fatpiggy
Well-Known Member
My girl was a Welsh D cross and I suspect they are a bit sensitive skinned compared to other breeds. I had a very bad experience with citronella which basically gave the poor animal a chemical burn, and every year in the late spring she would become absolutely beside herself with itching in the morning when I went to let her out of her stable. Absolutely frantic for me to scratch her belly. It took me a while but one day I had a thought, sprayed her and her bedding with Red Mite killer meant for chickens, and the itching stopped immediately - she had a swallows nest in her stable and there must have been mites either in the feathers they dropped or the poo the adults chucked out of the nest. All the stables had nests in them, but none of the other horses were affected. There was nothing to see, no bumps, scabs or anything else just her desperate behaviour (she had bad arthritis and as she got older couldn't reach around or under herself so relied on me entirely to deal with her itchy bits).
my vet also suggested I put her out as I explained how unhappy she was in the stable. It was so lovely turning her out with my boyfriends gelding. They had a good hoon around and I actually seen her roll for the first time in weeks. She loves nothing more than a good roll but hasn't done it since she became ill :')