Mane and Tail Issue =/

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SarahRicoh

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Hey,

Okay well iv only recently had my horse (about 3 months) and in the last month or so he has been really really itchy. I know the flys are bad and its hot so he's moulting a bit but its something else.

I think people are going to say sweet itch but I dont think it is unless they can get it mildly?

He itches a lot and mane and top of tail are where he itches most. Skin has gone dry,scaly and scabby and hair is falling out a tiny bit in mane(not much at all). He has fly spray on twice a day and a fly rug & mask but nothings making a difference.

I thought it could maybe be lice but I cant see any and it seems more likely to be sweet itch..

Any thoughts? If people do know what it is please can you post treatments so I can try help him. Dont like him being all itchy :(

Thanks, Sarah :)
 
give him a bath with something antifungal/antibacterial (or teatree stuff)

make sure you rinse well (soap will cause him to be itchy) then go from there.

might be as simple as an allergy to the fly spray!
 
What supplements is he on? My friends horse was madly itchy on Top Spec and she took him off it and he's been fine since.

I use benzyl benzoate to control mild sweet itch and it does the trick nicely. Water down to 1/3 and use every day. Very cheap.

You could also try 50g a day of brewer's yeast (available cheapest from Charnwood Milling in 25kg bags) which is a great all round supplement but also has a fly repellent effect.
 
One of our sweet itchers gets it worse at the end of Aug each year too. Of course they can have a mild version of sweet itch.. We use an aloe vera gel to sooth the itch, then rugs (sweet itch hoody) and repellent. Remember to put repellent on when riding too - ours often come home from shows very itchy as they've been uncovered all day..
 
He's been rubbing so much he's ripped the straps on the neck bit of his rug and lots of his hair is coming out so its got to be sweet itch. Sooo,, best treatments for it please? Except rugs as mine needs to be fixed... Iv heard benzylbenzoate is good but is it sprayed on or rubbed on or what and how much each day?
 
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