Itchy horse - topical treatments

dollymix

dollymix

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Hi all, any advice on what lotions I could use through winter on my itchy mare?

She is itchy all year round but it is marginally easier to manage in summer as I can put a decent fly rug hoody on. In winter, I refrain from over-rugging as she gets too hot which in turn makes her more itchy!

In summer I also bathe her mane and tail once a week in a tea tree oils shampoo which seems to make a big difference but it seems a bit mean doing it in the icy depths on winter so I wondered if anyone had any suggestions?

As further background, vet has scraped for mites/fungal etc with clean results and he is reluctant to allergy test as he says the results are very hit and miss!

Her main diet currently consists of soaked hay and a tub trug full of plain hay chop (this combo means she is eating for longer). She also gets a small feed with a handful of hifi molasses free and the recommended amount of top spec balancer

Thanks all
 
Hi our mare suffers with sweet itch so we use Benzel benzonate and linseed and this year she has not scratched, we also bath her once a week with tea tree shampoo. She normally has a lot of scurf in her mane and tail which is why we have fed linseed and she has had no scurf this year.
 
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Linseed is an oil although we feed it in powder form but yes it could be fattening but we were told it conditiions the coat from inside out and I must admit it seems to have done the job. Our mare is also do gooder being a connemara so we limit her hard feed and try and use feed that is suitable for ponies that suffer with lami so we know her sugar in take is limited.
 
Sounds like an allergy to something moat probably food related. The usual vet route is a nightmare and they're right it can be inconclusive. I've had fantastic results with my allergic horse using kinesiology - v strange but worked and I now know exactly what he's allergic to
 
nagseastsussex said:
Hi our mare suffers with sweet itch so we use Benzel benzonate and linseed and this year she has not scratched, we also bath her once a week with tea tree shampoo. She normally has a lot of scurf in her mane and tail which is why we have fed linseed and she has had no scurf this year.
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Second this. My boy's got SI and this is what I do, plus feed Brewers Yeast, plus occasionally Seaweed & Clivers (sticky stuff in hedges).

I'm just wondering...... yes whilst appreciating that allergy testing is never an exact science - but maybe your mare DOES have sweet itch? Its been very midgey lately due to the mild muggy weather, and so I just wonder if that if what she has???

Sorry meant to add also that I shampoo mine with "Head & Shoulders" shampoo which seems to ease him and gets rid of scrurfiness in the coat and on his feathers.
 
Had a RSCPA livery here and it was always itching. Tried shampoos etc but didn't stop it. Rubbed its mane, tail, withers, everywhere. I now know what the cause is.... pinworms! I had no idea that, in serious infestations it leads to symptoms exactly like sweet itch. So embotape recommened by the vet and in such serious cases repeat every month for the next 3 months! There is also a treatment to go with this, recommended by another forum member's vet so pm me if you want it. Said RSPCA horse was 5-day panacur'd on arrival early this year and then worm counted mid summer which showed up nothing ( since pin worm eggs cannot be counted apparently). Infestation can take 5 months from egg ingestion to some ( not many) worms showing in dung. Check under your horse's tail and see if there is any slight cream coloured deposit there - those are the eggs and it can look like a dribble of dried cream when high infestation.
Otherwise, maybe horse has an allergy but your vet should take bloods and see what immunoglobulins are present which can show if its an allergy and then you can have specific tests done and find out what is the provocation.
 
It sounds like it could be either worms, or dietary. It would be worth worming (Pramox kills everything inc pinworm), and then using a course of a NAF skin supplement - found them really good.

I also use lavender Wash which may help calm the itching until you work out what the cause is.

There still seems to be a lot of midges around atm too.
 
some really interesting opinions on here! I'll look into pin worm with my vet. Although she mainly itches her mane and face, not her behind (or at least not any more than your average horse) - would this still be a possible pinworm problem?

I've owned her for over a year now and she itches exactly the same amount in winter as in summer. Plus, I have a lot of experience with sweet-itch as my old mare has it and IMO the symptoms are different.

Her skin is quite scurfy, so I like the suggestion of linseed.No offence intended to those using supplements, but I have seriously gone off pre-prepared supplements which are made for specific issues - probably just through my own negative experiences but I think alot of them are just clever marketing! But i might give the linseed ago - incidently, there is a fence at our yard which is full off that sticky climbing stuff (did someone says Clivers?) and she LOVES it! Maybe I should give her some each day?

I am still inclined to think it is something dietry, which is why I've cut out sugars and as much protein as I can. Her droppings and general demeanour are greatly improved from coming off haylage and onto hay so I am hoping I'm on the right track. If it is mild weather this year, I will carry on with the tea tree shampoo as that does seem to really help her. Has anyone ever used this to make their own spray...not as a fly deterrant but to just help out the skin?
 
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I went down the route of:

worming
steroids (stopped it completely but came back again when off the steroids)
ruggle it shampoo and oil
snuggy bug hood, rug, legs, head

Mine had hives all over as well as itching - itched his head and bum so much that the hives burst! he was a real sorry state, keeping him on steroids wasn't an option long term.

We tried exclusion diets, permanently out, permanently in, changing washing powder, cutting all feed out. Absolutely nothing worked.

Went down the alternative route, kinesiology, stopped the steroids on the saturday, chap came out on the tuesday and found out within half an hour that my horse was allergic to a mould found in haylage - botrysis, and that this could stay in his system for up to five months. He had such a strong allergy to it his whole body blew up with the hives. he treated him with drops containing the allergen, he was moved onto good quality hay, and by the following Saturday (4 days from treatment) he was hive and itch free. He's been off steroids now since 29th September. I've spend over 1k in vets bills for steroids, visits etc, over £200 for snuggy bug products, and only £350 on the kinesiology - and that included travel as I live in the North and he comes from the south. He also tested him for vitamin deficiency.

I understand that alternative treatment isn't for everyone, and I did have to have my vet's agreement for him to have the treatment, but I would have had to have had my boy free of steroids for a month for him to have skin scrapes - that wouldn't have been possible because of the state of the hives. I'm happy to give anyone more details if you want - I'm sharing because it's been a total revelation, and it's meant that I can get my lovely boy back in work. Pics of him before the treatment and after. The before pic was two days after coming off the steroids, so the hives were gradually coming back - at their peak he was absolutely covered, and his head was so swollen, it was absolutely awful.
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Feed Micronised linseed - my usually scrufy coated boy is scurf free this year :) - just a mug full a day will be enough and she shouldn't get fat on it :)

Also think about removing alfa-alfa (the hi-fi) as this can affect their skin.

I've found lotions and potions just make things worse ...
 
wow elfin...those hives look awful :( Poor lad!!

I might speak to another livery on my yard as her youngster has similar hives although they are not that itchy. Mine has no hives but is itchy all the time! Maybe if a few of us could be seen we'd get a discount as we are also in the North!!
 
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