread to think how much horsey anti-histamines are though! He does have very dry skin poor boy but it's much better than when he arrived I will try the linseed too!

I was speaking to someone the other day who got 500 Piriton tablets for £15 from his vet.


ETA my Cushings mare had skin issues until we got her diagnosis and Prascend sorted out. What do WHW say about it?

 

[jnb]

Don’t discount Fox Mite - treatment was Drontal or Frontline, a friends mare had rubbed face red raw, treated for sweet itch & got worse...someone at Pony Club suggested it was Fox Mite & Bingo! Gone within a week of a single treatment.

 

[NiceNeverNaughty]

this is reasonably common in shetlands - especially with it being hot weather and them shedding their coats. They start to scratch, and just go a bit overboard. Slather the areas with killitch everyday and they’ll clear up in no time

 

[Lintel]

Thanks all for the advice the cushings thing is interesting as I suspect he may have slight cushings. Haven't said to WHW as I didn't feel it was serious enough to annoy them with. Will have a look into the different creams and potions youve all recommended

 

[MagicMelon]

Not exactly in the same places but over the years Ive had the odd horse suddenly start to lose a big patch of hair either side on the face (between eye and nose level). Vets looked at it at the time but they just suggested shampooing with anti fungal type stuff which did nothing. I tried lots of creams / shampoo's etc. to no avail. As weirdly as the patches arrived, they just went away again. Its happened twice on one horse who Ive had for about 15 years, once on another and once on another Id had for many years. Really odd but usually around this time of year so I put it down to some sort of allergy to grass seeds or something.